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bi_analytics
Frequent Visitor

Power BI Dataset Experience in Excel

Hi all.

 

I'm trying to help a colleague connect to a Power BI dataset via Excel.

 

We used this article from Microsoft as a guide:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/collaborate-share/service-connect-excel-power-bi-datasets.

 

We want to load a specific table to an Excel file as a table (not a PivotTable).

 

According to the Microsoft article linked above, this should be straightforward:

insert-pivot-table-insert-table-button.png

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

However, when we try this, we only get the option to insert the whole dataset as a PivotTable:

Connect to Power BI Data in Excel 2.png

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've checked that all the requirements listed in the article are in order:

  • Your organization’s tenant administrator must enable the "Users can work with Power BI datasets in Excel using a live connection tenant" setting. ✔️

  • You must have Excel Desktop (Builds greater than or equal to 16.0.15128) and Excel for the web. ✔️
    (We're currently on Microsoft® Excel® for Microsoft 365 MSO (Version 2306 Build 16.0.16529.20226) 64-bit)

  • You must have Build permission to the Power BI dataset or have at least a Contributor role in the Power BI workspace containing your dataset. ✔️

  • You must have a Power BI license: Free, Pro, or Premium Per User (PPU). ✔️
    (My colleague and I both have Pro licenses.)

  • You can use Excel workbooks containing refreshable Power BI data in both Excel Desktop and Excel for the web. ✔️

 

Do you know why our "Power BI dataset connection experience" differs from what the Microsoft article described above?


I appreciate any help you can provide.

6 REPLIES 6
Martaspg
Advocate I
Advocate I

I have the same problem, when trying to connect to any dataset, I only get the "insert pivot table" and not the "insert table" option. All the requirements fulfilled

 

Hi Martaspg.

I've not yet found a solution. However, I've found two workarounds to achieve the same goal.

 

1. Connect to Excel using a live connection through a Power BI visual.

2. Connect to Excel using a live connection via OneLake. This is my preferred method, allowing me to select the tables and columns I want to connect to.

It's described in this article:
https://powerbi.microsoft.com/nb-no/blog/announcing-new-ways-to-create-connected-tables-in-excel-con...

"Create a connect workbook from the OneLake Data Hub

We’re also starting to roll out a new Export with live connection (.xlsx) option for the OneLake Data Hub experiences.

When you navigate to a dataset in Power BI, you can use the Tables side pane to pick a table.

We’re adding to the Export menu a new Export with Live connection (.xlsx) option. This creates a connected Excel workbook that shows a Connected Table just like we showed above, or with the Export to Excel capability when viewing an interactive reports."
a-screenshot-of-a-computer-description-automatica-17.png

foodd
Super User
Super User

Do you have both Pivot Table or just Pivot Table, and what is the source of the Data Set?

foodd_0-1694284232058.png

 

Many thanks! I only see "pivot tables" and not "inser tables" option - couldn't clarify the reason for this.

The workaround you indicated works for me, it's not the ideal solution but at least it works,

Does anyone know how to fix this problem?

Hi foodd.


I can only see PivotTable. (See the second screenshot in my original post.)

The Power BI dataset is connected to multiple sources, a mixture of different Web APIs, and some Excel files.

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