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Open local files (file://) directly by click on url link as with (http://)

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Miquel Angel Prat on 18 Feb 2018 18:43:45

Currently open a local file from Desktop is not possible and from browser is very tedious as explained on May 2017 update:

https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/power-bi-desktop-may-feature-summary/#urlTables

"If you want to use file URLs, there are some limitations. They will not open in the Power BI Desktop, only in web browsers. For most browsers, you will need to right click on the link, copy the link address, and paste the URL in a new tab"

It will be great if can be improved the way to open the files in same way as with web images or files (http://).

Comments (50)
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José Pintor on 05 Jul 2020 23:56:27

RE: Open local files (file://) directly by click on url link as with (http://)

Yes, please

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José Pintor on 05 Jul 2020 23:56:23

RE: Open local files (file://) directly by click on url link as with (http://)

Yes, please!

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Power BI User on 05 Jul 2020 23:40:31

RE: Open local files (file://) directly by click on url link as with (http://)

I am very disappointed to see this feature needs votes to make it happen. Isn't it default feature in any other MS Office application?

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ArcherLC on 05 Jul 2020 23:34:55

RE: Open local files (file://) directly by click on url link as with (http://)

This can transform the experience of using reports.

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Quique on 05 Jul 2020 23:32:38

RE: Open local files (file://) directly by click on url link as with (http://)

essential functionality

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Sharon Finley on 05 Jul 2020 23:29:30

RE: Open local files (file://) directly by click on url link as with (http://)

I've gotten around the limitation by passing the local file name as a parameter to a page I named redirect that has nothing but this script on it.


var filename = location.search.split('dmf=')[1];
window.open(filename);


So my power bi link is "https://www.myweb.com/redirect.aspx?dmf=

This work but I agree it would be so much better if it was a native feature.

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Marta on 05 Jul 2020 23:22:47

RE: Open local files (file://) directly by click on url link as with (http://)

My colleague and I have been voting for this idea as I know several companies who could benefit from it, but the number of votes is not increasing as a result.

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Power BI User on 05 Jul 2020 23:21:04

RE: Open local files (file://) directly by click on url link as with (http://)

This would increase the quality of my Power BI reports as well!

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Nick Middleton on 05 Jul 2020 23:17:17

RE: Open local files (file://) directly by click on url link as with (http://)

I think this feature would really add to the interactivity of PowerBI at the moment the file URL feature is limited to the point of being useless.

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Dane on 05 Jul 2020 23:16:52

RE: Open local files (file://) directly by click on url link as with (http://)

Is this a limitation of the service itself, or a security feature in modern browsers?