Scenario

The Human Resources (HR) team at Tailwind Traders has prepared a flat file that contains some of your organization's employee data, such as employee name, hire date, position, and manager. They've requested that you build Power BI reports by using this data, and data that is located in several other data sources.

Flat file location

The first step is to determine which file location you want to use to export and store your data.

Your Excel files might exist in one of the following locations:

  • Local - You can import data from a local file into Power BI. The file isn't moved into Power BI, and a link doesn't remain to it. Instead, a new semantic model is created in Power BI, and data from the Excel file is loaded into it. Accordingly, changes to the original Excel file aren't reflected in your Power BI semantic model. You can use local data import for data that doesn't change.

  • OneDrive for Business - You can pull data from OneDrive for Business into Power BI. This method is effective in keeping an Excel file and your semantic model, reports, and dashboards in Power BI synchronized. Power BI connects regularly to your file on OneDrive. If any changes are found, your semantic model, reports, and dashboards are automatically updated in Power BI.

  • OneDrive - Personal - You can use data from files on a personal OneDrive account, and get many of the same benefits that you would with OneDrive for Business. However, you'll need to sign in with your personal OneDrive account, and select the Keep me signed in option. Check with your system administrator to determine whether this type of connection is allowed in your organization.

  • SharePoint - Team Sites - Saving your Power BI Desktop files to SharePoint Team Sites is similar to saving to OneDrive for Business. The main difference is how you connect to the file from Power BI. You can specify a URL or connect to the root folder.

Using a cloud option such as OneDrive or SharePoint Team Sites is the most effective way to keep your file and your semantic model, reports, and dashboards in Power BI in-sync. However, if your data doesn't change regularly, saving files on a local computer is a suitable option.


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