Skip to quizIntroduction to Power BI
Power BI turns data into interactive reports. The usual workflow is to connect to data, prepare it, build a model, create visuals and publish a report. A report contains one or more pages of visuals that respond to filters and selections.
Power BI Desktop vs Power BI Service
Power BI Desktop is the Windows application used to prepare data, model relationships and design reports. Power BI Service is the online platform used to publish, share and manage that content. Save your Desktop report as a .pbix file, then publish it to a workspace in the Service.
Connecting to Data
Use Get data to connect to sources such as Excel, SQL Server or a folder of files. In Navigator, select the tables or sheets you need. Choose Transform data to check column names, types and missing values in Power Query before loading them into the model.
Import vs DirectQuery
Import stores a copy of the data in the semantic model and normally provides fast report interactions; refresh brings in changes from the source. DirectQuery leaves the data at the source and queries it as visuals are used. Consider freshness, source performance and modelling limitations when choosing a mode.