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Maeaex1's avatar
Maeaex1
Frequent Visitor
2 years ago

Best Way to let user upload/update data in data model / underlying source

Hi community,

 

what's the best way that users can upload/update data (e.g. an Excel File in Sharepoint) that is reflected instantaneous/real-time in a published PowerBI online report? I read about scheduled refresh, but this wouldn't be sufficient in terms of "real-time" actualisation. 

 

We have a PowerBI Report Server, but also suggestions for PowerBI Cloud Services (Pro/Enterprise) are welcomed. 

 

Thanks for your help & suggestions!

Best,

Max

2 Replies

  • Jonvoge's avatar
    Jonvoge
    Most Valuable Professional

    Hi Maeaex1

    If you need real-time data updates, the key is to use a data source which supports DirectQuery.
    This rules out Sharepoint as an option, and rather suggests using a SQL database or similar.

    My personal go-to is to build a simple Power App as the user-facing application to accept inputs.
    The Power App can easily be secured, and can be embedded directly in your Power BI reports as well for some pretty nice interaction. 

    I published a step by step guide about this here: Guide: Add Write-Back to Power BI reports with Power Apps - Part 2: Display write-back data LIVE in Power BI reports (linkedin.com)

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    • Maeaex1's avatar
      Maeaex1
      Frequent Visitor

      Hi Jonvoge,

       

      Thank you for your help & reply!

       

      Do you know if Power Apps can be programmed in a way that Copying the values of let's say 40-50 rows with 2 columns of an Excel Spreadsheet into the Power App would be possible? Or does the user then need to copy/paste every indiviudal value? The number of rows would be variable.

       

      I wish you a great day ahead!

      Max