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techktopiacom
Regular Visitor

desktop reports vs service reports when refreshing csv files on onedrive

Could some kind soul either confirm my understanding or resolve any misundertanding - ?

 

Scenario: desktop designed reports, uploaded to BI Service for sharing. 

Current datasource = single local csv file (on my local copy of onedrive)

Reports and data currently refreshed locally and .pbix file then manually uploaded to the service.

 

The csv data file is recreated every few hours with additional data rows. 

The desktop-designed reports change very rarely.

 

I am searching for the optimum method to keep the reports updated with new data, "automatically". Many of the threads and posts I've read have amplified my confusion.

 

It seems that, in my scenario, if I store, (and regularly update) my CSV datasource on Onedrive, then I can rely on a 1-hour  data refresh ONLY for those reports which have been designed in BI service. Reports designed using BI Desktop and uploaded - these must rely on a 24-hour refresh for the underling data, and the entire .PBIX file be stored on onedrive... plus the csv sourcefile.

 

Is this correct, as far as it goes?

 

Thanks for any input...

Chris

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Anonymous
Not applicable

Hi Chris

 

That is confusing!

 

In my testing, if you have loaded a pbix from desktop using a one drive file then you have to use a gateway link to be able to refresh it. Thats the same in a My Workspace and an application workspace.

 

Howerver, if you create a report in the service using a file on your one drive. The service will maintain the refresh for you hourly.

 

Checking the PBIX query, its just using the local windows path to the file rather than any special One Drive connector.

 

Tim

 

 

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3 REPLIES 3
Anonymous
Not applicable

Hi Chris

 

That is confusing!

 

In my testing, if you have loaded a pbix from desktop using a one drive file then you have to use a gateway link to be able to refresh it. Thats the same in a My Workspace and an application workspace.

 

Howerver, if you create a report in the service using a file on your one drive. The service will maintain the refresh for you hourly.

 

Checking the PBIX query, its just using the local windows path to the file rather than any special One Drive connector.

 

Tim

 

 

I have read several posts regarding the refresh of PowerBI reports in the Workspaces on the PowerBI Service, when the report is created and published from a PowerBI Desktop file located on my Business OneDrive account with the same credentials as my PowerBI account.  My understanding is that the report on the PowerBI Service in my Workspace should refresh automatically (without a Gateway to the original data) about every hour.  In this refresh, any changes, updates, Data Refreshes I make to the file in my OneDrive Desktop version (after they are saved--not re-published) will automatically appear on the Workspace version of the file.  I have everything set up to "Keep Me Logged in.

 

If I am correct in my understanding, then it's not working.  If I need to set something up to make it work, then I need to know what that is. 

 

If the automatic refresh is not working because the password or login information to the OneDrive account is different from the one I use to log into my PowerBI Service and Workspaces, then it is my understanding that I should get a message that the auto-refresh is not working because the login is not the same.  I am not getting any message at all.

 

From what I read into the posts and information on this subject, I gather that the PowerBI Service and Workspace reports are aware of the fact that a published report originated on a SharePoint or OneDrive .pbix PowerBI Desktop file, and that no further set-up is required to activate the automatic hourly refresh cycle.  If my understanding is not correct, please let me know where I am off-kilter.  If I am correct in my assumptions, then please give me some hints as to how to troubleshoot the process.

 

Eventually we hope to get a gateway installed, but this is a large company with many restrictions on SQL file access.  It's a process to get the approval, and meantime I don't what to have to re-publish a report every day to keep things current.  Publishing a file takes a while and the Refresh process would happen in the background (which I much prefer).  

 

Thanks for any help you can give me.

Greetings Tim,

 

Many thanks for that! 

 

It seems that understanding csv data-refresh is proving awkward for a number of users - and it really is a case of "If I only knew then what I know now...".

 

...I would have designed all my reports using the BI Service, not the Desktop. 

 

Ultimately the huge utility of hourly data refreshes via a csv source is so compelling that I will now switch to the Service & re-do the reports - I think its worth the trouble.

 

Thanks again, Chris

 

 

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