Issue with "Analyze in Excel" after Moving Report to a New Workspace

[LuigiBros]

Hi everyone,

I recently moved one of my Power BI reports to a new workspace and encountered an issue with the "Analyze in Excel" feature. After moving the report, I attempted to update the connection by following these steps:

1. In Excel, under the PivotTable Analyze tab, I selected Change Data Source.
2. I then went into Connection Properties and updated the connection name to the new one.
3. Despite these changes, the data does not refresh.

It appears that even though the connection name was updated, some parts of the connection string may still be referencing the old workspace. I’ve double-checked the basic connection settings, but the refresh issue persists.

Additionally, this exported file is treated as a master spreadsheet, with other Excel files referencing it. Therefore, simply downloading a new "Analyze in Excel" file isn’t a viable option; the only solution is to update the connection settings in the current file.

Has anyone experienced this before? Are there additional properties or steps that I might be missing to fully transition the connection? Any help or insights would be greatly appreciated.

[lbendlin · Accepted solution]

I then went into Connection Properties and updated the connection name to the new one.

The connection name means nothing. What you need to change is the semantic model GUID in the connection string.

[LuigiBros]

Hello,
Exactly as @rohit1991 and @lbendlin said.

I had to update not only the Connection Name but, most importantly, the Connection String in the Definition tab.

Please also note that this connection string is unique to each user and must be updated individually in everyone’s Excel file it cannot be copied and shared across all users.

I

[v-sgandrathi]

Hi @LuigiBros,

I wanted to check if you had the opportunity to review the information provided by @rohit1991  and @lbendlin.
Please feel free to reach out to us if you have any further questions. If the response has addressed your query, please accept it as a solution and give a 'Kudos' so other members can easily find it.

Thank you for using Microsoft Fabric Community Forum.

[rohit1991 · Accepted solution]

Hi @LuigiBros ,
When moving a Power BI report to a new workspace, the "Analyze in Excel" feature may stop working due to an outdated connection string that still references the old workspace. Even if you update the connection name in Excel’s Connection Properties, the full connection string, including the workspace ID and dataset ID, may still point to the previous workspace. To resolve this, open Excel’s Data tab → Queries & Connections → Connections, and navigate to the Definition tab inside Connection Properties. Manually update the connection string to reflect the new workspace and dataset ID, which can be found in Power BI Service under Workspace Settings or retrieved using the Power BI REST API. 

Additionally, ensure that the user accessing the data has the necessary permissions for the new workspace. If the issue persists, try clearing Excel’s cache and re-authenticating by signing out and back into Power BI within Excel. Since this file serves as a master spreadsheet referenced by other files, updating the connection rather than downloading a new file is crucial. By ensuring the correct workspace ID and dataset ID are reflected in the connection string, you should be able to restore the Analyze in Excel functionality successfully.

[lbendlin · Accepted solution]

I then went into Connection Properties and updated the connection name to the new one.

The connection name means nothing. What you need to change is the semantic model GUID in the connection string.