topic Re: Privilege to see all folders and reports on PowerBI RS- not necessarily be able to open all reports in Report Server

Privilege to see all folders and reports on PowerBI RS- not necessarily be able to open all reports

Reinhard68 — Thu, 21 Aug 2025 14:44:46 GMT

Hi!
Is there a possibility to give a user the right to see all folders and the name of all reports within those folder on a Power BI Report Server (OnPrem) without permiting to open all those reports?
Thanks!

Re: Privilege to see all folders and reports on PowerBI RS- not necessarily be able to open all reports

Ilgar_Zarbali — Thu, 21 Aug 2025 20:11:27 GMT

In Power BI Report Server (PBIRS), there’s no built-in “browse-only” role that lets users see all folders and report names without opening the reports. Permissions are tied to roles like Browser, Content Manager, Publisher, etc., and even the lowest role (Browser) still grants the ability to open reports.

Possible workarounds

Custom role in SSRS / PBIRS:
Create a custom role in SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) Role Manager with permissions like View Folders but without `View Reports` or `Execute`. This allows users to see the folder structure but prevents running or downloading reports.
Shared documentation/export:
If true folder-only visibility is needed, export a list of reports and folders from the PBIRS catalog tables and share that separately.
Security note:
Be careful with sensitive report names — even metadata visibility could expose confidential project details.

I hope it will work.

Re: Privilege to see all folders and reports on PowerBI RS- not necessarily be able to open all reports

Shahid12523 — Fri, 22 Aug 2025 03:55:06 GMT

To let a user see all folders and report names in Power BI Report Server without opening the reports:
Assign them the Browser role — lets them view structure, not content.
Don’t give "Content Manager" or "Report Builder" roles.
For more control, create a custom role with just “View folders” and “View report properties” permissions.

Re: Privilege to see all folders and reports on PowerBI RS- not necessarily be able to open all reports

Reinhard68 — Fri, 22 Aug 2025 06:55:34 GMT

Thanks a lot!!