Lesson 02 of 7 · Power BI Desktop

Power BI Desktop: the one you can't skip.

This is the one tool every learner needs. Every lesson in the kit points at something you can find in Desktop.

with Elizabeth Cecilia. About 8 minutes, plus the download.

Two ways in

Power BI Desktop is free and runs on Windows. Microsoft offers it two ways:

Microsoft Store. Search for Power BI Desktop and select Install. It updates itself every month and doesn't need admin rights.

Download Center. A single installer file you run yourself. It works when the Store is blocked, for example on some work laptops, but you have to download each monthly update yourself.

It's your own PC, and the Store works. Which do you pick?

Only one copy. If you already have the downloaded version, uninstall it first (), then install from the Store.

Install, then check one setting

Answer the question above to unlock this.

Put the steps in order. Click the first one, then the next.

Step 1 of 5.

The kit's editable version is a Power BI Project: a .pbip file and folders of plain text, instead of one .pbix file. Recent versions of Desktop open projects as standard. If yours still lists Power BI Project (.pbip) save option under File > Options and settings > Options > Preview features, tick it and restart Desktop.

Signing in is optional. You need a Microsoft work or school account only to publish to the Power BI service or Fabric. To open and explore the kit, you can close the sign-in box.

Official page: Get Power BI Desktop on Microsoft Learn.

Check yourself

0 / 2

Your work laptop blocks the Microsoft Store. What now?

A .pbip file won't open, and Desktop says the format isn't supported. Most likely?

The ruleOne copy of Desktop, from the Store if you can, kept up to date.

Power BI Desktop: the one you can't skip.

Two ways in

Install, then check one setting

Check yourself

Lesson complete!

Get the project files