Forum Discussion
Best Collaboration Options for Reports
Hi Team
I am making a central report on PowerBI. This report is a joint venture of two analysts working on different domains. We are looking for a solution where we both can make changes to the reports, either the visual changes or the changes in data model. Is PowerBI service a good option and what are its limitations. Is there any other way?
The only way I can think of doing this that will work is you have both of the report authors connecting to the semantic model where they develop each of the pages themselves in their own PBIX. Then once it is ready you copy all the visuals in each page from one open PBIX to another open PBIX. You can do this. Because when it copies across it will look for the columns and measures which will exist in both of them. I know it is a bit manual but that is the only way I can recommend getting this done.
- Best Option: Power BI Service with shared workspace—both analysts can edit and publish, but not simultaneously. Use OneDrive/SharePoint for version control.
- Advanced Option: Save as .pbip and use Git for branching and merging—great for version tracking but needs discipline.
- Simple Option: Split report into sections, build separately, then manually merge—works but not scalable.
- Pro Tip: Centralize the data model as a shared dataset, then build visuals independently.
6 Replies
Hello maazbinsalman99
Yes, Power BI Service is the standard way. Both of you can edit reports in the workspace and make visual changes directly online.
However, it is NOT “co-authoring” like Excel/Google Docs. Only one person can edit a PBIX at a time. If both open and publish changes, last publish overwrites. In addition, Model editing must still be done in Power BI Desktop, the service only allows report-level edits (visuals, filters, formatting).
I would recommend using below strategy,
One analyst owns the dataset and model (published to a workspace). Others build reports on top of that dataset by using 'Get data' from 'Power BI Semantic Model'. This way data model changes is the owner’s responsibility, meanwhile both analysts can make separate reports and merge them later. This avoids overwriting each other’s work.
The only way I can think of doing this that will work is you have both of the report authors connecting to the semantic model where they develop each of the pages themselves in their own PBIX. Then once it is ready you copy all the visuals in each page from one open PBIX to another open PBIX. You can do this. Because when it copies across it will look for the columns and measures which will exist in both of them. I know it is a bit manual but that is the only way I can recommend getting this done.
- Best Option: Power BI Service with shared workspace—both analysts can edit and publish, but not simultaneously. Use OneDrive/SharePoint for version control.
- Advanced Option: Save as .pbip and use Git for branching and merging—great for version tracking but needs discipline.
- Simple Option: Split report into sections, build separately, then manually merge—works but not scalable.
- Pro Tip: Centralize the data model as a shared dataset, then build visuals independently.Hi maazbinsalman99 ,
Thanks for reaching out to the Microsoft fabric community forum.
Shahid12523 , GilbertQ , MasonMA ,
Thanks for your prompt response.
I wanted to follow up and confirm whether you’ve had the opportunity to review the information we provided. If you have any questions or need further clarification, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
We appreciate your engagement and thank you for being an active part of the community.
Best regards,
Lakshmi.Hi maazbinsalman99 ,
We’d like to confirm whether your issue has been successfully resolved. If you still have any questions or need further assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We’re more than happy to continue supporting you.
We appreciate your engagement and thank you for being an active part of the community.
Best Regards,
Lakshmi.Hi maazbinsalman99 ,
We’d like to confirm whether your issue has been successfully resolved. If you still have any questions or need further assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We’re more than happy to continue supporting you.
We appreciate your engagement and thank you for being an active part of the community.
Best Regards,
Lakshmi.
