What connection details do I need to enter for a data source?

The details depend on the source you choose. For a SQL database, you need the server name, the database name and your credentials. Other sources ask for different information, so after selecting a source in Get Data, follow the prompts for that specific connection.

Should I use Power BI Desktop or the Power BI Service to build my data model?

Use Power BI Desktop to build data models and reports. The Power BI Service is mainly for analysing and sharing the reports you publish from Desktop, and it offers limited options for changing the data. Build and connect in Desktop first, then publish to share.

Different Data Sources in Power BI

Q: What kinds of data sources can Power BI Desktop connect to?

Power BI Desktop connects to hundreds of data sources. These include Excel files, SQL Server, SharePoint, cloud services like Azure and Salesforce, and web APIs. All of them are reached through the Get Data dialog on the Home ribbon, so you can combine several sources in one report.

January 25, 2023By Neetu Singla5 min read

Business Intelligence Power BI Tableau

Quick AnswerPower BI Desktop connects to hundreds of data sources — including Excel, SQL Server, SharePoint, cloud services like Azure and Salesforce, and web APIs — all accessible through the **Get Data** dialog on the Home ribbon.

When utilizing Power BI Desktop, you may connect to data from a broad range of sources. For a complete list of all accessible data sources, see the Power BI data sources page. You may link to the data by using the Home ribbon. To access the Most Common data types menu, choose the Get data button label or the down arrow on the toolbar.

Display the most popular data types option, then click the More button to open the Get Data dialogue box. You may also bring up the Get Data dialogue box (skipping the Most Common option) by selecting the Get Data icon directly. This will display the box instead of the Most Common menu.

Data sources

The Get Data dialogue box classifies different types of data using the following categories:

All
File
Database
Power Platform
Azure
Online Services
Other

The All category has every type of data connection that can be made from the other categories.

File data sources

The following data connections are available in the File category:

Excel Workbook
Text/CSV
XML
JSON
Folder
PDF
Parquet
SharePoint folder

The following image shows the Get Data window for File.

Database data sources

The following data connections are available in the Database category:

SQL Server database
Access database
SQL Server Analysis Services database
Oracle database
IBM Db2 database
IBM Informix database (Beta)
IBM Netezza
MySQL database
PostgreSQL database
Sybase database
Teradata database
SAP HANA database
SAP Business Warehouse Application Server
SAP Business Warehouse Message Server
Amazon Redshift
Impala
Google BigQuery
Google BigQuery (Azure AD)(Beta)
Vertica
Snowflake
Essbase
Actian (Beta)
Amazon Athena
AtScale cubes
BI Connector
Data Virtuality LDW
Denodo
Dremio Software
Dremio Cloud (Beta)
Exasol
Indexima
InterSystems IRIS (Beta)
Jethro (Beta)
Kyligence
Linkar PICK Style / MultiValue Databases (Beta)
MariaDB
MarkLogic
TIBCO(R) Data Virtualization

The following image shows the Get Data window for the Database.

Power Platform data sources

The following data connections are available in the Power Platform category:

Power BI datasets
Datamarts (preview)
Power BI dataflows (Legacy)
Common Data Service (Legacy)
Dataverse
Dataflows

The following image shows the Get Data window for the Power Platform.

Azure data sources

The following data connections are available in the Azure category:

Azure SQL Database
Azure Synapse Analytics SQL
Azure Analysis Services database
Azure Database for PostgreSQL
Azure Blob Storage
Azure Table Storage
Azure Cosmos DB v1
Azure Data Explorer (Kusto)
Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2
Azure Data Lake Storage Gen1
Azure HDInsight (HDFS)
Azure HDInsight Spark
HDInsight Interactive Query
Azure Cost Management
Azure Databricks
Azure Synapse Analytics workspace (Beta)
Azure Time Series Insights (Beta)

The following image shows the Get Data window for Azure.

Online Services data sources

The following data connections are available in the Online Services category:

SharePoint Online List
Microsoft Exchange Online
Dynamics 365 Online (legacy)
Dynamics 365 (Dataverse)
Dynamics NAV
Dynamics 365 Business Central
Dynamics 365 Business Central (on-premises)
Azure DevOps (Boards only)
Azure DevOps Server (Boards only)
Salesforce Objects
Salesforce Reports
Google Analytics
Adobe Analytics
appFigures (Beta)
Data.World – Get Dataset (Beta)
GitHub (Beta)
LinkedIn Sales Navigator (Beta)
Marketo (Beta)
Mixpanel (Beta)
Planview Enterprise One – PRM (Beta)
QuickBooks Online (Beta)
Smartsheet
SparkPost (Beta)
SweetIQ (Beta)
Planview Enterprise Architecture
Zendesk (Beta)
Asana (Beta)
Assemble Views
Automation Anywhere
Automy Data Analytics (Beta)
Dynamics 365 Customer Insights (Beta)
Databricks (Beta)
Digital Construction Works Insights (Beta)
Emigo Data Source
Entersoft Business Suite (Beta)
eWay-CRM
FactSet Analytics
Palantir Foundry
Funnel
Hexagon PPM Smart API
Industrial App Store
Intune Data Warehouse (Beta)
Projectplace for Power BI
Product Insights (Beta)
Profisee (Beta)
Quickbase
SoftOne BI (Beta)
Spigit (Beta)
TeamDesk (Beta)
Webtrends Analytics (Beta)
Witivio (Beta)
Viva Insights
Zoho Creator

The following image shows the Get Data window for Online Services.

Other data sources

The following data connections are available in the Other category:

Web
SharePoint list
OData Feed
Active Directory
Microsoft Exchange
Hadoop File (HDFS)
Spark
Hive LLAP
R script
Python script
ODBC
OLE DB
Acterys : Model Automation & Planning (Beta)
Amazon OpenSearch Service (Beta)
Anaplan Connector
Autodesk Construction Cloud (Beta)
Solver
BitSight Security Ratings
BQE Core
Bloomberg Data and Analytics
Cherwell (Beta)
Cognite Data Fusion
Delta Sharing
Eduframe (Beta)
EQuIS (Beta)
FactSet RMS (Beta)
FHIR
Google Sheets
Information Grid (Beta)
Jamf Pro (Beta)
Kognitwin
MicroStrategy for Power BI
OpenSearch Project (Beta)
Paxata
QubolePresto (Beta)
Roamler (Beta)
SIS-CC SDMX (Beta)
Shortcuts Business Insights (Beta)
SingleStore Direct Query Connector 1.0 (Beta)
Siteimprove
Socialbakers Metrics 1.1.0 (Beta)
Starburst Enterprise
SumTotal
SurveyMonkey (Beta)
Microsoft Teams Personal Analytics (Beta)
Tenforce (Smart)List
Usercube (Beta)
Vena
Vessel Insight
Zucchetti HR Infinity (Beta)
Blank Query

The following image shows the Get Data window for Other.

Template apps

You may find template applications that are suitable to your organization by clicking the Template Apps option towards the bottom of the Get Data box.

Depending on your industry, the amount of Template Apps accessible to you may vary.

How do you connect to a data source in Power BI Desktop, step by step?

Power BI Desktop is where you build data models and reports. The Power BI Service is mainly for analysing and sharing the reports you publish from Desktop, with limited options for changing the data.

Open Power BI Desktop. A tutorial may appear. Follow it, or close it to start with a blank canvas.
Click Get Data on the Home tab.
Choose a source from the lists above, such as an Excel file, a SQL database, a SharePoint list or an online service like Salesforce.
Enter the connection details. These depend on the source. For a SQL database you need the server name, database name and credentials.
Transform the data (optional). If the data needs cleaning or shaping, do it before importing.
Click Load. Or open the Power Query Editor and tick the tables you want to import.
Build visuals. Drag fields onto the canvas to create charts, tables and maps.
Set up a refresh (optional). If the source changes often, schedule automatic refresh so reports always show the latest data.

As you can see, business intelligence has a lot to offer businesses of all sizes across all industries. If you’re not already using BI in your decision-making process, now is the time to start!

Check out other helpful Power BI Blogs

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Frequently Asked Questions

In Power BI Desktop, open the Home tab on the ribbon and click Get Data. This opens a dialog listing the available sources, such as Excel files, SQL databases, SharePoint lists and online services like Salesforce. Pick the source you need and then enter its connection details.