Power BI Essentials - Online

To get a basic overview of the key features of Power BI.

IMPORTANT: For the Power BI introduction sessions, BEFORE BOOKING A PLACE, please confirm with your own IT teams that you have authority to download and install Power BI Desktop.

To attend this session, you must:

have a copy of Power BI Desktop installed and working. The software can be downloaded from here: Download Microsoft Power BI Desktop from Official Microsoft Download Center

• download a copy of the course files. These can be downloaded from Microsoft – there’s a link in Step 1 on this page Unzip the course files - Training | Microsoft Learn or you can use this direct link: Unzip the course files - Training | Microsoft Learn     It’s important that you have unzipped / extracted the files to a location such as your Desktop or your Documents folder ahead of the training.

The trainer has provided steps for this below to assist. Be aware also that this is a large download – the zipped file is just under 500 mb.

For the Power BI introduction sessions, there are two requirements:

1. Delegates will need a copy of Power BI Desktop installed and working. The software can be downloaded from here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=58494   This is a simple download in theory, but people will need to make sure that they’ve done this ahead of the course, as sometimes IT policies will mean that the download or installation is blocked, or has to be done by an administrator. This is governed by IT policies, and is likely to vary between authorities.
2. Delegates will need to download a copy of the course files. These can be downloaded from Microsoft – there’s a link in Step 1 on this page https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/training/modules/intro-power-bi/unzip-files  or you can use this direct link: https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=2272690 . As with the Excel files, it’s important that people have unzipped / extracted the files to a location such as their Desktop or their Documents folder ahead of the training. I’ve provided steps for this below in case anyone is unsure. Be aware also that this is a large download – the zipped file is just under 500mb.

To extract downloaded files: Note that the screenshots below were taken on Microsoft Edge. If you are using Chrome or a different browser, the appearance will be slightly different but the steps remain the same.

The files will download as a  .zip file. If you cannot see the “Downloads” window within the browser, press CTRL-J to show this:

1. click the downloaded file (in this example, we’re downloading the Power BI files). The zip file will open, and show the contents within Windows Explorer. For Power BI, there’s a PDF and two folders (Data and Reports).
2. Drag the folder from the panel on the right to the location where you want to store them in the panel on the left. For example, you may wish to store them in Documents or Desktop for the duration of the course, and move them somewhere more permanent at a later date.

This will unzip the files ready for you to use during the course. Remember where you’ve put them!

Note: for the Power BI course, we will only actually use the “Data” folder.