Link to File Excel in Service

[JMW_87]

HI, 

I was hoping someone could help me please! 

I'm getting an error when trying to link to an excel workbook that has more than 8 tables and keep getting this error! 

I can't find anything online about this error and i'm stumped as to why this happens. 

Thanks!

[johnsebastian97 · Accepted solution]

Power BI Service typically scans Excel workbooks for 'Named Tables' (i.e., each named range or table in your workbook). If your workbook contains more than 8 such named tables, you’ll see the “Too many tables to load” error.

When you use Power BI Service directly (via “Get Data” → “Files” → “Local” or SharePoint/OneDrive), it enforces stricter limits than when you use Power BI Desktop. The service’s Excel connector is designed for relatively simple files, so once you exceed 8 tables, it stops you from continuing.

If you need all 8+ tables, the easiest way is to bypass the service’s limitation by using Power BI Desktop:

1. Import Your Excel File
   • Open Power BI Desktop.
   • Go to Get Data → Excel and choose your workbook.
2. Select All Necessary Tables
   • You can select as many tables (named ranges) as you need, transform them in the Power Query Editor, and build relationships.
3. Publish to Power BI Service
   • After modeling, go to Home → Publish.
   • Choose your workspace in the Power BI Service.
   • This way, you’re not restricted by the 8-table limit in the initial data import, because Desktop handles the data modeling. The published dataset in the service can include more than 8 tables without an error.