Forum Discussion
Linking Direct SharePoint File URL via Web Not Working
iarerichard - That URL is not correct for the web connector.
You should open the Sharepoint Excel file in the desktop app, and navigate to File > Info. Once there you will see a button called "Copy path".
Click that, and then you'll paste that link into Power BI.
One more step, delete ?web=1 from the end and you should be left with a link that ends .xlsx
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Hey iarerichard ,
You're encountering this error because you're using a SharePoint page URL rather than a direct file path URL SharePoint expects when connecting via Get Data > Web in Power BI or Excel. The error means Power BI (or Excel) cannot parse or authenticate against SharePoint web-view links (_layouts/15/Doc.aspx?...) because they’re not true file paths. These are UI navigation links, not direct file access paths.
Correct Way to Get the SharePoint File URL
Go to the SharePoint document library where your file is stored.
Click the 3 dots (⋯) next to the file.
Select "Copy link", then: If it says something like: https://COMPANY.sharepoint.com/:x:/r/sites/... -- this is still not good.
Instead, open the document library in "classic view" or use the “Sync” option or open in OneDrive.
Then copy the actual file path, which should look like:
https://COMPANY.sharepoint.com/sites/YourSite/Shared Documents/FolderName/YourFile.xlsx
Make sure the URL ends with the filename (e.g., .xlsx, .csv, .xlsb, etc.).
Example
Instead of:
https://COMPANY.sharepoint.com/sites/FOLDER/_layouts/15/Doc.aspx?sourcedoc={GUID}Use:
https://COMPANY.sharepoint.com/sites/FOLDER/Shared Documents/YourFile.xlsx
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Best Regards,
Nasif Azam