Forum Discussion

webportal's avatar
webportal
Impactful Individual
8 years ago

Connect Excel to a Power BI data model

Hello,

 

Is there any way to connect Excel to Power BI Desktop and importing the Data Model to Power Pivot?

 

With Power BI Publisher for Excel it is possible to connect Excel to Power BI Service and get a live connection, but the data is contained within a Pivot Table. I need to maintain a specific spreadsheet-like layout and it is complicated to create formulas linking to a Pivot Table.

 

Thanks for helping!

14 Replies

    • webportal's avatar
      webportal
      Impactful Individual

      Hi Anonymous thank you for your help.

      The post describes a method to connect Excel to PBI Desktop, but the data is available in a Pivot Table only, which is basically the same that Power BI Publsher for Excel Add-in does.

      • Anonymous's avatar
        Anonymous
        Not applicable

        webportal,

        I can't think of any other methods to achieve the requirement.

        Regards,
        Lydia

  • Anonymous's avatar
    Anonymous
    Not applicable

    Hello,

     

    webportal  I'm looking for an answering to the same problem and wondering if you found a solution yet? I would greatly appreciate it if you can share your solution.

     

    Thanks,

    • webportal's avatar
      webportal
      Impactful Individual

      Anonymous  as far as I know there's no solution for this.

      You may connect Excel to Power BI Service only and work from there.

       

      Hope this helps.

      • EpicLeo879's avatar
        EpicLeo879
        Regular Visitor
        This is key for me in leveraging the powerhouse dynamic duo that power BI and Excel create. While I am not aware of any drag and drop method all you need is the data connection (created when the pivot table loads to excel from PBI) and cube functions in your formulas to get to your data outside of the pivot table and pbix file. In all of my complex excel models / reports, I use this method to pull in all the data I need from my PBI models.
        Cube functions can look intimidating at first but they are actually very intuitive once you write a few. And with the beauty of excel, you can write one and drag it down the row or column and have it populate the measure or metrics according to different cell variable (each date, product category, etc.) Also, the data connect to the PBI file keeps the excel model / report updated with every refresh.

        This article introduced me to cubevalue formula ( way back when PBI was Power Pivot), it’s the function you will use most to pull your data out of your PBI and into excel. The post references PowerPivot, but it’s one in the same for PBI.
        https://www.excelcampus.com/cubevalue-formulas/
  • Anonymous's avatar
    Anonymous
    Not applicable

    I'm interested to know about this as well.

     

    Just the other week when I went to the get data tab there was an option to connect directly to my PBI model, however, today that option seems to have disappeared. 

     

    Has any body else encountered this issue. 

     

    • webportal's avatar
      webportal
      Impactful Individual
      No issues here.
      You need the Power BI connector for Excel add-in.