I've created a report that uses SSAS to create a Pivot table. I have to authenticate with username/password when I refresh it. Once it's refreshed I want to send it to someone else.
However when they open it they can't drill down in the Pivot table because it asks them to authenticate as well.
I can't remove the connection from the file because then you don't have the data for the Pivot so it doesn't let you drill down either.
Is there a way to work around that, to make the Pivot table available for use (to drill down, no need to change the fields) to the other person?
If you want to provide a self-contained Excel file with the detail data to support an interactive PivotTable then please look at Power Pivot. In newer versions of Excel it is called the Excel Data Model. You load the model with detail data, define your calculations and relationships between tables. The data is compressed and stored in the Excel file so except during refresh from your relational source (which you could do before sending the Excel file) the user doesn’t need any access to servers.
You will have to rebuild the data model in Power Pivot. If your SSAS model is a Tabular model then the concepts should be pretty similar.
Related
I aplogize beforehand if this questions turns out to be not specific enough. The issue is as following:
I have an excel file in which there are several sheets with lots of calculations (mostly financials). I have access to the same database from where raw excel file was downloaded. Now I want to repreduce the calculations and executive summary using Power BI getting the data from database directly (most likely using Direct Query mode). But I am not sure how should go about it? Should/can I use the existing Excel file to somehow copy the work that has been already done and just change the source to database? Or will I have to do it all over again? One main point when considering the above questions is whether Power BI will be able to do all the complex calculations done in Excel previously?
Via search I came accross to a few videos where they say we can upload Excel file into Power BI and then apply the same tables from database and finally using Advanced Editor change Excel tables sources to database. But thing is that database doesn't have the kind of tables I have in Excel (lots of changes and calculations are applied to the raw data that was downloaded from database). So I am not sure how this method can work.
I have a page on PowerBI that I did not develop, but I can download data straight to excel. This data needs to be filtered on PBI first before anything, as it contains sensitive information that I will be eventually sending to an external partner. What I want to be able to do is download this report to excel one time and create pivot tables, with all of the necessary filters added, and be able to just click refresh on the excel file and have it update (PBI file currently updates daily). My end goal is to send this information to a vendor and all I will need to do is hit refresh so that I may send to them. I am lost on how to do this, so if anybody can help I will greatly appreciate it!
Analyze in Excel is exactly the way to go. Find more information here: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/collaborate-share/service-analyze-in-excel
You'll get a live connection to your Power BI dataset and you can use pivot tables to filter the data to your needs. And for sure the data is updated when you hit the refresh button.
To play it save you could finally remove the data connection from the workbook so that the data is frozen and there is no access to sensitive information.
See also my answer here regarding common Analyze in Excel pitfalls:
Power BI Exporting data to a excel/csv
I'm on Excel 2013
Is it possible to EXPORT a powerpivot table and have FULL pivot table drop down functionality without the connected data?
1) I'm using slicers as filters and want to export specific files based on the Filtered Names
2) Would non Power Pivot / Power Query users be able to view my workbook? (I'm thinking probably not)
I've scoured forums and stackoverflow and was unable to find a clear answer.
I've tested it myself and disabled connection and it looks like the LAST format the PowerPivot table was showing would be the view/data that the user sees.
I agree with your test results. Anyone on Excel 2016 / Office 365 should get full functionality.
You might want to try the free Power BI service, where you can upload your Power Pivot model to the cloud and then connect to it using the Power BI Publisher Add-In.
https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/powerbi-publisher-for-excel/#connect-to-data-in-power-bi
You can set a CSV file with your data as your data source in powerpivot and just point your data model at the CSV. I do this to slim down big models. The data lives in the powerpivot cache level but is not a literal tab in your workbook also much smaller footprint. Works like a tiny database connection. Go to the powerpivot screen choose "From other sources" on the home ribbon, and scroll to the bottom for a text file or CSV. Easiest way to make a pseudo-data mart.
I guess I am not sure what you mean by export the table, The pivot would show without the data connection, but without the full model behind it in the data layer changing anything would just lock it up.
Banging my head against the wall on this one and every option I try has a problem with what i am trying to achieve.
So I have a pivot table in excel that is connected to a database. What I want to be able to do is have a link in another excel sheet to that pivot table, so that it picks up any changes to it in terms of data. The reason I am doing this is because I am putting the excel file up on sharepoint, but if a user downloads it, it retains the connection to the SQL Database, and because they are not authenticated, it doesn't refresh. I need them to be able to do this because it will allow them to customise their pivot table as needed, and it will retain that when they next open it. But the original pivot table, connected to the datasource, won't be affected.
I have tried:
Copying Pivot Table: I have copied the pivot table and pasted it in a new excel file, and this retains the connection to the SQL Database so doesn't work.
Moving Worksheet: I have tried moving the whole worksheet to a new excel file and this does again retains the link to the SQL Database.
Creating connection to excel file: This connected to the excel file, but the pivot table is lost and it simply shows the data in standard excel format.
Slicers: I have looked at slicers but this won't work either, because it means if he makes a change it is reflected in the original pivot table.
Sharepoint: I have looked at excel services on sharepoint. Although I can get him to view the data on the online excel, again, if he downloads it it loses the connection.
I guess I could change the authentication settings on SQLServer so that rather than using windows authentication I create a password and then that password is retained as I copy the file. Because this would only allow access to the view in the SQL Database this would prevent any detrimental activity. However, what I would really like to do is just give a copy of the excel file that connects to the original pivot table (so that when this updates this data is reflected in the copy on refresh), but any changes in the copy (i.e. formatting etc) only affect the copy.
If anyone knows how to do this I would be most appreciative of your help.
I may said something incorrect here, so pardon my lack of knowledge, but with the option:
Creating connection to excel file: This connected to the excel file, but the pivot table is lost and it simply shows the data in
standard excel format.
If I understand correctly, Creating connection to excel file provides a copy of the database in an excel file with all the source data from the original pivottable, and if by "connected to the excel file" you mean that any changes to the original pivottable is updated in this connected file in the copy of the database.
Then adding a replica of the pivottable in this connected excel file pointing to the copy of the data would not solve the problem?
Am I missing something?
I have a spreadsheet that is emailed to me by an outside vender. It contains a bunch of pivot tables. I really couldn't care less about the pivot tables, I just want the underlying data. The data comes from a sql server that I don't have access to, but the data is stored within the spreadsheet. Is there anyway that I can access the data, (I think it's the PivotCache) directly without drilling into one of the pivot tables?
I'd love some sort of ODBC/ADO.Net command that I can use from SSIS. But am open to just about anything that doens't require me to open and save the workbook.
I'd also like to avoid macros if at all possible.
Here's the answer. Or at least what I did to resolve my problem.
There is really no way to accss the underlying PivotCache data except via pivot tables. So direct accss was out. I ended up using a script task with excel ole to dynamically create a pivot table with the data I needed at run time. Once the script task is done, I then use the new pivot table as my dataflow source. Excel can be a little tricky to automate, but it's worth it.