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jnixon
Helper III
Helper III

Can't edit reports as a guest user on an external tenant

How does an external ADD Guest User with Build permissions edit a report on a workspace?  In particular, we have a 'new experience' workspace with reports that are sourced to a dataset in another 'new experience' workspace.  Editing these reports using typical (Power BI Desktop) means works fine for those within the tenant, but guest users, even if admins on the two workspaces, cannot do so.

The Organization has allowed external guest users to edit and manage content in the organization through the PBI Admin Portal.  Is there a best practice somewhere that i haven't yet been able to locate on MS or other sites?

7 REPLIES 7
v-xuding-msft
Community Support
Community Support

Hi @jnixon ,

As GilbertQ said, to upload or update Power BI Desktop authored reports (PBIX files), guest users must use the Get Data experience in the Power BI Service. They can select Files and then upload the file to the service.

Here is a blog about it that you can reference.

 

Best Regards,

Xue Ding

If this post helps, then please consider Accept it as the solution to help the other members find it more quickly.

Best Regards,
Xue Ding
If this post helps, then please consider Accept it as the solution to help the other members find it more quickly.
GilbertQ
Super User
Super User

Hi there

Currently an external user would create the reports using Power BI Desktop.

Because this is a newer feature they would then need to manually upload the report (PBIX) to the App Workspace using the Get Data and then local file method.




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Thanks.  I've done that for the core dataset report and it does indeed work.  But it does not work in this scenario:

1. Dataset in WS1, created in PBI Desktop by External Guest user (me) and published to WS1 using the procedure you describe.

2. Internal user creates Report1 in WS2 that sources from Dataset in WS1.

3. In the host environment, with domain access to all data sources, I try to open the PBIX used to publish #2, but cannot.  PBI DT error dialog says "Unable to connect...We encountered an error while trying to connect.  Details: Looks like we're unable to access the dataset.  Please contact the owner of the dataset"

4. Exact same message occurs when trying to open a pbix that i downloaded from the WS2 Report.

 

I am wondering if there is a design oversight that does not allow for the editing and republishing (through PBI DT or the Get Data on the service) by Guest users of reports that are linked to shared datasets on another WS.  I say oversight, because having centrally maintained (and certified/promoted) datasets that are used to supply reports on distributed workspaces would seem to me to be a best practice.

 

Hi there

Just to confirm you first created the dataset, which you were accessing on the customers internal network?

Then another user created a report off that shared dataset via the App?

Then you tried to connect to report 1, and it gave you the error?




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*Yes.  I created the dataset in Workspace 1.  Doesn't matter though who creates it - I can edit reports in that WS directly linked to that dataset.  The problem is doing so when the report sources from a dataset on another WS.

*Yes.   Another user (from the internal organization) created a report, using the PBI Desktop, and published it to WS2.  I asked him to, because I could not find a way to create a report based on a dataset outside my own tenant.  Even though I am a guest user with full rights in PBI and ADD, and operating from within the org's network.

*Yes.  I could see and use the report through the service but when i downloaded the pbix from the service (or use the file that existed on the network), i could not open it.  I got the error when trying to open.

My situation is that i am trying to help a client build and maintain reports on their service. My thought for best practice was to have a set of centrally managed datasets in 'datamart' workspaces administered by their IT.  Other workspaces would be owned by power users, data stewards, etc. and would contain reports that would use the shared datasets, i.e. the ones in the datamart workspaces.  But i'm not able to help with those, due to the problems i'm seeing.  I just want to be able to use PBI Desktop to provide and edit reports in the power users' workspaces.

Thanks for your taking the time to help me with it.

Hi there

I do know that there are current limitations with external guests accessing data in another tenant.

What I currently do and suggest to organizations is to create an account which is an internal account, with a Power BI Pro license. This makes it then easy to work as any other user.




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That was our fall back option, and my client is OK with it for me, but there needs to be a certain trust level that might not extend to others.  So we were really pushing to explore the external tenant possibilities.  In the end, i'm making it work by using the Service-based report editing features.  It is not as efficient, but it works.

Thanks again for your advice.

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