Refresh from Excel - public link publish - free user

[Anonymous]

Hi everyone,

I have a PBI report which data source is an Excel file. This Excel file has time formulas which update everyday.

My goal is to have this report updated everyday by publishing it on My Workspace and scheduling a daily refresh. I've tried doing it by personal gateway, but it requires opening the Excel file everyday so the data inside the Excel file refreshes, and just then the PBI report takes the information updated.

Once having that solved, I'd like to have it posted in a public link, so everyone without Power BI can access to it with that link.

Is there any way to solve any of these problems being a free user?

Any help is welcome.

Thanks in advance!

[timg · Accepted solution]

hi,

You could move the time formulas to Power BI (e.g. import only the raw data from the excel file to Power BI, and then create the time formulas in DAX or Power query in Power BI). These will automatically update whenever you refresh your report. 

Regarding the publish to web option, the documentation does not mention you need a pro licence so you should be able to use this feature with a free account (https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/collaborate-share/service-publish-to-web#licensing). Do keep in mind that everyone will be able to open the report when you share through publish to web, and you may have to ask your admin permission to enable the feature.

Regards,

Tim

[v-robertq-msft · Accepted solution]

Hi, @Anonymous 

Has timg’s reply helped you to find the solution to this problem?

Because the “Publish to web” function can be the best way for a free user to share reports with other free users(or even anyone who doesn’t have a PBI account).

If you want to make the data in the Power BI update based on the current date, you can try to use the TimeIntelligence function in DAX to create calculated columns to achieve this. You can refer to this link:

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dax/time-intelligence-functions-dax

If his reply has helped you to find the solution to this problem, would you like to mark his as a solution so that others can learn from it too?

Thanks in advance!

How to Get Your Question Answered Quickly 

Best Regards,

Community Support Team _Robert Qin

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

[timg · Accepted solution]

hi,

You could move the time formulas to Power BI (e.g. import only the raw data from the excel file to Power BI, and then create the time formulas in DAX or Power query in Power BI). These will automatically update whenever you refresh your report. 

Regarding the publish to web option, the documentation does not mention you need a pro licence so you should be able to use this feature with a free account (https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/collaborate-share/service-publish-to-web#licensing). Do keep in mind that everyone will be able to open the report when you share through publish to web, and you may have to ask your admin permission to enable the feature.

Regards,

Tim