Forum Discussion

timbckr's avatar
timbckr
New Member
1 year ago

Problem Connecting Power BI to personal OneDrive

Hello everyone,
 
I am currently trying to import files that are stored on my personal OneDrive into Power BI. Previously, I did this through a SharePoint from my university, which worked without any problems by simply connecting the file path via "Web" and then logging into Power BI with the corresponding SharePoint user account.
 
Now that I have stored the data on OneDrive, there is no longer an option to directly copy the file path in OneDrive. Instead, I open the file stored on OneDrive and view the file path under "Information."
 
When I try to connect this file path, which looks something like this:
 
 
I receive the error message: "The downloaded data is HTML. This is not the expected type. The URL may be incorrect, or you may not have provided the correct login credentials for the server."
 
Connecting the data through OneDrive is required for a university submission, so it must work, right? I am really struggling here and maybe someone has a solution for me.
 
Thank you so much!!!
Need Help

13 Replies

  • FarhanJeelani's avatar
    FarhanJeelani
    Super User
    1 year ago

    HI timbckr ,

    You're facing an issue because personal OneDrive links do not work the same way as SharePoint or OneDrive for Business when connecting to Power BI. The URL you are using points to a webview page, not the actual file itself.

    Solution 1: Use OneDrive Sync to Access Local Path
    Sync OneDrive to your PC

    • Click on the OneDrive icon in your taskbar.
    • Sign in with your personal Microsoft account.
    • Sync the folder that contains your Power BI files.

    Use the Local Path in Power BI

    • Once synced, your files will be available in C:\Users\YourUsername\OneDrive\...
    • Open Power BI Desktop → Get Data → Excel (or CSV, as needed) → Browse and select the file from your local OneDrive folder.

    Solution 2: Use OneDrive "Web" Link for Power BI Service
    If you need automatic syncing with Power BI Service:

    Upload your file to OneDrive Personal.

    Get the OneDrive Direct Link:

    • Open OneDrive in a browser.
    • Locate the file, right-click, and select Embed or Share.
    • Copy the direct download link (not the view link).

    Use the "Web" Connector in Power BI:

    • Open Power BI Desktop.
    • Go to Get Data → Web.
    • Paste the direct link (ending in .xlsx or .csv).

    Solution 3: Move to OneDrive for Business
    If your university requires OneDrive integration, check if they provide OneDrive for Business. It integrates seamlessly with Power BI like SharePoint.

     

    Please mark this post as solution if it helps you. Appreciate Kudos.

    • timbckr's avatar
      timbckr
      New Member
      1 year ago

      Hi, yes that are options, thank you!.

      The Problem however is, that the data and all measures are connected to the URL of the Sharepoint. So i would like to just changed the URL of the DataSource, instead of doing all of this again.

       

      Im only working with the Desktop Version of PowerBI. Is there a possibility to generate the URL of the personal OneDrive so that the SharePoint and OneDrive URL could just be exchanged?

       

      Thank you!

    • timbckr's avatar
      timbckr
      New Member
      1 year ago

      Hi, sorry i dont really get it.

      I have to copy the code shown in embedded and use that as URL?

      What exactly of the Shown Url?

       

      Thank!

      • danextian's avatar
        danextian
        Super User
        1 year ago

        This is the URL format to be used with the Web Connector: https://onedrive.live.com/download?resid=AAXXXX&authkey=AAXXXXXXX&em=x&app=Excel

        You need to replace those strings in bold with the ones from the embed code of of the file. The replacement strings are highlighted below.

         

  • v-nmadadi-msft's avatar
    v-nmadadi-msft
    Community Support
    1 year ago

    Hi timbckr,

    May I ask if you have resolved this issue? If so, please mark the helpful reply and accept it as the solution. This will be helpful for other community members who have similar problems to solve it faster.

    Thank you.

  • v-nmadadi-msft's avatar
    v-nmadadi-msft
    Community Support
    1 year ago

    Hi timbckr ,

    I wanted to check if you had the opportunity to review the information provided. Please feel free to contact us if you have any further questions. If our responses has addressed your query, please accept it as a solution and give a 'Kudos' so other members can easily find it.


    Thank you.

     

  • v-nmadadi-msft's avatar
    v-nmadadi-msft
    Community Support
    1 year ago

    Hi timbckr,

    As we haven’t heard back from you, we wanted to kindly follow up to check if the solution provided by the community members for the issue worked. If our response addressed, please mark it as Accept as solution and click Yes if you found it helpful.

     

    Thanks and regards

  • v-nmadadi-msft's avatar
    v-nmadadi-msft
    Community Support
    1 year ago

    Hi timbckr 
    Could you please confirm if your issue has been resolved If so, sharing the details here would be helpful for other community members who may have similar feedback.

    If we don’t hear back, we’ll go ahead and close this thread. For any further discussions or questions, please start a new thread in the Microsoft Fabric Community Forum  we’ll be happy to assist.

    Thank you