Publishing reports in Power BI - Step-by-Step Guide

Introduction

Publishing reports in Power BI lets you share your work with others by uploading your report to the Power BI service. This helps teams view and interact with reports online without needing the desktop app.

When you finish creating a sales report and want your team to see it on the web.

When you want to share a financial dashboard with managers who do not have Power BI Desktop.

When you need to update a report regularly and want everyone to see the latest data automatically.

When you want to embed a report in a website or app for customers to explore.

When you want to collaborate with colleagues by commenting and discussing the report online.

Steps

Step 1: Click

- Home tab in Power BI Desktop

The ribbon shows publishing options including the Publish button

Step 2: Click

- Publish button on the Home tab

A sign-in window appears if you are not signed in to Power BI service

Step 3: Sign in

- Power BI sign-in window

You are connected to your Power BI online account

Step 4: Select

- Workspace selection dialog

You choose the destination workspace where the report will be published

Step 5: Click

- Publish button in the dialog

Power BI uploads the report and shows a confirmation message with a link to open it online

💡 Use the link to quickly view your report in the Power BI service

Before vs After

Before

Report is saved only on your local computer in Power BI Desktop

After

Report is available online in the selected workspace and accessible via web browser

Settings Reference

Workspace selection

📍 Publish dialog after clicking Publish

Choose where to store and share the report online

Default: My workspace

Data refresh schedule

📍 Power BI service under Dataset settings

Set how often the report data updates automatically

Default: No schedule

Common Mistakes

Not signing in before publishing

Publishing requires a Power BI account to upload reports to the service

Always sign in with your Power BI credentials when prompted before publishing

Publishing to the wrong workspace

The report may not be visible to intended users if published to a personal workspace

Select the correct workspace that your team or audience uses before publishing

Summary

Publishing uploads your Power BI report from Desktop to the online Power BI service.

You must sign in and select a workspace to share your report with others.

Published reports can be viewed and refreshed online without needing Power BI Desktop.