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JeFri
New Member

Locally added mapping file not included in report refresh requires Data Gateway

Hello everyone!

 

For many years now I occasionally used local Excel files to import static mapping data, set the file to not be included in report refreshs and it always worked out fine. However, recently that neat little trick has stopped working and now I wonder. Has anyone else had issues in that area or is it just me? Am I doing something wrong, is there anything to remedy the situation?

 

For me personally, that would not be an issue, but some of my customers are having issues. While I also do try to get them to move to other cloud sources, i.e. putting up the file into SharePoint, there's been one specific customer who has had trouble with that and now their reports are out of order until we get a solution. Tomorrow I will suggest to them to set up a Gateway, but regardless of that specific situation, it leaves me wondering what has changed that we do actually require that now... Can any of you tell me something about this?

 

Edit: What I find most curious about the state of things is that the Service tells me that I need a gateway, even though there is just a single cloud source that I can configure so that I think while the local source is set not to refresh I don't think actually having a gateway would solve the issue. I will test that on Friday though...

 

Thank you in advance for your time and guidance!

 

Kind regards,

Jan

2 ACCEPTED SOLUTIONS
Idrissshatila
Super User
Super User

Hello @JeFri ,

 

so instead of adding it as an excel connector, since you won't be refreshing it, copy the data you need and paste it in a new table in power bi, in this way you'll be importing these data and using it without any issue.

Idrissshatila_0-1737615752235.png

 



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View solution in original post

v-pnaroju-msft
Community Support
Community Support

Hi @JeFri,

 

We appreciate your inquiry on the Microsoft Fabric Community Forum.

 

While migrating to cloud-based data sources is generally recommended, we understand that there are situations where this may not be feasible for certain customers. In such cases, configuring a Data Gateway continues to be the most appropriate solution.

 

It is important to note that the Power BI Service cannot directly access local files, even when these files are excluded from the refresh process. This is due to the cloud-based infrastructure of the Power BI Service, which necessitates the use of a Gateway for connecting with on-premises data sources.The enforcement of Gateway requirements by the Power BI Service is designed to ensure robust security and reliability across varying data configurations.

 

The issue you are experiencing could be attributed to recent updates in the Power BI Service, which have reinforced Gateway requirements for local files, even in scenarios where these files are excluded from refreshes. These updates aim to improve the consistency and reliability of the service. Previously, cached configurations may have allowed bypassing these requirements.

 

If you find this response helpful, we kindly request you to mark it as the accepted solution and provide kudos. This will significantly aid other community members facing similar challenges.

 

Thank you.

View solution in original post

4 REPLIES 4
v-pnaroju-msft
Community Support
Community Support

Hi @JeFri,

 

We appreciate your inquiry on the Microsoft Fabric Community Forum.

 

While migrating to cloud-based data sources is generally recommended, we understand that there are situations where this may not be feasible for certain customers. In such cases, configuring a Data Gateway continues to be the most appropriate solution.

 

It is important to note that the Power BI Service cannot directly access local files, even when these files are excluded from the refresh process. This is due to the cloud-based infrastructure of the Power BI Service, which necessitates the use of a Gateway for connecting with on-premises data sources.The enforcement of Gateway requirements by the Power BI Service is designed to ensure robust security and reliability across varying data configurations.

 

The issue you are experiencing could be attributed to recent updates in the Power BI Service, which have reinforced Gateway requirements for local files, even in scenarios where these files are excluded from refreshes. These updates aim to improve the consistency and reliability of the service. Previously, cached configurations may have allowed bypassing these requirements.

 

If you find this response helpful, we kindly request you to mark it as the accepted solution and provide kudos. This will significantly aid other community members facing similar challenges.

 

Thank you.

Hello @v-pnaroju-msft ,

 

thank you for your input! I understand the reasoning and I suppose we will not get back that shortcut. I will consider it when designing future reports. The customer I now had that issue with did install the gateway. Perhaps we will use that gateway in other reports in the future, too. It will make things a bit easier for them now, too, so there's some benefit.

 

Kind regards,

Jan

Idrissshatila
Super User
Super User

Hello @JeFri ,

 

so instead of adding it as an excel connector, since you won't be refreshing it, copy the data you need and paste it in a new table in power bi, in this way you'll be importing these data and using it without any issue.

Idrissshatila_0-1737615752235.png

 



Did I answer your question? Mark my post as a solution! Appreciate your Kudos
Follow me on LinkedIn linkedIn
Vote for my Community Mobile App Idea

Proud to be a Super User!




Hello @Idrissshatila ,

 

This is what I also suggested to my client. They do update the data source occasionally though, say 1-4x a year. With the Excel source, they just downloaded the file, refreshed the source locally from Power BI Desktop and uploaded again.

 

With the manual table, this becomes a tiny bit more complicated as they need to copy the new manual data string into the old source in Power Query to keep transformations in place. That is easy enough for us professionals but for others who do not work with Power BI / Power Query other than viewing the reports, it's much more complicated. Thus, the customer I had the issue with now actually did not want to do that, which I can understand, too.

 

Kind regards,

Jan

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