That is the second a part of the collection of weblog posts displaying the best way to combine Energy BI with Azure DevOps, a cloud platform for software program growth. The earlier publish gave a quick historical past of supply management techniques, which assist builders handle code modifications. It additionally defined what Git is, a quick and versatile distributed supply management system, and why it’s helpful. It launched the preliminary configurations required in Azure DevOps and defined the best way to combine Energy BI (Cloth) Service with Azure DevOps.

This weblog publish explains the best way to synchronise an Azure DevOps repository together with your native machine to combine your Energy BI Tasks with Azure DevOps. Earlier than we begin, we have to know what a Energy BI Venture is and the way we are able to create it.

Energy BI Venture (*.PBIP) is a brand new file format for Energy BI Desktop that was introduced in Could 2023 and made out there for public preview in June 2023. It permits us to avoid wasting our work as a venture, which consists of a folder construction containing particular person textual content information that outline the report and dataset artefacts. This permits us to make use of supply management techniques, reminiscent of Git, to trace modifications, evaluate revisions, resolve conflicts, and evaluation modifications. It additionally permits us to make use of textual content editors, reminiscent of Visible Studio Code, to edit the artefact definitions extra productively and programmatically. Moreover, it helps CI/CD (steady integration and steady supply), the place we submit modifications to a collection of high quality gates earlier than making use of them to the manufacturing system.

PBIP information differ from the common Energy BI Desktop information (PBIX), which retailer the report and dataset artefacts as a single binary file. This made integrating with supply management techniques, textual content editors, and CI/CD techniques troublesome. PBIP goals to beat these limitations and supply a extra developer-friendly expertise for Energy BI Desktop customers.

Since this characteristic remains to be in public preview when scripting this weblog publish, we now have to allow it from the Energy BI Desktop Choices and Settings.

Allow Energy BI Venture (Developer Mode) (At present in Preview)

As talked about, we first must allow the Energy BI Venture (Developer Mode) characteristic, launched for public preview within the June 2023 launch of Energy BI Desktop. Energy BI Venture information enable us to avoid wasting our Energy BI information as *.PBIP information deconstruct the legacy Energy BI report information (*.PBIX) into well-organised folders and information.
With this characteristic, we are able to:

• Edit particular person elements of our Energy BI file, reminiscent of knowledge sources, queries, knowledge mannequin, visuals, and so forth.
• Use any textual content editor or IDE to edit our Energy BI file
• Evaluate and merge modifications
• Collaborate with different builders on the identical Energy BI file

To allow Energy BI Venture (Developer Mode), comply with these steps in Energy BI Desktop:

1. Go to File
2. Click on Choices and settings
3. Click on Choices

4. Within the Choices dialog field, go to Preview options
5. Examine the field subsequent to Energy BI Venture information
6. Click on OK

After making use of the modifications, we have to restart the Energy BI Desktop.

The first publish of this collection defined the best way to create a brand new Organisation, Venture, and Repo in Azure DevOps. So, we don’t repeat these steps right here. As a substitute, this part explains the best way to clone our Git repository created on Azure DevOps on the native machine. Cloning is the method of copying a distant repository to an area machine in order that we are able to work on the venture offline.

To clone a Git repo on an area machine, we require both to put in Visible Studio or Visible Studio Code (VS Code) on the native machine. We will additionally use Git Command Line for cloning. The latter is out of the scope of this weblog, so we give attention to utilizing the VS Code strategies.

Notice

Whatever the desired cloning methodology, we now have to put in Git on the native machine.

Comply with these steps to shut Azure DevOps Repos with VS Code:

1. In your internet browser, navigate to your Azure DevOps Group utilizing this sample: https://dev.azure.com/{your_organization_name}
2. Click on the specified Venture

3. Click on Repos
4. Click on the Clone button
5. From the Clone Repository pane, click on the Clone in VS Code button
6. Click on the Open button

7. Now you get a message on VS Code to Permit an extension to open this URL; click on the Open button

8. Choose a Folder to clone information
9. Click on the Choose as Repository Vacation spot button

10. Move your credentials on the Git Credential Supervisor and click on the Register button

We’re achieved now. You possibly can click on both the Open button to navigate to the chosen cloned repo inside the VS Code or click on the Open in New Window button to open a brand new occasion of VS Code and navigate to the cloned repo.

Up to now, we now have cloned an Azure DevOps repo with VS Code. The following step is to create a Energy BI Venture.

Create a Energy BI Venture

The following step is to create a Energy BI Venture utilizing Energy BI Desktop. You possibly can both create a brand new venture from scratch or convert an present PBIX file right into a Energy BI Venture file (PBIP). On this weblog publish, I create a brand new file from scratch.

To create a Energy BI Venture file, comply with these steps:

1. Open a brand new occasion of Energy BI Desktop, then click on the File menu
2. Click on the Save as possibility
3. Click on the Browse this system

Notice

Chances are you’ll wish to save the venture in your OneDrive. In that case choose the OneDrive possibility on the Save as menu.

4. Within the Save As dialog field, select the situation of the cloned Azure DevOps repo
5. Kind in a reputation to your file
6. Within the Save as sort drop-down checklist, choose the Energy BI Venture information (*.pbip) possibility
7. Click on Save

Once we navigate to the situation the place we saved the venture, we are going to see that the folder incorporates the next:

• The PBIP From Scratch.pbip file
• A PBIP From Scratch.Dataset folder
• A PBIP From Scratch.Report folder

You possibly can discover and edit these folders and information utilizing Energy BI Desktop or another instrument of your alternative reminiscent of Tabular Editor or perhaps a notepad editor reminiscent of Notepad++.

Now that we created the Energy BI venture, let’s stick with it and create a easy knowledge mannequin and report.
Since that is only a easy take a look at, we are able to connect with any knowledge supply of alternative, I take advantage of Microsoft’s SQL Server pattern database: AdventureWorks2022DW.
In my pattern, I get knowledge from the next tables:

• DimDate
• DimProduct
• FactInternetSales

I additionally created a brand new measure as under:

Gross sales = SUM(FactInternetSales[SalesAmount])

Then I created a easy report with a slicer and a line chart as follows, and I saved the modifications domestically on my machine:

Now on VS Code:

1. The Supply Management pane detected a few modifications
2. To commit the modifications we enter a remark that explains what we now have achieved
3. Click on the Commit button to commit the modifications to Azure DevOps Repo

Relying in your VS Code settings, you might get the next message on VS Code saying “There aren’t any staged modifications to commit. Would you prefer to stage all of your modifications and commit them immediately?” as proven within the following picture. This query asks you if you want to Stage all modifications first, after which Commit them domestically. Study extra about Staging modifications and Committing right here.

I choose All the time as I don’t need VS Code to ask the identical query once more sooner or later.

Up to now, we dedicated modifications to our native machine, we now wish to publish the modifications to Azure DevOps.

4. Kind in a remark
5. Click on the Publish Department button

Now, we efficiently Pushed all modifications to the Azure DevOps repo. The following step is to examine the DevOps repo. Checking if the modifications have gone by way of on Azure DevOps is straightforward. We simply must navigate to the specified Venture on Azure DevOps.

Log into Cloth and navigate to the specified Workspace. In the event you accurately configured Git Integration from the Workspace Settings, it is best to see that the Workspace contents synchronised with the Azure DevOps repo.

As you see, in my case, the synchronisation was profitable. Now, let’s open the report and see whether it is truly working.

As you’ll be able to see, the report is empty. It is because the Git integration in Cloth solely synchronises the dataset and report definitions, not the info. Due to this fact, we now have to both refresh the dataset or Publish the report back to Cloth from Energy BI Desktop.

Notice

Since we work on a Energy BI Venture, in case you use older variations of Energy BI Desktop than the Aug 2023 launch, the Publish button is disabled.

That is it for this weblog publish.
Within the subsequent weblog, we have a look at some real-world working eventualities and talk about present limitations and concerns.
So keep tuned for that.

As all the time, I’d like to know your opinion and ideas. So please share with us what you suppose within the feedback part under.