Issue with Power BI Paginated Report Date Format in Different Regional Settings

When using Power BI Paginated Reports, users have occasionally encountered an issue where the report displays dates in the IST (Indian Standard Time) format, particularly when the report is accessed in the United States. This discrepancy can lead to problems, particularly with how sub-reports are rendered in the browser. In this article, we will explore why this issue occurs and how to resolve it.

The Problem: Date Format Rendering Issue

The primary issue at hand is the way dates are displayed when opening a Power BI Paginated Report in a browser. Specifically, when a report is opened in the U.S., it often displays the date in the Indian Standard Time (IST) format. This can cause confusion and lead to incorrect data representation.

The real challenge arises when a sub-report is involved. In some cases, when the report includes a navigated sub-report, the date may be misinterpreted due to how the browser handles date formats. In particular, the month and day values might be swapped if the system's locale settings interpret the data incorrectly. For example, a date such as 03/12/2024 might be read as March 12, 2024, in some systems, while in others it could be misinterpreted as December 3, 2024.

The Root Cause: Browser Regional Settings

The root cause of this issue lies in the regional and language settings of the user’s machine. Specifically, the browser or operating system may be set to a locale where English (UK) is the default language. The UK date format is different from the U.S. date format. In the UK, dates are typically written in the day/month/year format, whereas in the U.S., the month/day/year format is standard.

When the browser is set to UK English as the default language, it may automatically apply the UK date formatting, leading to discrepancies in how dates are displayed or interpreted in reports, including Power BI Paginated Reports. In particular, this issue often manifests when the report is opened in a U.S.-based environment, where the expectations for date format differ.

Solution: Changing Browser Language Settings

The good news is that this issue can be easily resolved by adjusting the language settings on the user's machine or browser. By changing the default language and region settings from English (UK) to English (United States), the report will be rendered correctly, with the appropriate date format displayed as expected.

Steps to Fix the Issue:

1. Open the Browser Settings:
2. Navigate to the settings menu of the browser you are using (e.g., Chrome, Edge, or Firefox).
3. Change the Language Settings:
4. Look for the "Language" section in the settings. Depending on the browser, you may need to navigate to advanced settings to find the "Region" or "Languages" options.
5. Select English (United States):
6. Choose English (United States) as the default language for the browser.
7. Restart the Browser:
8. After changing the settings, restart your browser to apply the changes.
9. Test the Report:
10. Once the browser is set to U.S. English, open the Power BI Paginated Report again. The date format should now display correctly, and the sub-reports should render without issues.

Conclusion

The issue of Power BI Paginated Reports showing IST date formats in the U.S. arises from a mismatch in regional settings, specifically when the user's system is set to UK English. This leads to confusion when rendering dates and sub-reports in the browser, especially when the month and day are incorrectly swapped. By simply updating the browser’s language settings to English (United States), users can resolve this issue and ensure that their reports display as expected.

If you continue to encounter problems after making this adjustment, it may be worth checking other system or application settings that might affect regional formats, such as the operating system’s language settings or Power BI’s locale configurations.