Identify reports where a table from a dataset is used.

[Vivek26]

we have 200 reports which are using 15+ datasets. Now  we want to decommission a couple of tables/columns and want to analyze its possible impact.

We are using pro licenses , Any ideas how can we do it ? 

Ideally we want a utility which would allow us to search a text (table/column names) inside all the pbix files we have.

[v-mdharahman · Accepted solution]

Hi @Vivek26,

Thanks for reaching out to the Microsoft fabric community forum. This is a common challenge when managing many reports and datasets, especially during cleanup or deprecation efforts. Since you're using Power BI Pro, there isn't a built-in Microsoft utility that can search across PBIX files for specific table or column references. However, here's a practical approach you can take. You can extract metadata from PBIX Files. PBIX files are essentially zipped containers. You can extract the internal files and inspect the metadata. First make a copy of a PBIX file and rename the extension from .pbix to .zip thenextract the ZIP file and navigate to the Report/Layout or DataModelSchema (depending on how it's authored). Open the Layout file in a text editor (like Notepad++ or VS Code) and search for your table or column names. This can help you locate references. Repeat this using a script (like PowerShell or Python) to automate scanning across multiple PBIX files.

Also as you're dealing with 200+ reports, manual inspection isn’t practical. The tools mentioned by

@Greg_Deckler can help you.

I would also take a moment to thank @Greg_Deckler, for actively participating in the community forum and for the solutions you’ve been sharing in the community forum. Your contributions make a real difference.

If I misunderstand your needs or you still have problems on it, please feel free to let us know.  

Best Regards,
Hammad.

[v-mdharahman]

Hi @Vivek26,

As we haven’t heard back from you, so just following up to our previous message. I'd like to confirm if you've successfully resolved this issue or if you need further help.

If yes, you are welcome to share your workaround so that other users can benefit as well.  And if you're still looking for guidance, feel free to give us an update, we’re here for you.

Best Regards,

Hammad.

[v-mdharahman]

Hi @Vivek26,
Hope everything’s going smoothly on your end. As we haven’t heard back from you, so I wanted to check if the issue got sorted.
Still stuck? No worries just drop us a message and we can jump back in on the issue.

Best Regards,

Hammad.

[v-mdharahman]

Hi @Vivek26,
We noticed there hasn’t been any recent activity on this thread. If you still need support, just drop a reply here and we’ll pick it up from where we left off.

Best Regards,

Hammad.

[Greg_Deckler]

@Vivek26 Probably need to look at third party tools like Measure Killer, PowerOps, PowerOptimizer, etc.