Power BI Connector for MS Excel

Connect to your Power BI account and retrieve data, refresh datasets, etc.

In this article you will learn how to quickly and efficiently integrate Power BI data in MS Excel without coding. We will use high-performance Power BI Connector to easily connect to Power BI and then access the data inside MS Excel.

Let's follow the steps below to see how we can accomplish that!

Download Documentation

Power BI Connector for MS Excel is based on ZappySys API Driver which is part of ODBC PowerPack. It is a collection of high-performance ODBC drivers that enable you to integrate data in SQL Server, SSIS, a programming language, or any other ODBC-compatible application. ODBC PowerPack supports various file formats, sources and destinations, including REST/SOAP API, SFTP/FTP, storage services, and plain files, to mention a few.

Create ODBC Data Source (DSN) based on ZappySys API Driver

Step-by-step instructions

To get data from Power BI using MS Excel we first need to create a DSN (Data Source) which will access data from Power BI. We will later be able to read data using MS Excel. Perform these steps:

Download and install ODBC PowerPack.
Open ODBC Data Sources (x64):
Create a User data source (User DSN) based on ZappySys API Driver:

ZappySys API Driver
- Create and use User DSN if the client application is run under a User Account. This is an ideal option in design-time, when developing a solution, e.g. in Visual Studio 2019. Use it for both type of applications - 64-bit and 32-bit.
- Create and use System DSN if the client application is launched under a System Account, e.g. as a Windows Service. Usually, this is an ideal option to use in a production environment. Use ODBC Data Source Administrator (32-bit), instead of 64-bit version, if Windows Service is a 32-bit application.
When the Configuration window appears give your data source a name if you haven't done that already, then select "Power BI" from the list of Popular Connectors. If "Power BI" is not present in the list, then click "Search Online" and download it. Then set the path to the location where you downloaded it. Finally, click Continue >> to proceed with configuring the DSN:

PowerBiDSN

Power BI

Now it's time to configure the Connection Manager. Select Authentication Type, e.g. Token Authentication. Then select API Base URL (in most cases, the default one is the right one). More info is available in the Authentication section.

User Credentials

Power BI authentication

Use delegated access (User Credentials) whenever you want to let a signed-in user work with their own resources or resources they can access. Whether it's an admin setting up policies for their entire organization or a user deleting an email in their inbox, all scenarios involving user actions should use delegated access. [API reference]

Follow these simple steps below to create Microsoft Entra ID application with delegated access:

WARNING: If you are planning to automate processes, we recommend that you use a Application Credentials authentication method. In case, you still need to use User Credentials, then make sure you use a system/generic account (e.g. automation@my-company.com). When you use a personal account which is tied to a specific employee profile and that employee leaves the company, the token may become invalid and any automated processes using that token will start to fail.

Navigate to the Azure Portal and log in using your credentials.
Access Microsoft Entra ID.
Register a new application by going to App registrations and clicking on New registration button:

INFO: Find more information on how to register an application in Graph API reference.
When configuration window opens, configure these fields:
- Supported account type
  - Use Accounts in this organizational directory only, if you need access to data in your organization only.
- Redirect URI:
  - Set the type to Public client/native (mobile & desktop).
  - Use https://zappysys.com/oauth as the URL.
After registering the app, copy the Application (client) ID for later:
Copy OAuth authorization endpoint (v2) & OAuth token endpoint (v2) URLs to use later in the configuration:
Now go to SSIS package or ODBC data source and use the copied values in User Credentials authentication configuration:
- In the Authorization URL field paste the OAuth authorization endpoint (v2) URL value you copied in the previous step.
- In the Token URL field paste the OAuth token endpoint (v2) URL value you copied in the previous step.
- In the Client ID field paste the Application (client) ID value you copied in the previous step.
- In the Scope field use the default value or select individual scopes, e.g.:
  - offline_access
  - https://analysis.windows.net/powerbi/api/Workspace.Read.All
  - https://analysis.windows.net/powerbi/api/Dataset.Read.All
  - https://analysis.windows.net/powerbi/api/Dataset.ReadWrite.All
Press Generate Token button to generate Access and Refresh Tokens.
Click Test Connection to confirm the connection is working.
Optional step. Choose Default Workspace from the drop down menu.
Choose Default Dataset from the drop down menu.
Done! Now you are ready to use the API Connector!

API Connection Manager configuration

Just perform these simple steps to finish authentication configuration:

Set Authentication Type to User Credentials [OAuth]
Optional step. Modify API Base URL if needed (in most cases default will work).
Fill in all the required parameters and set optional parameters if needed.
Press Generate Token button to generate the tokens.
Finally, hit OK button:

PowerBiDSN

Power BI

User Credentials [OAuth]

https://api.powerbi.com/v1.0/myorg

Required Parameters
Authorization URL	Fill-in the parameter...
Token URL	Fill-in the parameter...
Client ID	Fill-in the parameter...
Scope	Fill-in the parameter...
Default Dataset (select after generating tokens)	Fill-in the parameter...
Optional Parameters
Client Secret
Redirect URI (must match App Redirect URI)
Default Workspace (Keep Empty for My Workspace - select after generating tokens)
RetryMode	RetryWhenStatusCodeMatch
RetryStatusCodeList	429\|503
RetryCountMax	20
RetryWaitTimeMs	1000
RetryMultiplyWaitTime	True
Login options

Once the data source connection has been configured, it's time to configure the SQL query. Select the Preview tab and then click Query Builder button to configure the SQL query:

ZappySys API Driver - Power BI

Connect to your Power BI account and retrieve data, refresh datasets, etc.

PowerBiDSN
Start by selecting the Table or Endpoint you are interested in and then configure the parameters. This will generate a query that we will use in MS Excel to retrieve data from Power BI. Hit OK button to use this query in the next step.
```
SELECT * 
FROM Workspaces
WHERE Id='aaaaaaaa-bbbb-cccc-dddd-eeeeeeeeeeee'
```
Some parameters configured in this window will be passed to the Power BI API, e.g. filtering parameters. It means that filtering will be done on the server side (instead of the client side), enabling you to get only the meaningful data much faster.
Now hit Preview Data button to preview the data using the generated SQL query. If you are satisfied with the result, use this query in MS Excel:
ZappySys API Driver - Power BI

Connect to your Power BI account and retrieve data, refresh datasets, etc.

PowerBiDSN
```
SELECT * 
FROM Workspaces
WHERE Id='aaaaaaaa-bbbb-cccc-dddd-eeeeeeeeeeee'
```
You can also access data quickly from the tables dropdown by selecting <Select table>.

A WHERE clause, LIMIT keyword will be performed on the client side, meaning that the whole result set will be retrieved from the Power BI API first, and only then the filtering will be applied to the data. If possible, it is recommended to use parameters in Query Builder to filter the data on the server side (in Power BI servers).
Click OK to finish creating the data source.

Video Tutorial

Read data in Excel from the DSN

In Excel click Data, then select Get Data, proceed with From Other Sources and choose From ODBC item. This will get data from ODBC data source we created:
A small window opens, then simply select the data source you created in previous steps:

PowerBiDSN
Most likely, you will be asked to authenticate to a newly created DSN. Just select Windows authentication option together with Use my current credentials option:

PowerBiDSN
Finally, you will be asked to select a table or view to get data from. Select one and load the data!
Finally, finally, use data extracted from Power BI API in an Excel worksheet:

Refresh data source in Excel

When data updates in Power BI, it is not automatically refreshed in Excel. To update the worksheet, go to Data or Table Design tab and click the Refresh button:

Centralized data access via Data Gateway

In some situations, you may need to provide Power BI data access to multiple users or services. Configuring the data source on a Data Gateway creates a single, centralized connection point for this purpose.

This configuration provides two primary advantages:

Centralized data access
The data source is configured once on the gateway, eliminating the need to set it up individually on each user's machine or application. This significantly simplifies the management process.
Centralized access control
Since all connections route through the gateway, access can be governed or revoked from a single location for all users.

	Data Gateway	Local ODBC data source
Simple configuration
Installation	Single machine	Per machine
Connectivity	Local and remote	Local only
Connections limit	Limited by License	Unlimited
Central data access
Central access control
More flexible cost

If you need any of these requirements, you will have to create a data source in Data Gateway to connect to Power BI, and to create an ODBC data source to connect to Data Gateway in MS Excel.

Let's not wait and get going!

Creating Power BI data source in Gateway

In this section we will create a data source for Power BI in Data Gateway. Let's follow these steps to accomplish that:

Search for gateway in Windows Start Menu and open ZappySys Data Gateway Configuration:
Go to Users tab and follow these steps to add a Data Gateway user:
- Click Add button
- In Login field enter username, e.g., john
- Then enter a Password
- Check Is Administrator checkbox
- Click OK to save
Now we are ready to add a data source:
- Click Add button
- Give Datasource a name (have it handy for later)
- Then select Native - ZappySys API Driver
- Finally, click OK
PowerBiDSN

ZappySys API Driver
When the ZappySys API Driver configuration window opens, configure the Data Source the same way you configured it in ODBC Data Sources (64-bit), in the beginning of this article.
Very important step. Now, after creating or modifying the data source make sure you:
- Click the Save button to persist your changes.
- Hit Yes, once asked if you want to restart the Data Gateway service.
This will ensure all changes are properly applied:

Skipping this step may result in the new settings not taking effect and, therefore you will not be able to connect to the data source.

Creating ODBC data source for Data Gateway

In this part we will create ODBC data source to connect to Data Gateway from MS Excel. To achieve that, let's perform these steps:

Open ODBC Data Sources (x64):
Create a User data source (User DSN) based on ODBC Driver 17 for SQL Server:

ODBC Driver 17 for SQL Server

If you don't see ODBC Driver 17 for SQL Server driver in the list, choose a similar version driver.
Then set a Name of the data source (e.g. Gateway) and the address of the Data Gateway:

GatewayDSN

localhost,5000

Make sure you separate the hostname and port with a comma, e.g. localhost,5000.
Proceed with authentication part:
- Select SQL Server authentication
- In Login ID field enter the user name you used in Data Gateway, e.g., john
- Set Password to the one you configured in Data Gateway
Then set the default database property to PowerBiDSN (the one we used in Data Gateway):

PowerBiDSN
Continue by checking Trust server certificate option:
Once you do that, test the connection:
If connection is successful, everything is good:
Done!

We are ready to move to the final step. Let's do it!

Accessing data in MS Excel via Data Gateway

Finally, we are ready to read data from Power BI in MS Excel via Data Gateway. Follow these final steps:

Go back to MS Excel.
In Excel click Data, then select Get Data, proceed with From Other Sources and choose From ODBC item. This will get data from ODBC data source we created:
A small window opens, then simply select the data source you created in previous steps:

GatewayDSN
Read the data the same way we discussed at the beginning of this article.
That's it!

Now you can connect to Power BI data in MS Excel via the Data Gateway.

If you are asked for authentication details, use Database authentication or SQL Authentication option and enter credentials you used when configuring Data Gateway, e.g. john and your password.