Forum Discussion
Direct Lake Desktop Edition Content Blocked
I'm having trouble editing Direct Lake semantic models created in Onle Lake. I encountered this problem for the first time today (I haven't opened this model in a few days). When I click the “Edit in desktop” option on, the page turns gray and displays this message:
This content is blocked. Contact the site owner to fix the issue.
The model won't open on my desktop. I've tried several solutions based on my research into this, and none of them seem to fix the problem:
1) XMLA endpoint: I can perform write operations trough XMLA endpoint, some posts says that the problem happens when XMLA ys in read only mode (but that is not my case)
2) Coockies: I allowed coockies, I reset the cache, clear the history, but nothing works
3) I created a new model to test via One Lake and another via SQL Endpoint, and the same problem
4) I tried to open the model in my personal device, and the problem is the same, so this is not relatd to company policies.
Please, let me know how can I fix this issue.
Hi @generop,
Based on the screenshot, this looks less like a Direct Lake model/XMLA issue and more like the browser/launch flow used by Edit in Desktop is being blocked.
is commonly seen when embedded Microsoft web content or sign-in content is blocked by browser privacy settings, tracking prevention, extensions, or third-party cookie settings.
I would first test the browser side:
- In Edge, go to Settings → Cookies and site permissions.
- Open Manage and delete cookies and site data.
- Temporarily set Block third-party cookies to Off.
- Set Tracking prevention to Balanced, not Strict.
- Disable any ad-block or privacy extensions for Power BI/Fabric sites.
- Fully close and reopen the browser, then try Edit in Desktop again.
If you do not want to allow third-party cookies globally, try adding these domains to the allow list:
- *.powerbi.com
- *.fabric.microsoft.com
- *.microsoftonline.com
I would also test opening the model directly from Power BI Desktop instead of launching from the browser:
Power BI Desktop → OneLake catalog / Power BI semantic models → select the Direct Lake model → Edit
Direct Lake semantic models are live-edited in the Fabric workspace from Power BI Desktop, not edited as a normal local PBIX file:
Direct Lake in Power BI Desktop
If the browser/cookie changes do not fix it, I would raise a Microsoft support ticket. There is a related community thread where Edit in Desktop for Direct Lake models stopped working for multiple users and Microsoft support reproduced the issue:
Power BI - Direct Lake model - choosing Edit in Desktop not working
Because this happens with new models too, I would not assume the semantic model itself is broken. It may be a browser/auth launch issue or a Direct Lake Edit in Desktop integration issue.
Best regards,
Solutions Architect · Microsoft Fabric Specialist · Parchitect💡Did my response help you? Clicking Kudos is a small gesture that goes a long way, it encourages contributors and helps the community thrive!
✔️Did I answer your question? Please mark my post as a Solution, it helps others find the answer faster.
4 Replies
Hi @generop,
Based on the screenshot, this looks less like a Direct Lake model/XMLA issue and more like the browser/launch flow used by Edit in Desktop is being blocked.
is commonly seen when embedded Microsoft web content or sign-in content is blocked by browser privacy settings, tracking prevention, extensions, or third-party cookie settings.
I would first test the browser side:
- In Edge, go to Settings → Cookies and site permissions.
- Open Manage and delete cookies and site data.
- Temporarily set Block third-party cookies to Off.
- Set Tracking prevention to Balanced, not Strict.
- Disable any ad-block or privacy extensions for Power BI/Fabric sites.
- Fully close and reopen the browser, then try Edit in Desktop again.
If you do not want to allow third-party cookies globally, try adding these domains to the allow list:
- *.powerbi.com
- *.fabric.microsoft.com
- *.microsoftonline.com
I would also test opening the model directly from Power BI Desktop instead of launching from the browser:
Power BI Desktop → OneLake catalog / Power BI semantic models → select the Direct Lake model → Edit
Direct Lake semantic models are live-edited in the Fabric workspace from Power BI Desktop, not edited as a normal local PBIX file:
Direct Lake in Power BI Desktop
If the browser/cookie changes do not fix it, I would raise a Microsoft support ticket. There is a related community thread where Edit in Desktop for Direct Lake models stopped working for multiple users and Microsoft support reproduced the issue:
Power BI - Direct Lake model - choosing Edit in Desktop not working
Because this happens with new models too, I would not assume the semantic model itself is broken. It may be a browser/auth launch issue or a Direct Lake Edit in Desktop integration issue.
Best regards,
Solutions Architect · Microsoft Fabric Specialist · Parchitect💡Did my response help you? Clicking Kudos is a small gesture that goes a long way, it encourages contributors and helps the community thrive!
✔️Did I answer your question? Please mark my post as a Solution, it helps others find the answer faster.Hi Parchitect. Thanks for the answer.
I tried the cookies setting as one of the many solutions I found while doing my own research, but it doesn't work either. In fact, I don't have any restrictions in that. I can confirm that the model isn’t broken, since the web editor does work. What doesn’t work is opening Power BI Desktop from the web to edit.
What did work for me was opening edit mode from the desktop. I didn’t remember that this was possible. I had read the documentation a while ago, but I didn’t remember this option.
The problem isn’t solved, but I can access edit mode on the desktop (which is ultimately what I was trying to do):
Power BI Desktop → OneLake catalog / Power BI semantic models → select the Direct Lake model → EditInstead of Connect (what creates a new report connected to the model in the service) here we have to select Edit. It opens the Direct Lake model in the desktop for edition:
I had the same problem this morning and it was affecting all workspaces. Clearing cookies & restarting the browser (Edge) fixed the issue. Thank you!
