Forum Discussion

Dayna's avatar
Dayna
Helper V
2 years ago
Solved

Lock down access to 'Transform Data' in PowerBI Desktop

Hello All,

 

I'm sharing access to a PowerBI desktop file but there's sensitive data within the report, I'm manipulating this in the Power Query editor, but aware that to see the information I've masked, they simply need to go into the editor and see a previous step.

 

Is there a way to allow access to the desktop file, but lock down access so they cannot get to the query editor?

 

Many thanks,

Dayna

  • Unfortunately, it is not possible to lock down access to the query editor in a Power BI desktop file. Anyone with access to the file can open the query editor and view the data transformations and manipulations applied in the Power Query editor.

    One way to prevent users from accessing sensitive data is to remove the sensitive data from the Power BI desktop file before sharing it. You can do this by filtering out the sensitive data in the Power Query editor, or by removing the columns containing the sensitive data. Another option is to publish the report to the Power BI service, where you can set up Row-Level Security (RLS) to restrict data access at the row level.

    Best regards,

    Johannes

2 Replies

  • Unfortunately, it is not possible to lock down access to the query editor in a Power BI desktop file. Anyone with access to the file can open the query editor and view the data transformations and manipulations applied in the Power Query editor.

    One way to prevent users from accessing sensitive data is to remove the sensitive data from the Power BI desktop file before sharing it. You can do this by filtering out the sensitive data in the Power Query editor, or by removing the columns containing the sensitive data. Another option is to publish the report to the Power BI service, where you can set up Row-Level Security (RLS) to restrict data access at the row level.

    Best regards,

    Johannes

    • Anonymous's avatar
      Anonymous
      Not applicable

      Hi, I have the same need.  But "You can do this by filtering out the sensitive data in the Power Query editor, or by removing the columns containing the sensitive data." is not an option because anyone can simply unfilter in the query.  How can Microsoft not have this functionality in Power BI??? They are already doing it in Excel.  Power BI is soooooo limiting sometimes.  Do better Microsoft.  A lot better.