Semantic model folder appears when saving as pbip (SSAS tabular model live connection)

[eviswink]

Hello everyone,

I have a question. Recently, a semantic model folder appears when I save my Power BI reports (with a live connection to a SSAS tabular model) as a PBIP file. I have never seen this before. Does this have something to do with the June update?

When I compare the file structure of my Power BI reports to previous versions I see a new file modelreference.json (in the semantinc model folder) where the connection to the tabular model is stored. In previous versions this connection was stored in the definition.pbir file (in the report folder). Is this new? And is there a specific reason for this change?

Thanks in advance!

[v-echaithra]

Hi @eviswink ,

As we haven’t heard back from you, so just following up to our previous message. I'd like to confirm if you've successfully resolved this issue or if you need further help.

If yes, you are welcome to share your workaround and mark it as a solution so that other users can benefit as well. If you find a reply particularly helpful to you, you can also mark it as a solution.
If you still have any questions or need more support, please feel free to let us know. We are more than happy to continue to help you.

Thank you for your patience and look forward to hearing from you.
Best Regards,
Chaithra E.

[v-echaithra · Accepted solution]

Hi @eviswink ,

Yes, it's a new update and you can find the information documented here Power BI Desktop projects (PBIP) - Power BI | Microsoft Learn.

If this helped, please mark it as the solution so others can benefit too. And if you found it useful, kudos are always appreciated.

Thanks,
Chaithra E.

[v-echaithra]

Hi @eviswink ,

Thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Community.
Whenever you save the Power BI report, it creates a new folder called SemanticModel, and places a file called modelReference.json in it. modelReference.json stores external model connection details, it helps source control, collaboration, and deployment workflows. This file now stores the metadata about the external model connection.
The definition.pbir now references this external model via a pointer instead of storing connection details directly.
Please refer to this Microsoft document regarding semantic model folder Power BI Desktop project semantic model folder - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

If this helped, please mark it as the solution so others can benefit too. And if you found it useful, kudos are always appreciated.

Thanks,
Chaithra E.

[eviswink]

Hi @v-echaithra, thank you for your response. Where can i find information about the modelreference.json file? I can't find it on the Microsoft page. And is this change part of the June update?