Re. Data Analyst with Power BI certification learning path, Get data with Power BI Desktop module Screenshots about the import of a local file in Power BI Service (yes, even though module is about Power BI Desktop) are obsolete. After 2 hours I have not managed to import an Excel file from my own local drive! :-( Help would be welcome.

Hi Alain Bousquet , Thank you for reaching out to us on Microsoft Q&A forum. In Power BI service, we have the option to import Excel data from any shared location or OneDrive. Kindly refer to the screenshots below. If you are still facing any issue, please let us know in the comments. We are glad to help you. If the information is helpful, please Accept Answer so that it would be helpful to community members. Thank you.

How to import Excel data from local drive in Power BI Service?

Accepted answer

Syed Saleem Peera 1,870 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2024-07-05T03:12:02.5066667+00:00

Hi Alain Bousquet,

Thank you for reaching out to us on Microsoft Q&A forum.

In Power BI service, we have the option to import Excel data from any shared location or OneDrive. Kindly refer to the screenshots below.

If you are still facing any issue, please let us know in the comments. We are glad to help you.

If the information is helpful, please Accept Answer so that it would be helpful to community members.

Thank you.
Please sign in to rate this answer.
Alain Bousquet 20 Reputation points

2024-07-05T14:44:15.2533333+00:00

Respectfully, Syed, the option you highlighted is not the way to access Excel data from my local drive in Power BI Service. This option works ONLY for OneDrive Business users / subscribers.

On the other hand, the 'Upload' option does allow the user to browse his/her local drive and connect to the desired (Excel) file. As explained here:

But then again, why confronting a learning person to that way of extracting data (in Power BI Service versus Power BI Desktop) when it can be done more easily elsewhere?

Syed Saleem Peera 1,870 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2024-07-08T10:10:06.52+00:00

Hi Alain Bousquet,

Thank you for your patience.

Power BI Desktop offers a more straightforward and powerful way to connect to and work with local Excel files without additional steps or subscriptions.

Power BI Desktop provides more robust capabilities for data modeling, transformations, and creating complex reports. It also allows you to work offline and save your progress locally, making it more suitable for detailed data analysis and report creation. Once your report is ready, you can publish it to Power BI Service for sharing and collaboration.

If the information is helpful, please Accept Answer so that it would be helpful to community members.

Thank you.

Syed Saleem Peera 1,870 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2024-07-08T11:10:26.53+00:00

Hi Alain Bousquet,

Just checking in to see if you had a chance to see the previous answer. Please let me know if it was helpful and don't hesitate to reach out to us if you face any issue.

If the information is helpful, please Accept Answer so that it would be helpful to community members.

Thank you.

Syed Saleem Peera 1,870 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2024-07-08T14:17:38.2066667+00:00

Hi Alain Bousquet,

Glad to hear that your issue got resolved. Please don't hesitate to reach out to us if you have any further queries.

Thank you.
Sign in to comment

Share via

How to import Excel data from local drive in Power BI Service?

0 additional answers