Importing an overwritten excel file

[MadMitch]

Hello,

I have built a dashboard that gathers data from a downloaded Excel file, it is saved as SafetyCulture-Issues.xlxs, and ity contains data for March. The file origionally had the file name SafetyCulrure-Issues-20260423.xlxs, but was saved as  'SafetyCulture-Issues.xlxs'.

I have now downloaded file SafetyCulrure-Issues-20260427.xlxsI saved this as 'SafetyCulture-Issues.xlxs', overwriting the previous file.

Power BI returns an error, as it is still looking for SafetyCulrure-Issues-20260423.xlxs, despite me removing the numeric values when saving.

So, in essence, I download a file every month to get up to date data, and just want to add the new data to the original dashboard.

Be gentle here, as power Bi is very very new to me, and I'm 65. Simple language only please 😉 I may not even be on the right message board.

[MadMitch · Accepted solution]

Just by way of update. I now download the new excel spreadsheet, and save as a xlxs file. I then copy the contents, and paste it into the original file.

Seems to be the easiest and quickest way, and is working well at the moment.

Thanks for all your suggestions. It's much appreciated.

Mitch.

[v-hashadapu]

Hi @MadMitch , Thank you for the update and the details regarding your solution. We're glad to hear the issue has been resolved.

If you have any more questions, please feel free to create a new post. We're always happy to help.

[cengizhanarslan]

Step 1) Open your dashboard file in Power BI Desktop (the application on your computer, not the website).

Step 2) At the top of the screen click Home, then look for a button called Transform data and click the small arrow underneath it.

Step 3) From the dropdown that appears, click Data source settings.

Step 4) You will see the old file path listed. Click on it once to select it, then click the button that says Change Source at the bottom.

Step 5) A window will open asking you to find the file. Navigate to where you saved SafetyCulture-Issues.xlsx on your computer and select it. Click OK.

Step 6) Click Close, then click Refresh at the top of the screen.

[MadMitch]

Not happening for me I'm afraid, I get:

Refresh

10 queries are blocked by the following error:

SafetyCulture-Issues-20260428-1

The key didn't match any rows in the table.

[lbendlin]

Instead of overwriting files and/or renaming them you can consider to use the original files as is.  Place them in an easily accessible location (for example a SharePoint folder),  and then ingest them all.  That gives you flexibility on what to keep and what to compare  (akin to a manual "Slowly Changing Dimension"  processing).

[MadMitch]

OK, I just tried that and got 

Refresh

10 queries are blocked by the following error:

SafetyCulture-Issues-20260428-1

The key didn't match any rows in the table.

The file contents are the same, just with additional rows of data.

[d_m_LNK]

Usually when you get the "The key didn't match any rows in the table." error is because of a blank table or file or cant find the referenced sheet name/file.  Check that the tab names of your excel match what your original file was.  Ex( "Sheet1" in both files).  This will need to be the same every time as the import process looks at the sheet name as well as the contents of the file.  Also check the source settings in your Power BI file as @cengizhanarslan  and @Shai_Karmani  suggested as the file is still looking for a file in that location that doesn't exist anymore and thus the error.

[MadMitch]

I'll give the tab name thing tomorrow and revert back.

Thanks.

[Shai_Karmani]

Power BI saves the full file path inside the report, not just the file name. When you saved on top of the old file, Windows kept the new file but Power BI still has the original path with the date in it stored in the query, so the refresh keeps reaching for SafetyCulture-Issues-20260423.xlxs.

To fix it, in Power BI Desktop go to the Home ribbon, click Transform data, then Data source settings. You should see the old path with the date listed. Click it, then click Change Source, browse to your current SafetyCulture-Issues.xlxs file and click OK, then Close. Click Apply Changes when it offers and refresh, and the report should pull the new month.

Going forward, always save the file with the same fixed name SafetyCulture-Issues.xlxs in the same folder, and a refresh in Power BI is all you need each month.

If that was helpful, please give a thumbs up and mark it as resolved.

Thanks,

Shai Karmani