Loading and Opening Existing Reports

In a professional environment, you won't always be building reports from scratch. Often, you will be tasked with updating, auditing, or expanding a report created by a colleague. Knowing how to correctly load and navigate existing reports—and understanding the file types involved—is a critical skill.

1. The File Types: .PBIX vs. .PBIT

Before you load a report, you must understand the two primary file formats used in Power BI Desktop:

• .PBIX (Power BI Report): This is the standard file. It contains the Data Model, the Data itself (unless using DirectQuery), and the Report Visuals. Opening this gives you the full project.
• .PBIT (Power BI Template): This contains the report structure and the model, but no data. When you load a .PBIT file, Power BI will ask you for parameters or credentials to pull fresh data from the source. This is used for standardized company reporting.

2. Ways to Load an Existing Report

There are three main ways to open an existing report in Power BI Desktop:

• The Startup Screen: When you first launch Power BI, the "Recent Sources" and "Open other reports" links appear on the left side of the splash screen.
• The File Menu: Go to File > Open report. You can browse your local folders or OneDrive/SharePoint locations.
• Power BI Service (Download): If a report exists online in the Power BI Service, you can open it in your browser and select File > Download this file to get the .PBIX version for editing locally.

3. What Happens During Loading?

When you load an existing report, Power BI performs several background checks:

1. Connection Validation: Power BI tries to verify the path to the original data sources (e.g., "Is that Excel file still on the C: drive?").
2. Version Check: If the report was made in a newer version of Power BI than the one you are using, it may not open. Always keep your Power BI Desktop updated.
3. Privacy Levels: If the report combines multiple data sources (like SQL and Excel), Power BI may prompt you to confirm "Privacy Levels" to ensure sensitive data isn't leaked between sources.

4. Handling "Broken" Links (Data Source Settings)

A common issue when loading an existing report is the "Data Source Not Found" error. This usually happens because the report was created on someone else's computer with different file paths.

How to fix it:

1. Go to the Home tab.
2. Click the dropdown on Transform Data.
3. Select Data source settings.
4. Choose the broken path and click Change Source to point it to the file on your local machine.

5. Exploring a Loaded Report

Once the report is loaded, you should perform a "Report Audit" before making changes:

• Check the Model View: See how the tables are connected. Are there any "hidden" tables?
• Review the "Applied Steps" in Power Query: Open the Power Query Editor to see exactly how the original author cleaned the data.
• Locate the Measures: Look for the calculator icons (∑ or $\text{f(x)}$) in the Fields pane to understand what custom math (DAX) is being used.