Power BI V2 workspaces recently (May 2019) entered into general availability. The biggest difference between a V1 and V2 Power BI workspace is the fact that a V2 workspace is not backed by an Office 365 group, and a V1 workspace is. One area that this change affects a great deal is the “Get data” experience in the Power BI service (browser). This post outlines the differences, and describes the configuration options.

Data connections to files stored in SharePoint and OneDrive have certain unique characteristics when they are created in the browser. For example, these connections are automatically refreshed hourly unless that option is disabled.

V1 workspaces automatically offer the connection to the Documents library in the underlying SharePoint site. V2 workspaces do not automatically offer this option, as there is no underpinning SharePoint site. However, any V2 workspace can be connected to any Modern SharePoint site, and in this way, the option is more flexible. For the sake of clarity, a Modern SharePoint site is one that is backed by an Office 365 Group, and has an email address.

Let’s explore the 4 possible experiences when using “Get Data” and then choosing “Files” in the Power BI service. There are 4 possible experiences, depending on the type and configuration of the workspace;

Personal workspace
V1 workspace
V2 workspace not connected to a site
V2 workspace connected to a site

In each example below, the options are reached by selecting “Get Data” and then choosing “Files”. The type of files that can be imported are CSV, Excel, PBIX (Power BI Desktop files) and RDL (paginated reports).

Personal workspace

The personal workspace is the only workspace available using the free Power BI license. It is not connected to any SharePoint sites, and provides 4 options for importing.

“Local File” can be used for importing files from a local file store. Files imported in this manner are not automatically refreshed, and without the use of a gateway, cannot be. This option is available for every workspace type and will not be discussed further. “Learn about importing files” is a simple help link, likewise available to all workspace types.

OneDrive – Business connects to the currently logged in user’s OneDrive for Business storage. This is the OneDrive that is associated with “School or Organization” account which is stored in Azure Active Directory.

OneDrive – Personal connects to a user’s personal, or consumer OneDrive account. This is the type of OneDrive that is accessed using a “personal” account (otherwise known as a Microsoft account, or MSA). The personal workspace is the only type of workspace that allows a connection to personal OneDrive content.

SharePoint – Team Sites allows files stored in any SharePoint Online library to be loaded. Files stored in SharePoint on-premises can be loaded into Power BI, but only through Power BI Desktop. This method is online only.

Data imported in this fashion will be updated hourly with the exception of “Local File”. This will also be true of any OneDrive or SharePoint source referenced below.

V1 workspace

A Power BI V1 workspace is connected to an Office 365 Group, and therefore backed by a SharePoint site. This is reflected in the Files experience in the service.

Here we see 3 import options. Local File, SharePoint – Team Sites, and “Learn about..” are exactly the same as with personal workspaces. However, both OneDrive options from there are unavailable. The “OneDrive – XXXX” option is different, and bears some explanation.

In the image above, “Demos” is the name of the V1 workspace. Selecting this option will open the SharePoint library named “Documents” in the SharePoint site that is associated with this workspace and Office 365 group.

In my opinion, this option is poorly named, which leads to confusion. This container truly has nothing to do with OneDrive – it is a SharePoint library. We already have enough different “OneDrives” to keep track of, but I digress.

V2 workspace (not connected to a site)

The V2 workspace is not associated with a SharePoint site, and therefore, there is no Documents library to connect to. The option is instead replaced with the ability to connect to the user’s OneDrive for Business (OneDrive – Business) storage, as in the personal workspace. In essence, this experience is identical to the personal workspace experience minus the ability to connect to personal OneDrives.

V2 workspace (connected to a site)

Although a V2 workspace is not inherently connected to a SharePoint site, it can be manually connected to one. This restores the capability missing from V1 workspaces, while being more flexible. The workspace is no longer bound to a specific site, but can be configured to work with any Modern SharePoint site. In addition, the same site can be bound to multiple workspaces.

The “Modern” distinction above is important. The SharePoint site itself must be backed by an Office 365 group, as that is how it is identified in Power BI.

Associating a workspace with a SharePoint site

With V2 workspaces, site connection is now a property of the workspace. To edit workspace properties, select either the workspace settings button in the ribbon, or the ellipsis beside the workspace in the workspace list.

The connection setting is in the advanced section, and is identified as the “Workspace OneDrive”.

The important thing to note here is that you do NOT enter the URL of the SharePoint site in this field. This field is expecting the address of it in email format (ie demos@xxxx.com). All Modern Sharepoint sites are bound to an Office 365 group, and the email address is the address of that group.

Get Data – File options for a V2 connected site

Once connected, the “Get Data” – “File” options will be much the same as with an unconnected workspace, but with the “OneDrive – SiteName” option added.

I still take exception with the name presented above, in my opinion it should be “Site – SiteName” or “SharePoint – SiteName site” and use a SharePoint option. However, once connected files in the connected site can be imported easily into the Power BI service.

Usage

It is important to understand what the connected site is used for in Power BI. Connecting a site allows for files stored in a SharePoint library to be either imported into the service (all supported file types), or connected to (Excel files). This feature does NOT allow Power BI content to be stored in a SharePoint library

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Power BI datasets and dataflows are the two native data sources for Power BI reports. Connecting to a datasets allows a report to be built against an existing Power BI dataset in place, and dataflows represent a source of data that has had transformations applied to it. When connecting to Power BI dataflows, data is imported, into a data model but the connection to a Power BI dataset is a direct connection.

The two sources handle identity in drastically different ways, and this can lead to confusion when dealing with multiple accounts and tenants. This post is an attempt to help clarify this confusion

Connecting to a dataset

To connect to a Power BI dataset, select the “Get Data” button from the ribbon, select the “Power BI” tab, select Power BI dataset, and finally the “Connect” button.

Next, if a user is signed into Power BI Desktop a list of workspaces and their datasets are presented. If not, the user is prompted to sign in. The dataset can then be connected.

The important thing to notice here is the list of workspaces itself. The list presented is a list of the workspaces available in the tenant belonging to the currently signed in user. It is the same list of workspaces that can be chosen as a publishing target. It should also be noted that the identity of the user is displayed in the upper right corner of the dialog box, and the identity can be changed directly from there.

Connecting to a dataset in a different tenant

The signed in user can be changed by selecting “Sign in” at the upper right of the Power BI Desktop client, or within the connection dialog itself. If the user signs into a different account (in a different tenant), a different list of workspaces and datasets will then be offered. The dataset source is hard linked to the currently signed in user. In this way, the Power BI dataset source behaves differently than all other data sources, which maintain connection credentials separately.

Connecting to a Dataflow

Connecting to a dataflow follows the same steps as a dataset, with the exception that the “Power BI dataflows” option is chosen.

At this point, a Power BI data connection dialog will be shown.

There is only one authentication option because Power BI dataflows only support one authentication option.

Unlike datasets, dataflows are NOT linked to the currently signed in user. The connection is authenticated, not the current user. The “Sign In” button must be selected, and authentication completed to connect to a Power BI dataflow.

Once signed in, selecting the “Connect” button will display a list of workspaces that contain dataflows. Expanding the workspace and then the dataflow will expose a list of entities that can be imported into the Power BI data model.

The connection information for the dataflow is cached with Power BI Desktop, and subsequent connections to dataflows will not require the user to sign in. The same authentication credentials will be used.

it should be noted that unlike the dataset connection dialog, this one does not show the current credentials and does not allow those credentials to be changed. This makes the process of changing credentials to use dataflows in multiple tenant somewhat less than intuitive.

Connecting to a dataflow in a different tenant

With datasets, changing the currently signed in user will result in a different set of datasets being presented when the dataset option is chosen. This is different with dataflows. No matter what user is currently logged in, the cached credentials will be used.

This behaviour can be confusing when multiple tenants need to be accessed. With most other data sources, the cached credentials are linked with the specific data source. For example, when two different SQL databases are connected, Power BI caches two different sets of credentials.

To connect to dataflows in a different tenant, the current connection information needs to be cleared. This can be done with any data source, but it is particularly important to dataflows as it is the only way to switch connection credentials.

To clear the credentials for the dataset, select “File”, “Options and Settings” and the “Data Source Settings”. The Data source settings dialog will then be presented.

Clearing the credentials for a Power BI dataflow

Unlike most other data sources which can have multiple entries in the list, one for each unique data source, there will only be one source for dataflows. It is named “Power BI dataflows. For example, if the current instance of Power BI Desktop has authenticated to 3 different SQL servers, there will be three SQL Server connections in this list, but there will only be one for dataflows, no matter how many tenants that have been connected.

To switch tenants, the current credentials must be either cleared, or edited. The cached credentials can be fully removed by selecting “Clear Permissions” or they can be changed by selecting “Edit Permissions”. If cleared, the user will be prompted for credentials the next time the dataflow option is selected. If edited, the new credentials will be stored.

Conclusions, and recommendations

It is possible to work with multiple tenants for both connected datasets and dataflows. However, the methods for doing so are completely different for either option. This can obviously lead to some confusion.

It is my opinion that this behaviour should be changed, and that the behaviour or connected datasets is the more intuitive. If the credentials for the currently logged in user were user for both types of connection, it would be much more intuitive, and also easier to user for report designers.

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