Re-pointing reports/dashboards at different data sources

[nithyas]

Ability to build reports/dashboards pointing to a data source (database in the Development / UAT machine) and then use the same reports/dashboards pointing to another data source (in the Production machine.

[nithyas]

I bring the dashboards (connected to UAT database) to the service, so I can let few end users login to Power BI and check, if the reports are what they want to have. Once they confirm they are ok, then I would want to point to the production database. Currently, I end up rebuilding the reports, since I am not able to re-point to a different data source.

[fbcideas_migusr]

Thanks for the feedback! You can achieve this today by authoring your reports with either Excel (Power Query, Power Pivot, Power View) or the Power BI Designer. You can access the Source step in your query and reconfigure it to point to a different Server/DB, etc. as the last change to the file before bringing it into the service. Is that what you're looking for? Any disadvantages with the current solution?

[gordon_gilberts]

So In my world I have Test,Demo and a number of production instances for different clients, each of these environments represents a different Azure databases. Reading this my understanding was that I would have to start in the desktop environment, Use a Query in the datasource, build up my reports to where I want them. Then to deploy I would save a pbix for each environment. Then to deploy I would go to each group workspace import the pbix and re apply the credentials for that environment. Ok, that’s bad, but we are not talking mission critical here, so maybe I can live with it? But it seems that doing this way, I am unable to have the data updated more than Daily, whereas I could get 15 minutes when I was not using a query but instead a straight Azure database connection. Is there a way that I can develop and deploy to multiple environments using Azure database as my source and retain the 15 minutes?

[karaoan1]

Miguel, I have tried to change the database in the Power Query "navigation" option in PBI Desktop on MS SQL databases (on the same server) with database authentication. It doesn't work. Returns incorrect user can't be authenticated despite logon credentials being 100% correct.

[khaox]

We need to repoint report as maintenance task and/or during deployment (have single version for all enviroments)

[j_van_steenberg]

'@Miguel, that does not work for a Live connection. I need to change the report datasource to use a MD Cube from another environment and this is causing me so much trouble...

[dlocas]

We have 2 subsidiaries in other location with replicas of the software stack (databases...). When view reports, we need to be able to switch the database we're reading from using the UI.

[fbcideas_migusr]

We have experienced this same issue. Once you understand the issue, you realise the problem. In Excel, I can create a connection to an SSAS cube, then build out a suite of reports that point to the data source. Down the track, if I need to change the data source, I can simply go in and repoint the connector to the new data source. In Power BI it doesn't work this way. Here is a use case. 1. I create a content pack connected to a SSAS cube (via Gateway) 2. A user connects to the content pack 3. The user then copies the content pack so they can create their own reports 4. The user invests hours of effort and builds out personal reports 5. There needs to be a change to the Power BI PBIX file to repoint to another cube (for what ever reason). The change is made and the PBIX file is deployed, the content pack is updated. 6. But the copy of the content pack no longer works because it points to the old connection. And there is no way that the user can over-ride the original connection and point it to the new connection.

[elliot-parker]

'@Miguel.Llopis Will this maintain all the same tables, etc including renames?

[abourke]

Or a situation where there might be two datasets in online Power BI with the same schema, representing for example sales data in different organisational units. There is no way to interactively or programmatically make a report draw from one or the other.