Power BI is a powerful tool that helps you analyze data and build interactive reports. But before you can create those stunning dashboards, you need to bring data into Power BI. This process is called data loading. In this article, we’ll explain:

• What “data loading” means in Power BI
• How you connect to data sources
• Key settings to control how your data is handled

---

📥 What is Data Loading?

Data Loading in Power BI means importing data from a source (like Excel, SQL Server, or the web) into Power BI so that you can analyze it.

There are two main ways Power BI handles data loading:

1. Import Mode (most common for beginners)
2. DirectQuery Mode

1. Import Mode

• Data is copied and stored inside the Power BI file (.pbix).
• Reports run faster because data is already loaded.
• You need to refresh the data manually or on a schedule to get the latest updates.

✅ Best for: Excel files, CSVs, and databases that don’t change constantly.

2. DirectQuery Mode

• Power BI doesn’t store the data. It connects live to the source.
• Every time you open a report, it fetches fresh data from the source.
• May be slower depending on internet speed and database performance.

✅ Best for: Large databases or real-time dashboards.

---

🔗 Connecting to a Data Source

When you click “Get Data” in Power BI, you’re starting the process of connecting to a data source.

Here’s a simple example using an Excel file:

1. Click on Home > Get Data > Excel
2. Browse to your Excel file
3. Select the tables or sheets you want
4. Choose Load (to bring it into Power BI directly) or Transform Data (to clean or shape it first)

Once loaded, you’ll see the data tables in the right pane under Fields.

---

⚙️ Data Source Settings

Power BI remembers where your data is coming from and how to access it. That’s handled in Data Source Settings.

To view or change them:

1. Go to File > Options and settings > Data source settings
2. You’ll see a list of all the data sources used in your report

Here you can:

• Edit permissions – Change credentials used to access the data
• Change source – For example, switch from a test Excel file to the real one
• Clear permissions – Remove saved passwords or tokens

🛡️ Tip: If your data source has moved, you can update it here without redoing your report.

---

🔄 Refreshing Data

Once your data is loaded, you may need to refresh it to pull in the latest information.

• Click Home > Refresh to manually refresh the data
• Or set up scheduled refreshes in Power BI Service (online)

---

🧽 Power Query – Clean Before Load

Before loading data, you might want to clean or shape it. That’s where Power Query Editor comes in.

Click Transform Data instead of Load, and you can:

• Remove unnecessary columns
• Rename columns
• Filter rows
• Merge or split columns

These changes are stored as steps and won’t affect your original data file.

---

🧠 Final Thoughts

As a beginner in Power BI, just remember:

• You need to connect to a data source before analyzing it
• You can either import data or use DirectQuery
• Data Source Settings help manage where your data comes from
• Power Query lets you clean your data before using it