How do I use Power BI Desktop with version control?

Question

Greetings beloved comrades,

I am building a series of power bi dashboards, and as they go into production I'd like to put them into TFS. However, due to the large datasets involved, some of these report definitions are quite large (1.6GB).

It doesn't seem like a good idea to force TFS to store all of the actual data, when only the definition really matters.

Is there a simple way to remove the data from a .pbix file or save only the definition?

Edit: Looks like Microsoft has rendered this question obsolete with the creation of PowerBI templates. April Update for PowerBI Nevertheless, the workaround in the answer could be used for other purposes.

Answer 1

I would add a "Parameters" Query (a table with a single row - created using Edit Queries / Edit Data) with a column called [Data Load], with a single row containing "Yes".

Then I would add a Filter step to the end of all the other Queries, referring to that "Parameters" Query. The Filter syntax would be:

Parameters{0}[Data Load] = "Yes"

That syntax is a bit obscure - it means:

Go to the Parameters Query, get the value from the 1st row, in the [Data Load] column, test if it equals "Yes".

When you want to empty all the data from the .pbix file, edit the Source step in the "Parameters" Query and change the [Data Load] value to "No", Apply and Refresh.

I've built a working example of this which you can download from my OneDrive and try out:

http://1drv.ms/1AzPAZp

It's the file: Power BI Demo - Dynamically filter all data.pbix

Answer 2

Convert the pbix files to a pbit file using "Save As..." option, and then version those pbit files in TFS, using Visual Studio, but controlling them on the server.