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Get data from Excel using Power BI Desktop
What is the best way to get data from Excel using Power BI Desktop ?
The answer is always "It depends on your needs and what you have already".
With Power BI you have two ways to explore data in Excel files :
Import Excel data into Power BI
When you choose Import, any supported data in tables and/or a data model are imported into a new dataset in Power BI. If you have any Power View sheets, those will be re-created in Power BI as reports.
You can continue editing your workbook. When your changes are saved, they’ll be synchronized with the dataset in Power BI, usually within about an hour. If you need more immediate gratification, you can just click Publish again, and your changes are exported. Any visualizations you have in reports and dashboards will be updated, too, based on the following table.
Connect, manage and view Excel in Power BI
When you choose Connect, your workbook will appear in Power BI just like it would in Excel Online. But, unlike Excel Online, you’ll have some great features to help you pin elements from your worksheets right to your dashboards.
You can’t edit your workbook in Power BI. But if you need to make some changes, you can click Edit, and then choose to edit your workbook in Excel Online or open it in Excel on your computer. Any changes you make are saved to the workbook on OneDrive.
Choose this option if you only have data in worksheets, or you have ranges, PivotTables and charts you want to pin to dashboards.
In Excel 2016, you can also use Publish > Upload. It's pretty much the same thing. To learn more, see Publish to Power BI from Excel 2016.
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The answer is always "It depends on your needs and what you have already".
With Power BI you have two ways to explore data in Excel files :
Import Excel data into Power BI
When you choose Import, any supported data in tables and/or a data model are imported into a new dataset in Power BI. If you have any Power View sheets, those will be re-created in Power BI as reports.
You can continue editing your workbook. When your changes are saved, they’ll be synchronized with the dataset in Power BI, usually within about an hour. If you need more immediate gratification, you can just click Publish again, and your changes are exported. Any visualizations you have in reports and dashboards will be updated, too, based on the following table.
Connect, manage and view Excel in Power BI
When you choose Connect, your workbook will appear in Power BI just like it would in Excel Online. But, unlike Excel Online, you’ll have some great features to help you pin elements from your worksheets right to your dashboards.
You can’t edit your workbook in Power BI. But if you need to make some changes, you can click Edit, and then choose to edit your workbook in Excel Online or open it in Excel on your computer. Any changes you make are saved to the workbook on OneDrive.
Choose this option if you only have data in worksheets, or you have ranges, PivotTables and charts you want to pin to dashboards.
In Excel 2016, you can also use Publish > Upload. It's pretty much the same thing. To learn more, see Publish to Power BI from Excel 2016.