How to change the data source of a report in power bi service online?

[Amrit_Bhatia]

Hi Team,

I want to change the data source of the reports that I have created in My Workspace in Power BI Service online.
I know the steps to change data source in Power BI desktop but I need to know how to change the data source in Power Bi service (online).

Thanks!

[mariussve1]

Hi,

When you say you want to change the datasource for your report I need some more details.

Do you want to change dataset the report is connected to?

Do you want to change the table name and/or schema name on one or multiple tables in your dataset?

Is it the dataset connected to a excelfile, csv file, sharepoint list or something like that?

This details will make it much more easier to give you the correct advise on how to do it.

[Amrit_Bhatia]

Hi @mariussve1 

Thanks for your query, actually I'm using dev SQL server database as data source and want to change it with prod database.

I followed these below steps to change the data source but stuck in 3rd step as I didn't find any option as "Data source credentials" unders settings:

1. Open your Power BI report or dashboard.
2. Navigate to the dataset you want to change, and select the “Settings” gear icon.
3. In the settings menu, find the “Data source credentials” section.
4. Click on “Edit Credentials” to change the connection information or data source.
5. Enter the new data source information and credentials as required.
6. Save your changes and refresh your dataset to ensure the new data source is connected.
   
   Note: I need the steps to change the data source in power bi service (online).
   
   

Thanks!

[mariussve1]

Hello again @Amrit_Bhatia,

I'm a bit unsure what @Kaviraj11 means. As far as I know, it's not possible to change the actual source via the method he provided. You can only change the username and password there.
Changing from DEV to PROD (actually changing the database connection string) is unfortunately not something that can be done directly in the GUI as far as I know!

However, you have several options:

1. You can use parameters, which allows you to switch between DEV and PROD via a parameter in the settings, but this needs to be set up in Power BI Desktop beforehand.
https://www.phdata.io/blog/how-to-parameterize-data-sources-power-bi/#:~:text=To%20do%20so%2C%20go%2....

2. You can use Deployment Pipelines. With this, you can have a DEV workspace connected to DEV and a PROD workspace connected to PROD. When you make changes in DEV, you can deploy these to PROD. This also requires setup beforehand.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/fabric/cicd/deployment-pipelines/get-started-with-deployment-pipel...

3. You can use the REST API. This requires some knowledge but should be feasible. You can use tools like POSTMAN or similar:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/rest/api/power-bi/datasets/update-datasources

PS! If its just something you are going to do once, you can use the "Try it" function on the link above:)

4. You can use Tabular Editor and connect to the model via XMLA. This allows you to make changes directly to your model using a third-party tool like Tabular Editor.
https://www.sqlbi.com/tools/tabular-editor/
As you can see, there are free and paid versions available.

PS! If you start using Tabular Editor (XMLA), it will impose some limitations on your model moving forward. For instance, you cannot download it again from the cloud, and as mentioned in the API above, you cannot use it after making changes with XMLA.

As you can see, it's not straightforward, and there are some choices you need to make. But it is possible, though with some technical knowledge.

Good luck 🙂

[Kaviraj11]

Hi Amrit,

To change your data source in Power BI Online, follow these steps:

1. Open your Power BI report or dashboard.
2. Navigate to the dataset you want to change, and select the “Settings” gear icon.
3. In the settings menu, find the “Data source credentials” section.
4. Click on “Edit Credentials” to change the connection information or data source.
5. Enter the new data source information and credentials as required.
6. Save your changes and refresh your dataset to ensure the new data source is connected

How to Change Data Source in Power BI Online - Zebra BI

[Amrit_Bhatia]

Hi @Kaviraj11 

I followed these steps:

1. Open Power BI report or dashboard.
2. Click on the “Settings” gear icon.
3. Click on "Power BI settings" under "Resources and extensions".
4. Click on "Semantic models".
5. Select the report/dashboard (in the left hand side).
6. Click "Data source credentials" and click on "Edit credentials"

Here, I have the option to edit or change the Authentication method, User name and Password only but I want to change the server and database also.

Please have a look into the screenshot attachted.

Could you help to change the data source of report in Power BI service?

Thanks!

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

Hi, @Amrit_Bhatia 

In the Power BI service, you generally can't change the data source of a report, only its data source credentials, gateway, and connection. Like mariussve1 said. If you want to change the data source, you can do so in Power BI desktop and republish it to the service.

Or you can also try using dataflows. You can change the data source in a dataflow:

How to Get Your Question Answered Quickly 

Best Regards

Yongkang Hua

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

[Kaviraj11]

Hi Amrit,

I would suggest you to initial setup a parameters for Server and Database Name. Then you can set change the database name and server name from the parameter selection.

Power BI Best Practices Parameters For Data Source Connection (60) (youtube.com)

Solved: Using Parameters for Server & Database - Microsoft Fabric Community

[Amrit_Bhatia]

Hi @Kaviraj11

I followed these steps to change the data source in Power BI, but I got stuck at the third step as I couldn't find the "Data source credentials" option under settings:

1. Open your Power BI report or dashboard.
2. Navigate to the dataset you want to change, and select the “Settings” gear icon.
3. In the settings menu, find the “Data source credentials” section.
4. Click on “Edit Credentials” to change the connection information or data source.
5. Enter the new data source information and credentials as required.
6. Save your changes and refresh your dataset to ensure the new data source is connected.
   
   

Is there any other way to change the data source in Power BI Service? If you can share step-by-step screenshots, that would be very helpful.

Thanks!