Use the CData ODBC Driver for Power BI XMLA in Microsoft Power Query

The CData ODBC Driver for Power BI XMLA enables you to link to Power BI XMLA data in Microsoft Power Query, ensuring that you see any updates. This article details how to use the ODBC driver to import Power BI XMLA data into Microsoft Power Query.

Connect to Power BI XMLA as an ODBC Data Source

If you have not already, first specify connection properties in an ODBC DSN (data source name). This is the last step of the driver installation. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs.

By default, use Azure AD to connect to Microsoft Power BI XMLA. Azure AD is Microsoft’s multi-tenant, cloud-based directory and identity management service. It is user-based authentication that requires that you set AuthScheme to AzureAD.

For more information on other authentication schemes, refer to the Help documentation.

Import Power BI XMLA Data

Follow the steps below to import Power BI XMLA data using standard SQL:

1. From the ribbon in Excel, click Power Query -> From Other Data Sources -> From ODBC.

2. Enter the ODBC connection string. Below is a connection string using the default DSN created when you install the driver: Provider=MSDASQL.1;Persist Security Info=False;DSN=CData PowerBIXMLA Source

3. Enter the SELECT statement to import data with. For example:

   SELECT Country, Education FROM Customer WHERE Country = 'Australia'

4. Enter credentials, if required, and click Connect. The results of the query are displayed in the Query Editor Preview. You can combine queries from other data sources or refine the data with Power Query formulas. To load the query to the worksheet, click the Close and Load button.