Ways to refresh file on sharepoint without pro account

[SteveCampbell]

Is there any way to have a report built in desktop have a dataset refreshed from a file in sharepoint without having pro features? The only way I've found is to connect to an excel file from the power bi app online, but I don't want to make my reports again (also, how do you add measures in this?).

It says that the free version can have a scheduled refresh up to once a day, but I'm very confused on what data this is. My data is not using a gateway. I can move it to another location or service - is there any way this can be done?

Thank you,

[v-qiuyu-msft · Accepted solution]

Hi @SteveCampbell,

1. Is there any way to have a report built in desktop have a dataset refreshed from a file in sharepoint without having pro features? The only way I've found is to connect to an excel file from the power bi app online, but I don't want to make my reports again (also, how do you add measures in this?).

Based on my test, to retrieve data from a Excel file which stores in SharePoint online site in Power BI desktop, we can follow the steps in this article to use web data source: Use OneDrive for Business links in Power BI Desktop. To create measures in desktop, you can refer to this article: Tutorial: Create your own measures in Power BI Desktop .

As the SharePoint online doesn't require gateways, we can publish the report to workspace which uses Power BI free account.

2. It says that the free version can have a scheduled refresh up to once a day, but I'm very confused on what data this is. My data is not using a gateway. I can move it to another location or service - is there any way this can be done?

The supported data sources to use schedule refresh list in this article: What’s supported? . As you are using free account, you need to know which are pro content, see: Power BI Pro content - what is it?. So in your environment, except the data sources which are pro features, other data sources should support schedule refresh daily or weekly.

By the way, you can also try the Power Bi Pro trail follow this article to experience pro features: Power BI Pro 60 day trial.

Best Regards,
Qiuyun Yu

[BhaveshPatel]

You can check third party product "Power Update". It is free for a single file and very good solution without any refresh limits.

Check out at here: https://www.powerpivotpro.com/2015/02/introducing-power-update/