Downloaded pbix file republished the wrong report

[khampton]

I have picked up some old reports created by someone who no longer works at the business. Recently I was asked to update with a filter which I have done several times before.

I did what I always do - I downloaded the file (a copy of the report and data), made the changes and republished.

However, this time instead of updating the downloaded file, it updated another one in the workspace. I assume this is because the old dataset names do not match the report:

Sales (dataset) >>> Sales legacy (report)

Sales report (dataset) >>> Sales (report)

So I downloaded Sales (report) but it has updated Sales legacy (report).

It's a nightmare as there is no backup copy of the legacy report, so I assume I have lost this now as well as not being able to update the Sales report.

Is there a way of ensuring when I download a report, it updates the correct one even if the dataset has a different name? I know it's possible to see report IDs, but I can't seem to see where I would change this in desktop to update the correct report. If I change the name of the pbix file to match the dataset name, it creates a new report which I do not want.

[v-yiruan-msft · Accepted solution]

Hi @khampton ,

If I understand correctly, it seems that the two reports you have have different pbix file names with the ones in Service. This causes the pbix file you downloaded from Service to overwrite the report that doesn't actually have consistent content because of the same name. And now one of the reports is lost because there is no backup. I'm afraid there is no way to restore it. Once a report is overwritten in Power BI Service, the previous version cannot be retrieved.

Anyway, here are some suggestions that might help avoid losing your work:

• Regularly Save Your Work Locally: Always save a copy of your .pbix files locally or in a cloud storage service. This allows you to have a backup that you can revert to if needed.
• Use Version Control Systems: Consider using a version control system like Git. You can save different versions of your reports, and it allows you to revert to a previous version if something goes wrong.
• Export PBIX Files Before Making Changes: Before making significant changes in Power BI Service, consider exporting the .pbix file so you have a backup.

Best Regards