Microsoft Power BI Output Tool
The Microsoft Power BI Output tool uses the Power BI REST API to upload a dataset from your Alteryx workflow to the Power BI web application. From there, you can create and share dashboards containing any number of data visualizations and reports. See Microsoft Power BI for additional details.
To maintain full functionality of the Power BI data connector, pay attention to compatibility with Designer.
Connector Version 3.2.0 and Later | Designer version 2021.3.4 and later. |
Connector Version 3.1.0 and Later | Designer version 2021.3.3 and later. |
Connector Version 3.0.0 | Designer version 2021.2.1-2021.3.1 |
Note
To install the Power BI Output tool, in Designer open the Power BI yxi file you have downloaded from Alteryx Community.
Sign In to Power BI
The OAuth method is used for authentication, so you can either use the default Alteryx application by selecting Sign in via Internet Browser or you can provide your own API application by selecting Provide authentication information. Go to Microsoft Power BI for more information on how to create an API application.
To schedule your workflow on Server when using the Cloud services, you need to select Use Service Principal after selecting Provide authentication information so that your token has an extended expiration, and you need to provide your own API application.
The login session is valid for 6 months.
Sign In via Internet Browser
- In Authentication Method, select Sign in via Internet Browser.
- Select Connect.
- Enter your credentials and sign in.
Provide Authentication Information
- In Authentication Method, select Provide authentication information.
- Enter Client ID and Tenant ID. If you want to schedule workflows, select Use Service Principal and enter Client ID, Client Secret, and Tenant ID.
- Select Connect.
- Enter your credentials and sign in.
Tool Configuration
The following steps will show you how to work with datasets:
- To create a new dataset in Power BI, go to the configuration window, then Data tab. Choose the Workspace you want to work with and select New Dataset.
- Go to Options > Output Options. Check if Create is the default option.
- You can specify your own Dataset Name and Table Name fields if you don’t like the default ones.
Note
Power BI allows you to have multiple datasets of the same name, so we recommend to modify Dataset Name.
- To work with an existing dataset, select it from the list of existing datasets, and in the configuration panel Options tab, choose an operation to perform:
- Append: Appends new rows to the existing dataset.
- Overwrite (keep existing columns): Deletes existing rows (all records in the dataset) and adds new rows to the table as per given input. The input column names are ignored, and the structure of the existing schema will not change.
- Overwrite (update columns): Updates existing schema by an input structure and adds new rows to the table.
Note
With this option, the structure of the existing schema changes according to the input, therefore some references in your existing report might not work.
- You can update multiple tables in the dataset at once, but first, you have to provide the mapping between the incoming connection and the existing table in the selected dataset.