CSV files from sharepoint - Permission

[Anonymous]

hi, 

I have built a Power BI report based on bunch of csv files using import method. The location of these files are in sharepoint online.  If I publish this report in Power BI.com do we need to provision sharepoint folder level permission for those end users to access the data? 

When I publish the report to Power Bi Service , the pbix file goes with the embedded data right? If the data is embedded and user is permissioned to view the report in Workspace , do they still need permission to sharepoint data folder ?

regards

[ibarrau]

Hello. It is not neccessary that the final users using the report in power bi service have permission to the folder in sharepoint. The account that connects to sharepoint data in Power Bi Desktop is the only one that need the permission to the folder. Then you have to re-login to sharepoint in Power Bi Service with that account in order to refresh data. That is the bridge between sharepoint and power bi, the one account you configure.

Hope this helps

If this post helps, then please consider Accept it as the solution to help the other members find it more quickly.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your reply Ibarrau. That means Power BI Service is authenticating the connection as me to refresh the data , what happens when the end users access the report from Workspace and App, it still connects as me?  It should be connecting as end user right ?

[ibarrau · Accepted solution]

The only interaction is the refresh and it is working with your account. The other users check an import of the data in power bi. It doesn't matter if it is from sharepoint, onedrive or database. The final users are checking a Power Bi data imported.

They won't need permission in sharepoint.

Regards,

[Anonymous]

Thanks, what you say makes sense for imported mode.  What happens if I leave the company and my AD account is closed?  What is the best practice in this area ? Do we use separate account for the purpose of publish and refresh and not chained to an individual user?

Regards,

[ibarrau]

The best practise here is to have a service account for conection that is administrated by the IT team of the company. You can ask IT team to create an account like pbi_service_admin@company. In that case you connect Power Bi with that account and it should work always because that account won't leave the company haha.

Regards,