Version Control in Power BI

1. Version Control in Power BI

Welcome back! In this video, we will explore how version control works with Power BI files.

2. Refresh: .pbix files limitations

Traditionally, Power BI Desktop files are saved with a .pbix extension. These binary files, as we have seen, present challenges for version control. You can't easily see what changed in the data model, DAX code, or report layouts between versions.

3. The solution: Power BI Projects

That's why Microsoft recently introduced a game-changing format called Power BI Projects, which uses the .pbip extension. When you save your report as a Power BI Project, it creates a folder structure with separate textual files for different components of your solution.

4. The solution: Power BI Projects

The data model, report layouts, and connections are stored in text-based files that are much easier to track and are compatible with Power BI Desktop.

5. How to export to .pbip

To save a report in the new format, you can select Power BI Project files from the "Save as type" window when saving in Power BI Desktop. If you don't see this option, it should be enabled in Options, Preview Features

6. Example of .pbip comparison

Here is an example: we created a new column in the report, and now git can compare the old and the new code!

7. More Power BI file types!

When saving your report, you may have noticed another file type. Let's explore two other formats in the Power BI ecosystem. First, we have Power BI Templates and .pbit files, which are report templates. They contain everything about your report design - the visuals, measures, and layouts - but none of the actual data. When someone opens a .pbit, Power BI Desktop will ask them where to get the data. Then, there are Power BI Data Sources .pbids files, which are the opposite. These are data source templates - when you open one, Power BI Desktop launches with all your data connections pre-configured but with no report structure.

8. Overview of Power BI file types

While the standard .pbix format presents version control limitations, with Projects, Templates and Data Sources, you have more tools at your disposal. These formats can optimize the report creation process by speeding up the initialization and standardizing Power BI projects.

9. Let's practice!

Now that you have a clear picture about Power BI file types, let's put this knowledge to practice!

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