PowerBI workspace : How 'Folder' and 'Move to' work ?

[jct999]

Hello,

I have a workspace (attached to a Premium capacity) with many semantic models and reports.
I would like to enhance the organization of all these models and reports, so I created a subfolder dedicated to a specific business modality to move some of them.

First problem : When I move one report and/or one semantic model in this subfolder, it remains visible in the original folder/workspace. It is not what is expected as it does not 'enhance the organisation' in my workspace.

Second problem: if I go to the subfolder and then delete the item I just moved, it DELETES this item in the subfolder AND in the original root folder/workspace. This element no longer exists anywhere in PowerBI! The work is lost and it is a nigthmare !

Does anybody experienced the same problems and/or can explain how folders + 'move' works in the PBI workspaces ?

Thanks

[jct999]

One more question : As the 'move-to' is not a move, how can I undo a it without deleting the concerned items ?

[nilendraFabric · Accepted solution]

Hello @jct999 

folders in Power BI workspaces are essentially a visual organization tool rather than a true hierarchical file structure. When you move a report or dataset into a folder, it is still part of the workspace and visible at the root level. The folder acts more like a “tag” or “category” for grouping items, rather than physically relocating them to a subdirectory

https://key2consulting.com/creating-folders-in-power-bi-workspaces

When you delete an item from a folder, it is permanently deleted from the entire workspace, not just removed from the folder. This happens because folders do not create separate instances of items—they merely organize existing items within the same workspace. Deleting an item from any location (folder or root workspace) removes it globally, as there is only one instance of that item

Items moved to folders remain part of the overall workspace and inherit its permissions.

Treat folders as organizational labels rather than physical subdirectories. Avoid expecting them to behave like traditional file systems.

But please share this as idea in this forum.

please accept this answer if this is helpful 

thanks

[jct999]

Thanks nilendraFabric for your very clear answer and suport.

So we can summarize things like this: In PowerBI

1) Folders are not folders

2) 'Move to' does not move anything

This creates a lot of confusion, not to say that it is a lie.
Microsoft shlould at least quicky change the naming of these features

Last question : How can we remove 'tag' without deleting the itel itself ?

[nilendraFabric]

Hello @jct999 

You ar right here.

What Power BI calls "folders" are actually more akin to organizational labels or categories. They don't function like traditional file system folders. Instead, they provide a way to group and organize items within the Power BI interface without changing the underlying data.