Forum Discussion
Impactful IndividualRefresh options Disabled in Settings
i published the semantic model on my workspace and other workspace, i noticed that below refresh options are greyed out in both workspaces, any reason why it is not appearing enabled? the semantic model is based on excel as source which is stored as local on my system
Hi powerbiexpert22,
The refresh options are most likely disabled because your Excel source is stored locally on your machine.
Power BI Service cannot access a local file path directly. For a semantic model that uses a local/on-premises file, you need to configure an on-premises data gateway or personal gateway and map the semantic model to that data source.
Microsoft explains this in the scheduled refresh guidance, where local/on-premises sources require gateway connectivity before refresh can be configured.
I would check the Gateway and cloud connections section first and confirm that:
- A gateway is installed and online.
- The Excel/file data source has been added to that gateway.
- The path matches the path used by the semantic model.
- The required credentials are configured.
Microsoft also notes in the local file refresh documentation that a gateway must be installed and running for Power BI Service to refresh data from on-premises sources.
Alternatively, if possible, moving the Excel file to OneDrive or SharePoint can simplify the setup because Power BI can then access the file through a cloud connection rather than relying on a machine-local path.
So I would first configure the gateway/data source connection rather than changing the refresh schedule itself.
AI-assisted drafting: AI was used to help structure and phrase this response. I reviewed and validated the technical content before posting.
2 Replies
RossEdwardsRioResolver I
My guess is that your data sources are on-premise data, such as a local database or excel file on a drive. Before you can enable a refresh, you need to click on "Gateway and Cloud Connections" and ensure that is fully configured.
- ShivekMaharaj
Community Champion
Hi powerbiexpert22,
The refresh options are most likely disabled because your Excel source is stored locally on your machine.
Power BI Service cannot access a local file path directly. For a semantic model that uses a local/on-premises file, you need to configure an on-premises data gateway or personal gateway and map the semantic model to that data source.
Microsoft explains this in the scheduled refresh guidance, where local/on-premises sources require gateway connectivity before refresh can be configured.
I would check the Gateway and cloud connections section first and confirm that:
- A gateway is installed and online.
- The Excel/file data source has been added to that gateway.
- The path matches the path used by the semantic model.
- The required credentials are configured.
Microsoft also notes in the local file refresh documentation that a gateway must be installed and running for Power BI Service to refresh data from on-premises sources.
Alternatively, if possible, moving the Excel file to OneDrive or SharePoint can simplify the setup because Power BI can then access the file through a cloud connection rather than relying on a machine-local path.
So I would first configure the gateway/data source connection rather than changing the refresh schedule itself.
AI-assisted drafting: AI was used to help structure and phrase this response. I reviewed and validated the technical content before posting.