Forum Discussion
Import Excel Pivot to PowerBI - Possible???
I have a pivot in Excel that I want to import to PowerBI but I can't see it in the list of tables(and that was expected)... So now I ask, is there a way to use a pivot as a table in powerbi? How?
ovetteabejuela If you've already setup your the Data Model in Excel you can Import it
in PBI Desktop => File => Import => Excel Workbook Contents
This will actually bring in your Data Model Tables AND your PowerView Sheets ONLY
Note that None of your "regular" Excel Sheets which includes the Sheets containing PivotTables will be imported!
Therefore if you don't have any PowerView Sheets you'll just see a blank page in the Report View after you've imported
the Workbook Contents into PBI - however your data tables should be seen on the right side in PBI.
Also if you switch over to the Data View or Relationship View you will see the Data Model Tables that were imported!
If you do have PowerView Sheets that Import successfully note that there are some limitations as not all Visuals are avaible in PBI
One of the most glaring omissions - charts with Vertical or Horizontal Multiples will not be displayed
Please Vote here (Note this Idea is supported by Rob Collie)
Also PowerView Maps with satellite background will not display either
Please Vote here
During the Import Process you'll be shown what's imported as in the picture...
Also I'll just mention that if you are starting to build your Data Model and Excel is just your Data Source
PBI Home tab => click Get Data => select Excel => choose your file
However you asked about Importing a Pivot Table and unfortunately that is not possible!
Hope this helps! :smileyhappy:
Documentation:
6 Replies
ovetteabejuela If you've already setup your the Data Model in Excel you can Import it
in PBI Desktop => File => Import => Excel Workbook Contents
This will actually bring in your Data Model Tables AND your PowerView Sheets ONLY
Note that None of your "regular" Excel Sheets which includes the Sheets containing PivotTables will be imported!
Therefore if you don't have any PowerView Sheets you'll just see a blank page in the Report View after you've imported
the Workbook Contents into PBI - however your data tables should be seen on the right side in PBI.
Also if you switch over to the Data View or Relationship View you will see the Data Model Tables that were imported!
If you do have PowerView Sheets that Import successfully note that there are some limitations as not all Visuals are avaible in PBI
One of the most glaring omissions - charts with Vertical or Horizontal Multiples will not be displayed
Please Vote here (Note this Idea is supported by Rob Collie)
Also PowerView Maps with satellite background will not display either
Please Vote here
During the Import Process you'll be shown what's imported as in the picture...
Also I'll just mention that if you are starting to build your Data Model and Excel is just your Data Source
PBI Home tab => click Get Data => select Excel => choose your file
However you asked about Importing a Pivot Table and unfortunately that is not possible!
Hope this helps! :smileyhappy:
Documentation:
Thank you sean! you helped me complete my final project! ❤️
You can import a power pivot data model from Excel to power Bi. (File\import I think). You can't connect to an excel power pivot data model directly unless the Excel file is hosted on SharePoint enterprise.
You may be able to import an excel pivot table into power bi as a table data source but it will be static date load only.
I found this post and the below comment
You may be able to import an excel pivot table into power bi as a table data source but it will be static date load only.
is this feature available now in Power BI? Can i import an excel Pivot table into power bi as a table data source?
Import work fine, I've easly imported my Pivot Excel data to Power BI Desktop, thank you
Importing an Excel Pivot Table directly as a data source is still not supported, the accepted answer remains correct on that point.
However, if the goal is to recreate the same pivot table experience inside Power BI (so users don't need to go back to Excel), there are two approaches in 2026:
- Native Matrix visual connect to the same data source, use Matrix with the same row/column/value fields. Works for static layouts.
- Flexa Tables (AppSource) for users who need to drag fields and restructure the pivot themselves in the published report, similar to how they used Excel pivot. Free trial
