Power BI Insights: Setting up Power BI Desktop; Scripting; OLS configuration

Power BI pros share their insights on installing Power BI Desktop, scripting for admins, and OLS configurations.

Installing Power BI Desktop

Microsoft MVP Matt Allington, writing on the Excelerator BI blog, detailed options to install Power BI Desktop. Currently, there are two options: installing from the Microsoft Store or installing a direct download. He wrote:

The two options install the same version of the software, but there is a subtle and important difference. If you install with the direct download…you will manually install the latest version of the software, and you will need to repeat the installation manually every time there is a new version of Power BI Desktop released (i.e. up to 12 times per year). On the other hand, if you install from Microsoft Store… it is a one time installation as the desktop installation will automatically be updated by Windows whenever a new version of the software is released to the Microsoft Store.

According to Allington, some IT departments prohibit installs from the Microsoft Store by default, while others block installation by click. Depending on which approach dominates in the IT department, users may need to make the case for the most suitable Power BI install option. If users change their minds, they need to be sure they don't have two versions of the software installed.

Scripting for Power BI admins

Brett Powell, writing on Insight Quest, explored basic scripts that Power BI administrators can use to manage environments with PowerShell modules and REST APIs. He wrote: