Import Power BI XMLA Data into the Power BI Service for Visualizations

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Use CData Connect Cloud to connect to Power BI XMLA and provide access to live Power BI XMLA data for custom reports in the Power BI Service.

Power BI transforms your company's data into rich visuals for you to collect and organize so you can focus on what matters to you. When paired with CData Connect Cloud, you get access to Power BI XMLA data for visualizations, dashboards, and more. This article shows how to connect to Power BI XMLA in CData Connect Cloud, publish a dataset from Power BI Desktop to the Power BI Service and then create reports on Power BI XMLA data in the Power BI service.

Configuring Connect Cloud

To work with Power BI XMLA data in the Power BI service, we need to connect to Power BI XMLA from Connect Cloud.

(Optional) Add a New Connect Cloud User

As needed, create Users to connect to Power BI XMLA through Connect Cloud.

  1. Navigate to the Users page and click Invite Users
  2. Enter the new user's email address and click Send to invite the user
  3. You can review and edit users from the Users page

Connect to Power BI XMLA from Connect Cloud

CData Connect Cloud uses a straightforward, point-and-click interface to connect to data sources.

  1. Log into Connect Cloud, click Connections and click Add Connection
  2. Select "Power BI XMLA" from the Add Connection panel
  3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Power BI XMLA.

    To connect, set the Url property to a valid PowerBIXMLA workspace. For instance, powerbi://api.powerbi.com/v1.0/myorg/CData.

  4. Click Create & Test
  5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Power BI XMLA Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

With the connection configured, you are ready to connect to Power BI XMLA data from the Power BI service.

Publish a Dataset from Power BI Desktop

Once you connect to Power BI XMLA in Connect Cloud, you can create a dataset in Power BI desktop and publish the dataset to the Power BI service.

  1. Open Power BI Desktop and click Get Data -> Online Services -> CData Connect Cloud and click "Connect"
  2. Click "Sign in" and authenticate with your CData Connect Cloud account
  3. After signing in, click "Connect"
  4. Select tables in the Navigator dialog
  5. Click Load to establish the connection to your Power BI XMLA data from Power BI

  6. Define any relationships between the selected entities on the Relationships tab.
  7. Click Publish (from the Home menu) and select a Workspace.

Build Reports and Dashboards on Power BI XMLA Data in the Power BI Service

Now that you have published a dataset to the Power BI service, you can create new reports and dashboards based on the published data:

  1. Log in to PowerBI.com.
  2. Click Workspaces and select a workspace.
  3. Click Create and select Report.
  4. Select the published dataset for the report.
  5. Choose fields and visualizations to add to your report.

Live Access to Power BI XMLA Data from Cloud Applications

Now you have a direct connection to live Power BI XMLA data from the Power BI service. You can create more data sources and new visualizations, build reports, and more — all without replicating Power BI XMLA data.

To get live data access to 100+ SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources directly from your cloud applications, see the CData Connect Cloud.