How do connections to source data on SharePoint work after publishing from Desktop to Service?

[Jacobe7]

Hi, 

I'm very new to Power BI and am not sure how connections to source data function after I publish from Desktop to Service.  

I have several Excel files with tables saved to SharePoint Online.  I connected to those tables via Desktop so that I can create several measures for the reports and visualizations.  I then publish the reports to Power BI Service and use the visualizations in Dashboards.  

I receive data to add to the Excel files weekly.  If I add the data to the tables in the Excel files saved on SharePoint Online, will the reports in Service refresh and update automatically and care the updates over to the tiles in the Dashboard?  Or, do I need to refresh the Desktop file after I add the data and publish again to Service?

Thanks for your help!  

[v-yuta-msft]

@Jacobe7 ,

Power bi has specific connector for sharepoint online list. Yes, the files which are saved in sharepoint online will be automatically refreshed per hour and you do not need to configure schedule refresh or refresh in desktop and then publish to service.

Community Support Team _ Jimmy Tao

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

[Jacobe7]

Thanks for your help. 

If the file is saved as an Excel document with tables in a SharePoint document library, but not as a SharePoint list, will it still refresh?  And, if the file was accessed originally in Desktop to create measures and calculated columns, then published to Service, does the published report on Service still access the Excel file and will it refresh?  Or, do I need to re-establish the connection to the Excel file after it's published to service?