Connecting to data feeds with Power BI Desktop

Power BI Desktop is a data visualization tool that uses Power Query. While working with data is similar to Power Query in Excel, Power BI provides more tools for making data visualizations and dashboards. Power BI Desktop is currently not available for macOS.

To download and learn more about Power BI Desktop, see Getting started with Power BI.

Sections in this article:

Who can do this

  • Workplace administrators
  • Enterprise administrators
  • Members of groups with the Access Analytics role

Authentication

When connecting to your digital workplace's data feeds, you must authenticate using your Igloo Authentication credentials. If you do not know what your Igloo Authentication password is, see Resetting a forgotten Igloo password. 

Power BI Desktop vs. Power BI Online Service

Power BI Desktop differs from the Power BI online service. You must use Power BI Desktop to connect to your digital workplace's data feed. To learn more about these differences, see Comparing Power BI Desktop and the Power BI service.

Importing data feeds using the connection wizard

  1. Open Power BI Desktop.
  2. Select the Home tab.
  3. Select Get Data followed by OData Feed.
  4. With Basic selected, enter your digital workplace URL with /odata appended to it and then select OK. For example: https://customercare.igloosoftware.com/odata.
  5. Select Basic.
  6. Enter your Igloo Authentication credentials and then select Connect.
  7. Select the data feeds tables that you want to import.
  8. Select Transform Data to modify the tables before importing them, or select Load to immediately import the tables.

Loading templates

Pre-existing queries can be saved and distributed as templates. To load a template:

  1. Double-click the template (.pbit file).
  2. If the template has any parameters, you will be prompted to enter values for these. If present, hover your mouse over Information to read an explanation of what the parameter is expecting as input.
  3. Select Load.
  4. If you have not connected to your data feeds before, you will be prompted to authenticate. Select Basic, enter your Igloo Authentication credentials and then select Connect.

Importing data feeds using a blank query

  1. Open Power BI Desktop.
  2. Select the Home tab.
  3. Select Get Data, and then select Blank Query.
  4. In the Power Query Editor, select the View tab followed by Advanced Editor.
  5. Paste or type your query in the provided editor and select Done.
  6. If you have not connected to your data feeds before, you must select Edit Credentials to authenticate. Select Basic, enter your Igloo Authentication credentials and then select Connect.
  7. To complete loading the query, select the Home tab, and then select Close & Apply.

Clearing your saved sources

  1. Open Power BI Desktop.
  2. Select File.
  3. Select Options & settings followed by Data source settings.
  4. Select the sources that you want to clear, and then select Clear Permissions.
  5. Select Delete.