Forum Discussion
Content pack sharing
I am totally confused: when I share a dashboard a user (in our domain) apparently cannot see in PBI (web site version) as they don't have a full O365 account to click the link in the email. If they just log into PBI with user name and trial license (pro) they don't see the shared dashboard. If I creat a 'Content Pack' they can see that but also all the reports, etc. with it. Further I removed the content pack but they can still see it and use the dashboard??
Question: how does this work? I want to share a dashboard with our Board Members, they have domain user names (logins) and PBI trial licenses yet when I share a dashboard they can't see it; I have to publish a content pack...... Further what are "free" PBI licenses for? What can they do? I realize this is documented (limited) but most of the documentation, at least regarding sharing, etc. seems to be incorrect and or BPI is not working as expected.... any help is appreciated.
Free licenses allow users to use content that is not using Pro features (refresh, live data access, etc.). So if you create a dashboard using Excel or Desktop and then manually upload it to powerbi.com and then either create content pack or share it, then free license users will be able to use it. The minute you set up refresh using the Gateway, the content starts using Pro features and Free License users will not be able to see it.
If you delete a content pack, then my expectation would be that it disappears from all the users who subscribed to it, if it does not, my guess is that it's a bug. When you deploy your dashboards using a content pack, all content artifacts are deployed with it (dashboards, reports and datasets). When you share a dashboard only the dashboard appears in users workspaces and they have to click on a tile to see the underlying report.