Local Data Sources With An AppSource App

[Paul_Martin]

I am looking to deliver a Power BI App and distribute to the public via AppSource, but it needs to take data from local data files supplied from a user's PC.

Is this possible and what are the steps ?

Can I paramaterise certain aspects like :

Local Directory For Your Files                                   C:\MyData

Local FileName                                                         Fred.xlsx

Any help really appreciated

Paul

[v-shex-msft]

Hi @Paul_Martin ,

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Regards,

Xiaoxin Sheng

[v-shex-msft]

HI @Paul_Martin,

Did you mean the design a app with parameters? If that is the case, I'd like to suggest you check the official document to know more about template apps:

Create template apps in Power BI - Power BI | Microsoft Learn
Regards,

Xiaoxin Sheng

[AltaMagic]

Delivering a Power BI App via AppSource that takes data from local data files on a user's PC is not directly supported due to the nature of Power BI's cloud-based architecture. However, you can achieve a similar outcome by guiding users to set up a local data gateway and parameterizing the data source in Power BI Desktop.

1. Create Parameters:

   • Go to the "Home" tab and click on "Manage Parameters" > "New Parameter."
   • Create parameters for the local directory and file name.
     • Example:
       • Parameter Name: LocalDirectory
       • Data Type: Text
       • Current Value: C:/MyData
       • Parameter Name: FileName
       • Data Type: Text
       • Current Value: Fred.xlsx
2. Use Parameters in Data Source:
   • Go to "Home" > "Transform Data" to open the Power Query Editor.
   • Click on "New Source" > "File" > "Excel" (or the appropriate file type)
   • In the filepath use the parameters you created:

let

    Source = Excel.Workbook(File.Contents(LocalDirectory & "\" & FileName), null, true)

in

    Source

1. Load Data and Create Report:

   • Load the data and create your report as usual.

Step 2: Publish the Report to Power BI Service

1. Publish the Report:
   • Save and publish the report to your Power BI workspace.

Step 3: Set Up a Data Gateway

1. Install and Configure Data Gateway:

   • Users need to install and configure an on-premises data gateway on their local machine.
   • Follow the instructions here: Install an on-premises data gateway

2. Map Data Source to Gateway:

   • In the Power BI Service, go to the workspace where the report is published.
   • Go to "Settings" > "Datasets" > "Gateway connection."
   • Map the dataset to the configured data gateway and ensure the data source settings match the local file paths.

Step 4: Distribute the App via AppSource

1. Create and Publish the App:
   • Create an app in the Power BI Service that includes your report.
   • Publish the app to AppSource

[Paul_Martin]

@AltaMagic 

Thank you so much for spending the time to answer my two questions so fully.

Given your comments on loading data from a local file with Parameters would ultimately require a Personal Gateway (not realistic, cos the App is aimed at end users and setting up a gateway is just too techy in this scenario), could we :

• Use parameters to load in data from an Excel workbook stored on OneDrive
• The workbook itself (supplied by us) requires vba macros, so as long as the user used Excel 365 Desktop with the workbook stored on Onedrive I think we'd get the benefit of both worlds here

Could you just confirm, if my thoughts are correct ?

So the ultimate process as I see it would be :

• Download the basic XLSX workbook from our website
  • Save to your Onedrive
  • Enter data required for the Power BI app and save
• Install our Power BI App from AppSource
  • Installs in the Customer's tenant
• Use parameters to specify the OneDrive Excel workbook to poulate the Power BI Model
  • Then have a fully populated Power BI Model
• Develop customer Power BI dashboards based on our Dataset
• Develop Pivot Tables from Analyse in Excel on our Dataset
  • If we were to provide prepackaged Pivot Tables, how would we make the ODC file editable per customer to point to the correct Power BI tenant ?

Sorry a lot there, but feel I am getting close !