Publish a Report to the Power BI Service
Publish sends a Power BI Desktop file to the Power BI Service (app.powerbi.com). You get two items: a report (the pages) and a semantic model (the data, relationships, and measures). Colleagues open the Service. They do not need your laptop.
Friends! A beautiful FreshBasket PBIX on one laptop is a private notebook. Why publish? Because the Mumbai card of 150 has to reach a manager. How? We save, choose a team workspace, publish, and open the link. Two items appear, not one. We do not park the real report in My workspace.
मित्रांनो! एका लॅपटॉपवरील सुंदर FreshBasket PBIX ही खाजगी वही आहे. Publish का? कारण Mumbai चा 150 चा card व्यवस्थापकापर्यंत जायला हवा. कसे? सेव्ह, team workspace निवडा, publish, आणि लिंक उघडा. दोन items येतात, एक नाही. खरा report My workspace मध्ये ठेवू नका.
मित्रों! एक लैपटॉप पर सुंदर FreshBasket PBIX एक निजी कॉपी है. Publish क्यों? क्योंकि Mumbai का 150 वाला card मैनेजर तक पहुँचना चाहिए. कैसे? सेव करें, team workspace चुनें, publish करें, और लिंक खोलें. दो items आते हैं, एक नहीं. असली report My workspace में न रखें.
Quick answer
Vertical path:
- Save the PBIX. Home → Publish.
- Sign in if Desktop asks.
- Choose a team workspace, not My workspace, for anything the team must run.
- When the name already exists, replace it only if you mean to overwrite that report.
- Open the link. You should see the report and, in the workspace list, a semantic model with the same name.
- Click the Mumbai card. It should still say 150 before you celebrate.
PBIX on your PC → Publish → report + semantic model in a workspace
What the manager should see
The same three rows you modelled:
| City | Year | Channel | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mumbai | 2025 | Online | 100 |
| Mumbai | 2024 | Store | 50 |
| Pune | 2025 | Online | 40 |
- No slicer: card 190.
- City = Mumbai: card 150.
- City = Pune: card 40.
- If those numbers change at the moment of publish, you published a different file than the one you tested.
- Publish does not invent a new total. It copies the model you saved.
What do I need before this guide?
- A Microsoft work account that can open the Power BI Service. Personal practice can use My workspace. Team reports should not.
- A saved PBIX whose Mumbai card you have already checked.
- Course: Publishing · What the Service is.
Before and after (look at the tables first)
Before - File on one laptop. Mumbai 150 stays private
आधी (Before) — फाइल एका लॅपटॉपवर. Mumbai 150 खाजगी राहतो.
पहले (Before) — फ़ाइल एक लैपटॉप पर. Mumbai 150 निजी रहता है.
After - In the Service. Not My workspace
नंतर (After) — Service मध्ये. My workspace नाही.
बाद में (After) — Service में. My workspace नहीं.
How to publish
Publish creates two items: a report (the pages) and a semantic model (the data and measures).
Publish दोन items बनवतो: report (pages) आणि semantic model (data आणि measures).
Publish दो items बनाता है: report (pages) और semantic model (data और measures).
- File → Save. Note the file name. The Service uses that name.
- Home → Publish.
- Sign in with the work account your company gave you.
- Select the workspace. Read the name twice. FreshBasket Team is not My workspace.
- Wait until Desktop says success. Click the link. It opens the report in the browser.
- In the workspace, confirm two rows: the report, and the semantic model.
- If a report with the same name exists, Power BI asks to replace it. Replace only when this file is the new official copy.
Choose a team workspace. My workspace is only a private drawer.
Team workspace निवडा. My workspace फक्त खाजगी ड्रॉवर आहे.
Team workspace चुनें. My workspace सिर्फ निजी दराज है.
The semantic model is the old word “dataset” in many menus. Same thing: tables, relationships, measures. The report is the pages on top of that model. Deleting the model breaks the report. Deleting only a page does not delete the data.
After the first publish
- The data is a copy if the model is Import mode. It does not change until a refresh. Scheduled refresh is a later lesson. For today, know that yesterday’s file is what you published.
- DirectQuery models ask the source when someone opens a visual. They still needed a publish so the report exists in the Service.
- Credentials for a database are not always copied. If a refresh fails later, the semantic model settings are where credentials are entered. Do not put passwords in the report title.
- Publishing is not the same as sharing. You have put the file in a workspace. People still need access. That is the next guides: workspaces, apps, and share.
Mistakes and calm fixes
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Cannot see the workspace | Wrong account, or no role there | Sign in with the work account; ask an admin |
| Replaced a teammate’s report | Same name, clicked Replace | Publish under a new name or restore with the owner |
| Only one item in the list | You are looking at the report page only | Open the workspace list for the semantic model |
| Numbers differ from Desktop | Different file, or a slicer still filtered | Clear slicers and republish the tested file |
Ravindra Bagale's Tip
Interview line: “Publish creates a report and a semantic model in a workspace. I publish team content to a team workspace, not to My workspace, and I only replace a name on purpose.” Got it?
Ravindra Bagale's Tip – मराठी
Interview line: “Publish workspace मध्ये report आणि semantic model बनवतो. मी team content team workspace मध्ये publish करतो, My workspace मध्ये नाही, आणि नाव हेतुपुरस्सर असेल तरच replace करतो.” समजलं का?
Ravindra Bagale's Tip – हिंदी
Interview line: “Publish workspace में report और semantic model बनाता है. मैं team content team workspace में publish करता हूँ, My workspace में नहीं, और नाम जानबूझकर हो तभी replace करता हूँ.” समझ में आया?
Practice task
- Save a tiny FreshBasket PBIX with the 190 total.
- Publish it to a practice workspace.
- Find both items.
- Open the report and slice Mumbai to 150.
- Write down the workspace name you chose, and why it was not My workspace.
Got it? Publish lifts the PBIX into the Service as a report plus a semantic model. Pick the team workspace. Next: who is allowed inside that workspace. Let us go ahead.
समजलं का? Publish PBIX ला Service मध्ये report अधिक semantic model म्हणून नेतो. Team workspace निवडा. पुढे: त्या workspace मध्ये कोणाला प्रवेश आहे. आता पुढे जाऊया.
समझ में आया? Publish PBIX को Service में report और semantic model के रूप में ले जाता है. Team workspace चुनें. आगे: उस workspace में किसे प्रवेश है. अब आगे बढ़ते हैं.
Frequently asked questions
What does Publish create?
A report (pages) and a semantic model (data, relationships, measures) in a workspace.
What is a semantic model?
The new name for a dataset: the tables and measures the report uses.
Why not My workspace?
Only you can manage it. A team report belongs in a team workspace.
Does Publish refresh the data forever?
Import data is a copy until a refresh runs. You published the file you saved.
I replaced the wrong report. What now?
Stop and republish the correct file with the owner. Read the name before you replace.
Course lessons?
What the Service is, and Publishing, in the Power BI Service chapter.