Forum Discussion
Semantic Model can not add additional data
Hi toadle,
Thankyou for the follow up.
Based on my understanding, your semantic model was published from a PBIX file, which results in a read only model in the Power BI service. Models published this way cannot be edited or have new data sources added directly in the cloud. The Power Query Editor is disabled by design.
Please consider the following options, which may help resolve the issue:
- Open the PBIX in the latest Power BI Desktop and save it to ensure it uses enhanced metadata. Request your tenant administrator to enable “Users can edit data models in the Power BI service” under Tenant settings in the Power BI Admin Portal. Republish the upgraded PBIX. After this change, users with Build + Write permissions will be able to edit the semantic model in the service.
- If your workspace resides in Premium capacity, enable XMLA read/write and modify the model using Tabular Editor or SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS).
If these options are not feasible, continue maintaining the PBIX in Power BI Desktop and republish whenever changes are required.
Please refer to the links below for further information:
Edit semantic models in the Power BI service - Power BI | Microsoft Learn
Semantic model connectivity and management with the XMLA endpoint in Power BI - Microsoft Fabric | Microsoft LearnWe hope this information helps to resolve the issue. If you have any further queries, please feel free to contact the Microsoft Fabric community.
Thank you.
Hi toadle,
Thank you for the follow up.
Based on my understanding, the two replies are not contradictory, they describe different aspects of the same issue.
- The reply by Kedar_Pande is correct. If the Add data control is greyed out for a user, it is often because that user does not have Build permission on the semantic model or dataset. Granting Build permission on the dataset will enable many editing actions in the service.
- The reply by MasonMA is also correct. Certain kinds of datasets for example, live connections, thin/shared datasets, or datasets published from a PBIX file that you do not own, do not allow their data sources to be changed directly in the service. Those changes must be made in the original PBIX file and republished. In that scenario, even with Build permission, users still cannot add new data sources within the service.
The contradiction arises because the replies address different layers. One response (permission level) concerns who is allowed to make edits in the service and the other (PBIX/origin/type level) concerns what the service permits for a given dataset type. Both constraints must be satisfied for the Add data option to work. The user must have Build permission, and the dataset type must support in-service editing or adding of sources. If either condition is not met, "Add data" will be disabled.
Please follow the steps below to resolve the issue:
- In your workspace, go to Datasets, then to Manage permissions, and ensure you have Build permission on the dataset.
- If Build permission is already granted but "Add data" is still disabled, the dataset is likely a published (shared) or live connected dataset. In that case, open the original PBIX in Power BI Desktop, add your new data sources, and republish the file.
- If tenant or workspace policies block editing, request that your tenant administrator review and adjust the relevant settings.
For further reference, please consult the links below:
Build Permission for Shared Semantic Models - Power BI | Microsoft Learn
Manage Semantic Model Access Permissions in Power BI - Power BI | Microsoft Learn
Publish from Power BI Desktop - Power BI | Microsoft Learn
Connect to semantic models in Power BI - Power BI | Microsoft Learn
We hope this information helps to resolve the issue. If you have any further queries, please feel free to contact the Microsoft Fabric community.
Thank you.
Hey! Thanks for the detailed explanation.
OK, so - since I wrote that the datasources are published from a PBIX-file - it seems to be that this is the second issue then, whereas they are only editable locally.Is there any way to edit these somehow in the cloud environment or convert them to cloud-compatible data source so that colleagues indeed CAN edit the semantic model?
Cause in the context that I work in this PBIX solution has been around for quite some time now and still stands, just because the semantic model as initially been published from PBIX. Since this "no edits" limitation exists the semantic model seems to keep the "needs to be edited in the desktop app" forever.
We'd like to change that if possible.
When I open the semantic model there is a notice that Power Query Editor is not usable, because my user does not have full edit rights to the data connections that underlie the semantic model. Any change to fix it there?
