User lookup during a session

[pmurz]

This is probably a bridge too far, ... but here goes:

Is there a way for a Power BI web report to allow a user to dynamically lookup ID fields to show names from a decode table available only during a session?   

The situtaion is that I have a web report that shows USER_ID fields where names would be much more understandable.   The system does not have the user names, but the users of the report do.   They have access to a table hat crosswalks USER_ID to USER_NAME values.  

It would be great it the web report could use that table to show the reports with the USER_NAME values when that table is available.   

Any help or insight is appreciated.

[pmurz]

Hi @v-jingzhang and @KNP ,

Thank you for the replies.  Here are my answers and a refined question:

• I use Power BI Desktop to publish dashboards and reports using  Power BI Service.
• My reports have an ID in them where a name would be much more valuable.   I do not have the proper names in my databases, so must use the ID values. 
• My client users access these published dashboards and reports through Power BI Service (via browser)
• My client users have access to tables that map the ID to Proper Names

Is there a way that Power BI Service would let them use my reports, but lookup the Proper Names dynamically from their tables?

Thank you!

[KNP]

Back to my first question and your last bullet point. What/where are these "tables"?

Excel, database, printed hard copies, SharePoint list?

If you don't have/can't get access to them, the only (complex) way I can think of is to try and incorporate a PowerAutomate solution, but you're not giving enough info to offer anything meaningful.

[pmurz]

Thank you, @KNP ,

My clients are generally large firms or enterprises that can publish secure tables / data for their users in a variety of ways.   That data (with names) will be available to them behind their firewall and would  be available for the session when they are connected to my published reports.   Many of the clients use Power BI in their organizations, but some do not.   I do not have any access to these lookup tables (ID -> Proper Name) , so is not available when I publish the report.   I could point to a table or location, but only they would have access to it during the runtime viewing.   That is why my published reports show ID only.   I would like to know if there is a way that Power BI lets a runtime table lookup occur that could convert ID to Proper Name for their viewing.

[KNP]

Without a data refresh happening it would be difficult.

I was thinking you could parameterize the file/path of the table with names which would allow you to have a dummy table for development purposes and your client could change it once deployed, to point at the correct path/file. This doesn't really solve the issue if you need it to work when the report is opened at runtime. You really need the names to be in a direct query source.

The only way I can think of that might work is to incorporate PowerAutomate to handle the refresh interactively from the report.

You may be right about the "bridge too far".

[KNP]

What sort of "Table" are the user names stored in?

Can you not bring those into the Power BI report?

Is the report published to the service?

[v-jingzhang]

Hi @pmurz 

What do you mean by the "Power BI web report"? Is it a report created by you or a report generated by Power BI like usage metrics report?

Best Regards,
Community Support Team _ Jing