Forum Discussion
RyanW86
1 month agoRegular Visitor
Change to the way Power Query reads Excel files?
My colleagues and I have just this week encountered a problem reading and refreshing Excel files in both the service and Power BI Desktop. For context, the Excel files are stored in SharePoint; we ha...
- 1 month ago
Hi There,
It turns out that the software we use to apply Sensitivity labels is affecting Excel metadata, rendering it corrupt from Power Query's point of view. As such, we have elected to transition away from using Excel files and will switch to CSV files.
Thanks.
powerbidev123
1 month agoSolution Sage
Hi RyanW86
The “data has been corrupted” message is often not literal file corruption. In Power Query, it can mean the binary stream or workbook structure isn’t what the connector expected.
However do look out for the below pointers that may have caused this issue:
If you’re combining multiple Excel files from SharePoint, a single bad workbook can cause the whole refresh to fail. Common culprits:
- a hidden temp file accidentally included
- a workbook that opens with a repair message in Excel
- a file with a broken table object
- a workbook saved while still open/locked
Sometimes the SharePoint.Files / Web.Contents pattern breaks because of:
- site URL changes at the tenant level
- authentication token/session weirdness
- connector cache mismatch
- a library or file version that Power Query can see in Desktop but the service resolves differently