User guide · ~9 minute read

Using Power BI Director

Everything from download to your first bulk refresh, query, and analysis. The screenshots use sample workspace and model names — yours will show your own environment.

1 · Download and first run

Download the ZIP from the latest release and extract PowerBI-Director.exe anywhere in your user profile.
Double-click it. There is no installation and no admin prompt — it's a single portable file.
First run only: Windows SmartScreen may show "Windows protected your PC." Click More info → Run anyway, and verify your download against the SHA256 checksum published with each release if you wish.

On a company-managed laptop, endpoint tools (CyberArk, AppLocker, Defender policies) may block unknown apps regardless. Ask IT to whitelist the exe by its published SHA256 hash.

2 · Connect — two doors, pick either

Option A — Sign in (full experience)

Click Sign in. Your browser opens and you authenticate directly with Microsoft using your own Power BI account — the app never sees your password. The button changes to Signed in ✓, your workspaces load, and every feature is available, including refresh history and cancel.

Step: the Sign in button in the top toolbar band — Sign in opens your browser for Microsoft authentication.

Seeing an "Approval required" page instead? Your organization gates third-party apps behind admin consent. Submit the request it offers (a one-time approval for your whole organization) — and use Option B below in the meantime, which needs no approval at all.

Option B — Direct connect (XMLA): the SSMS way, no approval needed

Click Direct connect (XMLA) and type the workspace name exactly as it appears in Power BI (or paste its full powerbi:// XMLA address). Microsoft's own Analysis Services sign-in appears — the same mechanism SSMS, DAX Studio and Tabular Editor use — and you connect with the permissions your account already has. Nothing to register, nobody to ask.

Works: bulk refresh, Query (DAX & SQL), Model Explorer, Partitions, Size Analyzer, Best Practices, RLS Tester.
Paused in this mode: refresh history and cancel — those use the REST API. Press Sign in anytime to add them.
Requires: the workspace on Premium / Fabric / PPU capacity — same prerequisite as SSMS.

On managed corporate devices the Microsoft sign-in window can render as a blank white box (a WebView2 rendering restriction). It still works: click once in the middle of the window — your account tile is there, just invisible — and the connection completes via single sign-on.

3 · Pick a workspace

In Sign-in mode, open the Workspace dropdown — type to search if you have many. In Direct mode you already named it. Either way, the workspace's semantic models list on the left.

Step: the workspace dropdown with type-to-search — Type-to-search works across all your workspaces.

4 · The model list — one rule to remember

Tick the checkbox ☑ = include that model in the next bulk refresh.
Click the model's name = make it the working model for every tab: history, query, explorer, partitions, analyzers.

The filter box narrows long lists instantly; Check all respects the filter and skips internal models that can't be refreshed.

Step: checkboxes for bulk refresh and the filter box — Check = refresh together. Click = work with.

5 · Bulk refresh and the smart queue

Tick your models and press ▶ Refresh checked (the button shows a live count). Up to three models refresh in parallel — a deliberate cap that protects your capacity — and the rest show queued, starting automatically as slots free up. Statuses update live: queued → running (with elapsed time) → Completed or Failed. The button never locks: you can keep starting more models while others run, and models already refreshing are skipped, never double-triggered.

Step: the bulk refresh button and live per-model status — Live statuses; the queue drains itself.

Good to know (Direct mode): XMLA refreshes appear in the Power BI portal's refresh history only after they complete, listed as "Via XMLA Endpoint" — an in-flight XMLA refresh is invisible to the portal, even though the engine is working. The app's live status is your progress view. For very large incremental models, refreshing just the current partition from the Partitions tab is much faster than a full process.

6 · Refresh history (Sign-in mode)

Click any model and its history loads instantly — type, local times, duration, status, and a readable error message (hover for full detail). Press Show all checked models for a merged, newest-first view across every checked model — a cross-model view the portal doesn't offer. Select an in-progress row and press Cancel to stop it.

Step: merged refresh history across checked models — Merged history: every checked model's runs in one grid.

7 · Query — in DAX or plain SQL

The Query tab runs against whichever model is selected (the picker shows it explicitly).

DAX / DMV — any EVALUATE … query or $SYSTEM DMV. The Table dropdown inserts a ready-made top-100 query; F5 runs.
SQL — write a familiar SELECT … WHERE … GROUP BY … ORDER BY and the generated DAX appears live as you type, then executes. Supported: TOP/LIMIT, AND filters, SUM/COUNT/AVG/MIN/MAX. JOINs and OR aren't — the error says so, and DAX mode is one click away.

Step: SQL mode with live generated DAX and results — SQL in, DAX shown, results out — with row count and duration.

8 · The deeper tabs

Model Explorer — tables, columns, measures, partitions and last-refresh times; double-click a table to query it.
Partitions — every partition with its incremental date range; check specific ones and refresh just those (capacity XMLA endpoint must be Read/Write; the app warns before writing).
Size Analyzer — per-column memory: data + dictionary size, largest first, with % of model.
Best Practices — curated rule scan with a concrete fix per finding, color-coded Error / Warning / Info.
RLS Tester — pick a role, see its filter DAX, compare per-table row counts with vs. without the role: Full, Filtered, or Blocked.

Step: the analyzer tabs, showing the Size Analyzer — Size Analyzer: see exactly which columns cost the memory.

Requirements

Feature	Needs
Refresh, history, cancel (Sign-in mode)	Any workspace you can contribute to — Pro is enough (API limit: 8 refreshes/day/model on shared capacity)
Direct connect, Query, Explorer, Size, Best Practices, RLS	Workspace on Premium / Fabric / PPU capacity (XMLA read) + Build permission on the model
Partition refresh	The above, plus capacity XMLA endpoint set to Read/Write

Privacy in one paragraph: the app talks only to Microsoft endpoints over TLS, holds your access token in memory only, signs you out after 30 minutes idle, contains no telemetry, and acts strictly with your own permissions. The source code is public so none of this has to be taken on trust.

Troubleshooting

You see	It means
"Windows protected your PC"	Unsigned app, first run — More info → Run anyway.
"Approval required" at sign-in	Your organization gates third-party apps. Request the one-time admin approval — and use Direct connect (XMLA) meanwhile.
Blank white sign-in window (Direct connect)	Corporate WebView2 rendering restriction. Click once in the window's middle — sign-in completes via SSO.
A model shows "queued"	Working as designed: max 3 refresh at once; it starts automatically when a slot frees.
XMLA refresh running, but nothing in the portal's history	Normal: XMLA refreshes appear there only after completion, as "Via XMLA Endpoint".
"XMLA unavailable here…"	That workspace isn't on Premium/Fabric capacity — Sign-in-mode refresh & history still work.
"You need Build permission…"	Ask the model owner for Build access.
"not refreshable" status	Internal model (e.g. usage metrics) — excluded from refresh by design.

Download Power BI Director