Publishing, refresh & security
Publishing to the Power BI Service, workspaces, scheduled refresh, gateways and row-level security.
Once the report is ready, you publish it from Desktop to a workspace in the Power BI Service. From there:
- Share it or bundle reports into an App for a department.
- Set a scheduled refresh so data stays current. On-premises sources (a local SQL Server or files on a company network) need an on-premises data gateway.
- Pin visuals to a dashboard for a one-screen summary.
- Apply row-level security (RLS) so each user sees only their data — for example each regional manager sees only their region.
Sharing in the Service generally requires Power BI Pro or Premium licences.
Sample data & steps
Power BI Desktop (free, Windows)Row-level security (Modeling → Manage roles → New role "RegionManager"):
Table: Managers
Email | Region
anu@company.example | Kochi
ravi@company.example | Trivandrum
Rule on the Managers table:
[Email] = USERPRINCIPALNAME ()
(Managers is related to Sales on Region, so the filter flows to Sales.)
Test: Modeling → View as → Role "RegionManager",
Other user = anu@company.example
Then: Home → Publish → workspace "Sales Reports"
Service → Semantic model settings → Scheduled refresh: daily 7:00 AMResult
Viewing as anu@company.example:
Total Sales = 129,000 (Kochi only)
Region bar chart shows one bar: Kochi
Refresh history: Completed · 10 Nov 2026, 07:00 · 42 sDownload Power BI Desktop free from Microsoft (Windows). Re-create the small sample tables in Excel, load them, and follow the steps. Data is fictional.
Key points
- Publish from Desktop to a workspace in the Service.
- Schedule refresh; on-premises sources need a gateway.
- Row-level security limits which rows each user sees.
- Package reports as an App for wider audiences.
Quick check
Each regional manager should see only their own region's sales in the same report. What do you use?
RLS filters data per user at the model level, and users can't remove it the way they can clear a slicer.
Practice task
Add a role that limits data to one region, test it with View as, and write down the steps you would follow to publish and schedule a daily refresh.
Interview corner
What is row-level security in Power BI?
A way to restrict which rows each user can see by defining roles with DAX filter rules (often using USERPRINCIPALNAME()) and assigning users to them in the Service. The same report then shows each user only their permitted data.
What is a data gateway and when is it needed?
Software installed inside the company network that securely connects the Power BI Service to on-premises data sources, so cloud refreshes can reach local databases and file shares. Cloud sources don't need it.
Further reading
Official documentation, linked for deeper study. These are outside sites; this lesson's text is our own.
Original lesson written by the InfoparkDaily team · © 2026 InfoparkDaily · Free to learn — no paid course or subscription.