Backlog of questions Report Server 2025: subscriptions, access groups, data model and accessdatabase

[ReyCarter_777]

Good day!
Please help us with issues that are very important for the implementation of company reporting. We have a local Power BI Report Server (2025)
1) Subscription functionality - as previously written in the community, only supported for reports with pagination. Is the situation similar at the moment? Will there ever be a subscription to pbix reports? How soon can we expect this? A very important function - competitors have it (for example, Tableau) and it is quite developed in functionality.
2) Support for a composite model (when in one data model for different sources different modes - Direct Query and Import). It is often necessary to use DQ for the SQL Server database, and import for reference books. This is not possible now.
3) When will xls file support finally be built into PowerBI Desktop RS by default? Now you have to install a separate AccessDatabaseEngine component for this, which receives monthly updates.
4) Is it planned to create user groups to provide access to reports? Now everything is configured via Active Directory server, which is managed by other teams - we have to interact and there are a number of problems. It would be much more convenient if this functionality moved to the report server side. (This is how it works in tableau, I really like it).

[v-csrikanth]

Hi @ReyCarter_777 

It's been a while since I heard back from you and I wanted to follow up. Have you had a chance to try the solutions that have been offered?
If the issue has been resolved, can you mark the post as resolved? If you're still experiencing challenges, please feel free to let us know and we'll be happy to continue to help!
Looking forward to your reply!

Best Regards,
Community Support Team _ C Srikanth.

[v-csrikanth]

Hi @ReyCarter_777 

I wanted to follow up since I haven't heard from you in a while. Have you had a chance to try the suggested solutions?
If your issue is resolved, please consider marking the post as solved. However, if you're still facing challenges, feel free to share the details, and we'll be happy to assist you further.
Looking forward to your response!

Best Regards,
Community Support Team _ C Srikanth.

[v-csrikanth]

HI @ReyCarter_777 

Thank you for being part of the Microsoft Fabric Community.

As highlighted by @AthmakuriRekha , the proposed approach appears to effectively address your requirements. Could you please confirm if your issue has been resolved?
If you are still facing any challenges, kindly provide further details, and we will be happy to assist you.

Best Regards,
Cheri Srikanth

[AthmakuriRekha · Accepted solution]

Hi There,

It seems that the PBIR is still in preview feature.

PBIRS supports email subscriptions only for paginated reports (RDL format). Interactive PBIX subscriptions are not available on PBIRS. However, in the Power BI Service, a preview feature called dynamic subscriptions is available in Premium or Fabric capacities.  

Composite models are supported in Power BI Service and Desktop, but not in PBIRS. There has been no confirmation of when this feature will be supported in PBIRS.  

PBIRS requires the Access Database Engine for legacy .xls files. There’s no indication that native support for .xls files will be added directly to PBIRS.  

Access management is handled via Windows Active Directory groups, but PBIRS does not offer internal role or user group management. This feature is not on the published roadmap.  

please find the reference article below:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/developer/projects/projects-report?tabs=desktop#pbir-cons...

Thanks!!

[d_gosbell]

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@AthmakuriRekha wrote:

It seems that the PBIR is still in preview feature.

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This is not correct, PBIRS is a GA feature. But the other statements from @AthmakuriRekha are correct.

In terms of the Excel files, if you use XLSX files these are supported natively. But the old XLS format does require installing the Access engine