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How to Update Published Power BI Report

Cody Schneider•

So you’ve built an amazing Power BI report, published it to the Power BI Service, and shared it with your team. High-fives all around! But then, a week later, you spot a typo, your boss asks for a new chart, or you realize the data is already out of date. Now what? Keeping your published reports current is just as important as building them in the first place.

This guide will walk you through the two main ways to update a published Power BI report. We'll cover everything from making simple visual changes to setting up automatic data refreshes, ensuring your dashboards always show the freshest, most accurate information.

Distinguishing Between the Two Types of Updates

Before we jump into the steps, it's essential to understand that "updating a report" can mean two completely different things in the Power BI world. Getting this right will save you a lot of confusion.

  • Updating the Report Structure: This is when you need to change the design of the report. Maybe you want to change a bar chart to a line chart, add a new slicer, rewrite a DAX measure, or simply fix a spelling mistake in a title. This involves editing the core .PBIX file and republishing it.

  • Refreshing the Report Data: This is when the report's design is perfect, but the underlying data is stale. You need to pull in the latest sales figures, website traffic numbers, or inventory counts from your original data source (like an Excel file, SharePoint list, or SQL database). This process happens almost entirely within the Power BI Service.

Think of it like an app on your phone. Updating the structure is like installing a new version of the app with new features. Refreshing the data is like opening the app and letting it sync to show you the latest notifications or messages. Let's tackle each scenario one by one.

How to Update a Report's Visuals, Layouts, and Measures

This is the process you'll follow when you need to make any design changes. The source of truth for your report's structure is always the .pbix file on your computer, so that's where we'll start.

Step 1: Open Your .PBIX File in Power BI Desktop

First, find and open the original Power BI Desktop file (the one with the .pbix extension) that you used to create the report. If you've been collaborating, make sure you're using the latest version to avoid overwriting a colleague's changes.

Pro Tip: It’s a great practice to use a shared location like SharePoint, OneDrive, or a version control system (like Git) to store your master .pbix files. This prevents confusion around which file is the most up-to-date.

Step 2: Make Your Changes

Now, go ahead and make the necessary edits directly in Power BI Desktop. This is your creative sandbox. Here are a few common changes you might make:

  • Modify Visuals: Switch a pie chart to a treemap, adjust colors and fonts, or change the fields used on an axis.

  • Add New Elements: Drag in a new chart, add a slicer for easier filtering, or insert text boxes with explanatory notes.

  • Update Your Data Model: Create a new relationship between tables in the Model view.

  • Write or Edit DAX: Adjust a calculation or create a brand new measure to show a KPI. For example, you might create a Year-over-Year Growth measure.

Step 3: Save Your File

Once you’re happy with the changes, just hit Save. This updates the local .pbix file on your computer. It does not affect the published report in the Power BI Service just yet.

Step 4: Republish to Power BI Service

This is the magic step. With your report open in Power BI Desktop, go to the Home tab on the ribbon and click the Publish button.

A dialog box will appear, asking you to select a destination workspace in the Power BI Service. Choose the same workspace where the original report is currently located. Power BI is smart enough to recognize you're updating an existing report based on its name.

You’ll see a prompt that says something like, "You already have a dataset and/or report named '[Your Report Name]' in this workspace. Do you want to replace it?"

Click Replace. Power BI will then upload your updated .pbix file, replacing the old report design and dataset structure in the service.

Step 5: Verify Your Changes Online

Once you get the "Success!" message, it’s always a good idea to open a web browser, navigate to the Power BI Service (https://app.powerbi.com), and open your report. Click around and make sure all your new changes appear exactly as you intended.

How to Refresh the Data in a Published Report

Your report design is perfect, but the numbers are from last week. To get the latest data, you need to set up a refresh. This process connects Power BI Service directly to your data source(s) and pulls in any new information. You can do this on-demand or, better yet, schedule it to run automatically.

Setting Up a Manual Refresh (On-Demand)

If you just need a quick, one-time update, a manual refresh is the way to go.

  1. Navigate to the Power BI Service and open the workspace containing your report.

  2. Instead of clicking on the report itself, find the Dataset with the same name. (Reports and their underlying datasets are listed separately).

  3. Hover your mouse over the dataset name, and you'll see a few icons. Click the circular arrow icon for Refresh now.

That's it! Power BI will start pulling data from your sources. The process can take anywhere from a few seconds to many minutes, depending on the data size and source systems.

Setting Up a Scheduled Refresh (The Automated Approach)

Manually refreshing every day is a chore. The real power of Power BI comes from setting up a schedule so your reports are always up-to-date without you lifting a finger. This process has a few more steps, but you only have to do it once.

Step 1: Check Data Source Credentials

Power BI Service needs permission to access your data on your behalf. To grant it, find your dataset, click the three-dot menu (...) next to its name, and select Settings.

Expand the Data source credentials section. Click on "Edit credentials" and securely sign in to your data source (e.g., your SQL database login, your Microsoft 365 account for a SharePoint list, etc.).

Step 2: Configure a Gateway (If Needed)

This is often the most confusing part for new users. Here's a simple way to think about it:

  • If your data source is in the cloud (like Azure SQL, SharePoint Online, Google Analytics), Power BI can connect to it directly. You do not need a gateway. You can skip to the next step.

  • If your data source is on-premise (like an Excel file on your personal computer, a file on a local company server, or an on-premise SQL Server), Power BI Service can't see it. You need to install an On-premises data gateway. The gateway acts as a secure bridge, letting Power BI Service safely send queries to your internal network to get the data it needs.

Setting up a gateway involves downloading and installing the free software from Microsoft on a computer that is always on and has access to the data source. In your dataset settings, you'll need to map your data sources to the configured gateway.

Step 3: Set Up the Refresh Schedule

Back in your dataset settings, expand the Scheduled refresh section. Toggle the switch to "On."

Here you can set your options:

  • Refresh frequency: Choose Daily or Weekly.

  • Time zone: Select your local time zone so the times make sense.

  • Time: Click "Add another time" to specify when the refresh should run. With a Power BI Pro license, you can schedule up to 8 refreshes per day. With Premium, it's up to 48.

It's best to schedule refreshes during off-hours, like early in the morning before your team starts their day.

Step 4: Check Refresh History

After a scheduled refresh has run (or failed), you can check its status. Go to the dataset, click the three-dot menu, and select Refresh history. This will show you a log of every refresh attempt - whether it succeeded, failed, or is in progress - which is crucial for troubleshooting any issues.

Final Thoughts

Updating a published Power BI report involves two distinct processes: either republishing the report file for design changes or refreshing the dataset to pull in new data. Mastering both workflows is a core skill for any Power BI user and ensures your stakeholders are always making decisions with the most current information and visuals.

While mastering Power BI is a great skill, it often highlights just how much time can be spent on maintenance - configuring gateways, monitoring refreshes, and republishing files - instead of generating insights. At Graphed, we've designed our platform to eliminate this friction entirely. We believe you should be able to get answers from your marketing and sales data in seconds, not hours. By connecting your sources like Google Analytics, Shopify, and Salesforce just once, you get real-time dashboards that update automatically. Better yet, you can use simple, natural language to build new reports or ask follow-up questions, letting you focus on strategy instead of struggling with software. Give Graphed a try to see how easy data analysis can be.