Earlier this year we made an exciting announcement about enhancing Power BI report integrations with OneDrive and SharePoint. The public preview for quickly viewing your Power BI files directly in OneDrive for Business and SharePoint was released as an opt-in experience in May 2023.
In the coming weeks the public preview to view Power BI files in OneDrive and SharePoint will be turned on by default in your tenants unless you take action before September 29th, 2023. We’re sharing this information now so you can understand what you need to do if you do not want this on automatically in your organization. If you miss the deadline and the feature turns on by default in your tenant, you always have the option to turn if off later.
This blog post describes functionality that is currently in opt-in public preview. We expect the public preview on-by default setting to reach commercial cloud tenants the week of 10/1/2023. The feature is not yet available in government cloud tenants.
Default setting activation – Here’s what you need to know
We’re excited to inform you that the public preview for viewing Power BI files directly in OneDrive and SharePoint document libraries will be turned on by default for all Power BI users starting the first week of October.
The setting that will enable this functionality by default is a new setting available in your Microsoft Fabric admin portal today called, “Users can view Power BI files saved in OneDrive and SharePoint (Preview) – UPDATE“. The setting visually appears as enabled, but will not go into effect until the first week of October, so that you can configure your preferences before the feature is turned on by default.
Below is a breakdown of the original setting, the new setting, and what will happen at each phase.
- Original setting name: “Users can view Power BI files saved in OneDrive and SharePoint (Preview)”
- This is the original public preview setting for viewing Power BI files in OneDrive and SharePoint document libraries. This setting is disabled by default and the state of this setting is controlling the functionality of the feature in your tenant today.
- New setting name: “Users can view Power BI files saved in OneDrive and SharePoint (Preview) – UPDATE“
- This is a new public preview setting for viewing Power BI files in OneDrive and SharePoint document libraries. This setting will be on by default the first week of October. If you do not want this feature on by default, you will need to disable it before September 29th, 2023.
| Date | Setting(s) that appear in the admin portal | Setting controlling feature in your tenant | What happens? |
| Today | – Original setting
– New setting |
Original setting | New setting appears in the admin portal. New setting state does not yet impact the feature in your tenant. |
| September 29th, 2023 | – Original setting
– New setting
|
Original setting | Deadline to disable the new setting if you do not want the feature on by default. |
| First week of October 2023 | – New setting only
|
New setting | The state of the new setting as of September 29th will be rolled out in all tenants. Original setting is removed from the admin portal. |
Taking control of your preferences:
We understand that every organization has its unique needs and preferences. While we’re enabling this feature by default, we’re also providing you with the flexibility to opt-out if necessary. If you prefer not to have this integration activated for your Power BI environment, you have until September 29th to make this adjustment. Don’t worry, if you change your mind after the deadline, you can always turn on/off the ability to view Power BI reports stored in OneDrive and SharePoint through the admin portal later.
Steps to take if you do not want this setting on by default:
- Navigate to the Tenant settings tab in the Fabric admin portal.
- Locate the Integration settings section.
- Find the “Users can view Power BI files saved in OneDrive and SharePoint (Preview) – UPDATE” setting. It’s very important that you find the setting with the word ‘UPDATE’ in it!
- Toggle the enabled switch to disabled and select apply. You must do this action by September, 29th 2023.
- The state of the new setting will go into effect the first week of October. Therefore, if you’ve disabled the new setting before September 29th, the feature will not be enabled in your tenant.
Additional details and context
Additional details and context about the two settings for viewing Power BI files in OneDrive and SharePoint is shared in this section.
The original opt-in public preview setting, “Users can view Power BI files saved in OneDrive and SharePoint (Preview)“, is found above the new setting.
This setting will also include a note that reads, “This admin setting is currently in effect in your tenant. During the first week of October, this setting will be removed from the admin portal and the state of the setting directly below this one, “Users can view Power BI files saved in OneDrive and SharePoint (Preview) update” will then go into effect. Learn More”
The new updated setting, “Users can view Power BI files saved in OneDrive and SharePoint (Preview) – UPDATE“, is found below the original setting.
This new setting will also include a note that reads, “This admin setting is not currently in effect in your tenant. If you do not want this setting on by default in your tenant, you’ll need to disable it before September 29th, 2023. During the first week of October, this setting will take effect and the setting directly above this one, “Users can view Power BI items saved in OneDrive and SharePoint (Preview)” will be removed from the admin portal. Learn More”
During the first week of October the following will take place:
- The original opt-in public preview setting, “Users can view Power BI files saved in OneDrive and SharePoint (Preview).” Will be removed from the admin portal, and the status of that setting will no longer be in effect in your tenant.
- The new preview setting, “Users can view Power BI files saved in OneDrive and SharePoint (Preview) – UPDATE” will then go into effect and follow whatever status was set on September 29th, 2023.
What feature are we talking about exactly?
Viewing Power BI reports directly in OneDrive and SharePoint
Until now, viewing a report stored in OneDrive and SharePoint required downloading both the Power BI file, and Power BI Desktop. With the new view in OneDrive and SharePoint capability, you immediately get to see your fully interactive report in a browser.
You start by clicking a Power BI report in your OneDrive or SharePoint document library.
The report will open directly in your browser, instead of requiring downloading the file and opening it in Power BI Desktop.
You can then explore and analyze the report directly in the browser.
For more details about this feature visit the original blog post announcement.
This initial release is a limited experience. Visit the Power BI files in OneDrive and SharePoint documentation for a full list of current limitations and considerations.
Embrace the Future of Power BI Collaboration
We’re incredibly excited about the possibilities that this enhanced integration brings to your Power BI experience. We believe that by defaulting to this feature, we’re not just optimizing collaboration, but also paving the way for more dynamic and impactful reporting.
Mark your calendars and ensure you’ve configured your preferences by September 29th. We’re confident that once you experience the seamless integration firsthand, you’ll wonder how you ever collaborated without it.
We look forward to taking the next step to make Power BI work like other Office tools, so that more people can use data to quickly make important decisions. Enabling OneDrive and SharePoint viewer by default will help with file versioning, collaborating with other authors, and ensuring a backup of files is always saved in the cloud.
Thank you for choosing Power BI to power your data analytics journey. We remain committed to providing you with the best tools and features to drive your organization’s success.