Power BI desktop error: Unable to open document

[Anonymous]

Hello - I'm getting a bit frustrated with Power BI desktop as I have this error (shared in the picture) frequently. I use desktop version: 2.87.1061.0 64-bit (November 2020).

As it happens a lot, everytime I have to be super careful to save everything properly and slowly before I hit the "X" button and close the file. However the chance being 50% of times when I re-open the file, this error happens.

My company also has the server so luckily I can save a back up version on my personal workspace on server, which I can download later just in case. However I'm seeking out to see if there is a solution for this error from the root cause.

I look forward to hearing your opinions and experience! Thank you in advance for your sharings!

P.S: my file name does not have any special characters, it contains letters, numbers; and underscore e.g. "_", no space

[v-robertq-msft · Accepted solution]

Hi, @Anonymous 

I think both space and underscore are OK to be used in the name, the important thing is not to wrap any symbols. And you cannot end the name with space or any symbol. Between space and underscore, I prefer to underscore because it is more in line with the naming convention.

Best Regards,

Community Support Team _Robert Qin

If this post helps, then please consider Accept it as the solution to help the other members find it more quickly.

[PhilipTreacy]

@Anonymous 

either one is fine but I prefer underscore in case I ever have to do anythign that requires using double quotes to wrap the name because it contains a space, or if used in a URL the space characters gets replaced with HTML code.

Phil

[Anonymous]

hi @v-robertq-msft - thank you for putting together the tips and resouces.

Between a space and underscore ("_"), which one do you recommend to name a pbix file? The reason I use underscore is to replace for space, as I thought space is not preferred in naming. Thanks for your thoughts!

[v-robertq-msft]

Hi, @Anonymous 

You can try to rename your pbix file name to make it only contains letters, numbers and space, and upgrade your desktop version to the newest one.

Here are some suggestions according to this kind of problems, you can take a look and check if you can solve it:

https://windowsreport.com/cant-open-power-bi-file/

https://windowsreport.com/power-bi-file-wont-open/

https://community.powerbi.com/t5/Desktop/Unable-to-open-the-document-issue/td-p/836227

https://community.powerbi.com/t5/Desktop/Unable-to-open-document/td-p/353656

Best Regards,

Community Support Team _Robert Qin

If this post helps, then please consider Accept it as the solution to help the other members find it more quickly.