local folder to cloud in ms teams

Question

local folder to cloud in ms teams

Jon 20

how to get power bi dekstop with source in local folder in laptop to get into the cloud of ms teams, so anyone of team can upload the source file later and update automatically

so not only me can update it that the one has the laptop of the local folder

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Answer accepted by question author

Anonymous

Hi @Jon

Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A forum.

Thank you so much for reaching out. I truly appreciate you taking the time to share your question and I completely understand why you’d want a setup where your whole team can update the Power BI file without depending on one person’s laptop. Many customers are moving toward this model to ensure continuity, collaboration, and smoother report updates.

To allow your entire team to upload, edit, and refresh the PBIX file, the most reliable method is to store the file in a shared cloud location such as OneDrive for Business or your Microsoft Teams/SharePoint folder. Power BI integrates smoothly with both, allowing automatic syncing and easier team updates.

Once the PBIX file is saved in a shared cloud folder, any team member with permissions can download it, make updates, and re‑publish it to your Power BI workspace.

This approach also enables version history, which helps keep your content safe and traceable.

Since you’re looking for shared ownership and editing capabilities, a Power BI Pro license is required for anyone who needs to publish or update the PBIX file in a shared workspace. Microsoft’s current guidance confirms that users need either a Pro or Premium Per User license to share, publish, or collaborate within shared workspaces.

For more information, please refer to the following link: Licenses and Subscriptions for Business Users - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

Pricing for standalone Power BI Pro licenses is set to increase to USD $14 per user/month starting April 1, 2025, which aligns with Microsoft’s licensing updates for 2025–2026.

Additional details are available at the link: Power BI Licensing Changes: What Professionals Need to Know for 2025–2026

Please note that this information is being provided by the moderator solely for your convenience. The referenced sites are not managed or overseen by the moderator, and therefore we cannot guarantee the accuracy, security, or suitability of any software or content available there. We recommend reviewing all information carefully and ensuring you understand any associated risks before following suggestions from the provided link.

View‑only users won’t necessarily need a paid license if your workspace is hosted in a Premium or Fabric capacity. However, for most teams, Pro licensing for editors remains the simplest and most cost‑effective approach.

Given that your question involves a combination of Microsoft Teams governance, Microsoft Graph behavior, and Power BI integration, the most suitable place to receive guidance would be the Power BI forums - Microsoft Fabric Community. Experts in that community can help explore alternative governance strategies, provide insights into unsupported API behavior, and monitor whether channel‑level archiving becomes supported in future Graph API updates. User's image

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Thank you again for your time and for raising this important usability concern. If you have any further questions or need additional assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

I look forward to your thoughts on this.

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3 additional answers

Your answer

Answer 1

Jon 20

how about this one

when we use the way above , is it need any payment for it so that all the members can access it or free?

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Answer 2

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Answer 3

To let a Power BI report that currently uses a local folder on a laptop be updated by multiple team members via Microsoft Teams (and have the PBIX/Excel source in the cloud), move the source file to a shared cloud location that Power BI can connect to and that the team can access, then repoint Power BI to that location.

A practical pattern using Teams + SharePoint/OneDrive + Power BI:

Move the source file to a Teams/SharePoint location
In the target team/channel:
1. In Teams, go to Teams → select the team and channel.
2. Open the Files tab.
3. Select Open in SharePoint (from More or the toolbar).
4. In the SharePoint document library that opens, upload the Power BI Desktop file (.pbix) or Excel/CSV source file there.
  - Alternatively, in Teams Files tab, drag and drop the file into the window to upload it.
  - Any files uploaded here are accessible to all channel members.
(Optional but recommended) Sync the channel folder to each laptop
For easier local editing by any team member:
1. In the channel’s Files tab, select Sync.
2. This uses the OneDrive sync engine so the channel’s SharePoint folder appears in File Explorer on each device.
3. Team members can then open and edit the PBIX/Excel file from that synced folder instead of a private local folder.
Publish the Power BI report to the Power BI service from the shared file
There are two main options: Option A – Publish from Power BI Desktop
1. Open the PBIX from the synced Teams/SharePoint folder.
2. In Power BI Desktop, select File → Publish → Publish to Power BI.
3. Choose the workspace that the team uses (for example, the workspace connected to that team).
4. This creates a semantic model and report in the Power BI service that the team can view.
Option B – Upload the file directly in the Power BI service
1. In the Power BI service, go to the target workspace.
2. Select Upload → choose SharePoint (or OneDrive for work or school) and browse to the file in the team’s SharePoint site.
  - Power BI creates a connection to the file in SharePoint and can automatically sync changes about once an hour.
3. When the file is updated in SharePoint, Power BI refreshes the semantic model, reports, and dashboards automatically on that schedule.
Allow other team members to update the source and refresh
Once the file is in the team’s SharePoint/Teams Files location and the report is published:
- Any team member with access to that channel can open and edit the PBIX/Excel file from the Teams/SharePoint folder (or its synced folder on their laptop).
- After saving changes, Power BI will either:
  - Automatically sync changes (if connected via OneDrive for work or school / SharePoint in the Upload flow), or
  - Require a dataset refresh (if the PBIX was imported from a local drive).
- This removes dependency on a single person’s local folder.

Key behaviors from the documentation that support this setup:

When a file is stored in OneDrive for work or school or SharePoint team site and connected via Power BI’s Upload → OneDrive/SharePoint options, Power BI connects to the file in the cloud and checks for changes about once an hour, updating the semantic model, reports, and dashboards automatically.
Teams channel files are stored in SharePoint and can be synced locally with the OneDrive sync app, so multiple users can work on the same shared file from their own devices.

References: