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Fern_21's avatar
Fern_21
Icon for Helper V rankHelper V
9 months ago
Solved

How to create a connection to a database with integrated credentials and then use it in PBI Desktop?

Hi all! On Power BI, is it possible to create a connection to a database that already includes credentials, so that a user in Power BI Desktop can directly use that connection without needing to p...
Need Help
  • grazitti_sapna's avatar
    grazitti_sapna
    9 months ago

    Hi Fern_21,

     

    Users can ONLY access the tables you include in the Dataflow. 

     

    When users connect to your Dataflow in Power BI Desktop, they can:

    Import only the entities (tables) inside the Dataflow

    Build their own model on top of those tables

    Combine with other local files (Excel, CSV, etc.) if they want

Praful_Potphode's avatar
Praful_Potphode
Icon for Super User rankSuper User
9 months ago

Hi Fern_21 ,

Directly creating a file (like a .pbix or .pbids) with embedded database credentials for another user to open and use in Power BI Desktop is not possible for security reasons.

To avoid giving access to database for all the users in organization, one person with database access can load

all the data in pbix in import mode and then share it with all users.in this approach, users will require access to semantic model not the database.this approach is known as self service bi.there are lot of articles on it.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/connect-data/service-datasets-manage-access-permissions 

https://radacad.com/power-bi-user-access-levels-build-and-edit-are-different/ 

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/connect-data/service-datasets-across-workspaces 

 

Please give kudos or mark it as solution once confirmed.

 

Thanks and Regards,

Praful

Fern_21's avatar
Fern_21
Icon for Helper V rankHelper V
9 months ago

Hi Praful_Potphode  and grazitti_sapna  !

If I create a semantic model and share it with the user, they can only connect in live connection mode and there are limitations. Isn't there a way to use a dataflow?

Thanks

  • grazitti_sapna's avatar
    grazitti_sapna
    Icon for Super User rankSuper User
    9 months ago

    Fern_21, yes you can use a dataflow or fabric lakehouse to achieve it

    • Fern_21's avatar
      Fern_21
      Icon for Helper V rankHelper V
      9 months ago

      Hi grazitti_sapna !

      What is the fastest and most functional solution? What are the pros and cons of each?
      Thanks

      • grazitti_sapna's avatar
        grazitti_sapna
        Icon for Super User rankSuper User
        9 months ago

        Hi Fern_21, 

         

        You can go for Dataflow,

         

        Fast
        Easy
        Secure (no credentials exposed)
        Cheapest
        Lets users freely model their own semantic models

  • Praful_Potphode's avatar
    Praful_Potphode
    Icon for Super User rankSuper User
    9 months ago

    Hi Fern_21 ,

    Yes they can use dataflows to bring in user managed data and build composite models on top of it.

    another apparoach can be to mirror the SQL Server data in fabric and then provide access inside fabric 

    https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/fabric/mirroring/sql-server 

     

    please give kudos or mark it as solution once confirmed.

     

    Thanks and Regards,

    Praful