Tools

Learn how to use the file download in Power BI.

The File download is suitable for complete file based ingestion and scheduled refreshes where the underlying file is updated over time. Due to performance issues, resources downloaded through the File download should be small (see Tabular Data Endpoints section for ability to query large datasets).

Power BI

HDX file URL resources can be used directly as a data source in Power BI and other Microsoft tools that support Power Query, such as Fabric. Follow this section to connect HDX’s File URL endpoint to Power BI as a data source.

1

Open Power BI Desktop. From the Home menu, select Get data, then choose Web as the data source.

Web

2

In the URL field, paste the download_url for the resource you want to load.

URL field

3

If prompted for credentials, select Anonymous. If you encounter credential errors, go to File → Options and settings → Data source settings, clear existing permissions for the URL, and retry the connection.

4

Once the data preview loads in the Power Query Editor, click Close & Apply to load the dataset into Power BI. Power BI will re-download the file on refresh using the same URL.

Load

For datasets with multiple resources or changing file structures, ensure the selected download_url consistently points to the intended file.