How to Get Sample Data in Power BI Desktop?

Microsoft provides various sample datasets for users to explore and familiarize themselves with Power BI. This document will help you cover all the stated points and understand the accessing and usage of dataset for Row Level Security purposes.These sample datasets include Customer Profitability, Human Resources, etc. and can be downloaded as Excel or PBIX files, which can then be uploaded and used to create reports and dashboards in Power BI Service and Power BI Desktop. It's important to note that the sample data is fictional and solely meant for demonstrating Power BI's functionalities. Users can access the sample data through the Power BI Desktop by following simple steps provided by Microsoft.

How to Get Sample Data in Power BI Desktop Application?

Obtaining sample data in Power BI Desktop is a simple process, but it's important to note that the steps differ from those required in Power BI Service.

 Please follow the steps mentioned below to get the sample data:

• In the Power BI Desktop, navigate to the Help and click on Examples option to access the Sample reports.


Note: Your default browser will take you to the documentation page with the list of available sample data you can download as a PBIX file.

• Then hover to the Download Original sample Power BI Files.
• Now click on the sample data you would like to download.

For example, click the fourth one — “Retail Analysis Sample PBIX” to download it:


• After saving the file on your computer, go back to the Power BI Desktop to open the file.
• Click File on the tab list and select Open report option.

• Now, search for the file you previously saved and open it.

• Now that you have access to the sample data, you can begin experimenting with Power BI Desktop and its functionalities to explore its capabilities and potential.

Note: Although both Power BI Service and Power BI Desktop are part of the Power BI toolset, they each possess unique features that are exclusive to one or the other. For instance, when it comes to setting up roles for a specific resource, the configuration of roles can only be performed in Power BI Desktop, while in Power BI Service, you can only view them through the portal.

How to configure RLS in Power BI?

You can define roles and rules within Power BI Desktop. When you publish to Power BI, it also publishes the role definitions.

 To define security roles, follow the steps given below:

• Import data into your Power BI Desktop report, or configure a Direct Query connection.

Note : You can't define roles within Power BI Desktop for Analysis Services live connections. You need to do that within the Analysis Services model.

• From the Modeling tab, select Manage Roles.

• In the Manage roles window, click on Create.

• Under Roles, provide a name for the role.

Note : You can't define a role with a comma, for example London, Paris Role.

• Under Tables, select the table to which you want to apply a DAX rule.

Note : If you are unaware of which table and value you want to apply DAX expression / rule then you can check the dataset for your report by navigating to the tab shown towards the right hand side as shown below :


• In the Table filter DAX expression box, enter the DAX expressions. This expression returns a value of true or false. For example: [Entity ID] = “Value”.


Note : You can use username() within this expression. Be aware that username() has the format of DOMAIN\username within Power BI Desktop. Within the Power BI service and Power BI Report Server, it's in the format of the user's User Principal Name (UPN). Alternatively, you can use userprincipalname(), which always returns the user in the format of their user principal name, username@contoso.com.

• After you've created the DAX expression, select the checkmark above the expression box to validate the expression and then click on Save.


You can't assign users to a role within Power BI Desktop. You assign them in the Power BI service. You can enable dynamic security within Power BI Desktop by making use of the username() or userprincipalname() DAX functions and having the proper relationships configured.

Validate the Roles within Power BI Desktop

Once you've created your roles, test the results of the roles within Power BI Desktop.

• Now navigate to the Modeling tab and select View as option.

• The View as roles window appears, where you see the roles you've created.

• Select a role you created, and then select OK to apply that role.The report renders the data relevant for that role.
• You can also select Other user and supply a given user.

• Now select OK to render the reports for the users.

Manage security on your model

To manage security on your data model, open the workspace where you saved your report in the Power BI service and do the following steps:

• In the Power BI service, select the More options menu for a dataset. This menu appears when you hover on a dataset name, whether you select it from the navigation menu or the workspace page.

• Now click on the Security tab.

• Security takes you to the Role-Level Security page where you add members to a role you created in Power BI Desktop. Contributors (and higher workspace roles) will see Security and can assign users to a role.

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Additional Resources

• WordPress Power BI Integration
• How to configure Row Level Security (RLS)?
• WordPress Power BI Single Sign-On (SSO)
• WordPress Office 365 App Integrations
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)