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Understanding Power BI Publishing

Understanding Power BI Publishing

What Does Publishing Mean?

Publishing transfers a report from Power BI Desktop to the Power BI Service, where it can be accessed online by authorized users.

When you publish a .pbix file, Power BI typically creates or updates the corresponding report and semantic model in the selected workspace, depending on the file's contents and the publishing workflow.

The Power BI Service provides a central location to manage reports, semantic models, dashboards, permissions, and other content.

Power BI Desktop vs. Power BI Service

Feature

Power BI Desktop

Power BI Service

Main purposeCreate and develop reportsPublish, share, and manage content
Data transformationPower Query EditorSupported online data preparation and management features
Data modelingCreate relationships and measuresManage supported semantic model settings
Report designBuild multi-page reportsView and edit reports where supported
CollaborationPrimarily local developmentWorkspaces, apps, and sharing
DashboardsNot the primary dashboard authoring environmentCreate and manage dashboards

Power BI Desktop is generally used for report development, while the Power BI Service supports online access and distribution.

What Is a Semantic Model?

A semantic model contains the data, relationships, measures, and other modeling information used by Power BI reports.

For example, a sales semantic model may contain customer, product, date, and sales tables, along with measures for total revenue and profit.

A report uses this model to display data and calculate results. Multiple reports can sometimes use the same semantic model, reducing duplication and helping teams maintain consistent business calculations.


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