Item-level access in Power BI allows administrators and workspace owners to control who can view, edit, or manage specific items within a workspace, providing granular security beyond workspace-level permissions. This feature is essential for organizations that need to share some reports while rest…Item-level access in Power BI allows administrators and workspace owners to control who can view, edit, or manage specific items within a workspace, providing granular security beyond workspace-level permissions. This feature is essential for organizations that need to share some reports while restricting access to others within the same workspace.
To configure item-level access, navigate to the workspace containing your content. Select the specific item (report, dashboard, dataset, or dataflow) you want to secure. Click the three dots (ellipsis) menu and choose 'Manage permissions' to access the permissions panel.
In the permissions panel, you can add users or groups and assign them specific roles. For reports and dashboards, you can grant Read access, allowing users to view the content. For datasets, you can configure Build permissions, enabling users to create new reports using that dataset, or you can restrict this capability.
Row-level security (RLS) provides another layer of item-level access control for datasets. RLS filters data at the row level based on user identity, ensuring users only see data relevant to their role. To implement RLS, define roles in Power BI Desktop using DAX expressions, then assign users to these roles in the Power BI service.
Best practices for item-level access include using security groups rather than individual users for easier management, regularly auditing permissions to ensure compliance, and documenting your security model for transparency. Consider implementing a least-privilege approach where users receive only the minimum access required for their tasks.
The Share feature also enables item-level access by allowing you to share specific reports or dashboards with users who lack workspace access. When sharing, you can choose whether recipients can reshare the item or build content using underlying datasets.
Effective item-level access configuration ensures sensitive business information remains protected while enabling collaboration and data-driven decision making across your organization.
Configure Item-Level Access in Power BI
Why Item-Level Access is Important
Item-level access is a critical security feature in Power BI that allows administrators to control who can view, edit, or manage specific content within workspaces. This granular control ensures that sensitive business data is only accessible to authorized users, helping organizations maintain compliance with data governance policies and regulatory requirements.
What is Item-Level Access?
Item-level access refers to the permissions assigned to individual items within a Power BI workspace, such as reports, dashboards, datasets, and dataflows. Unlike workspace roles that apply broadly to all content, item-level permissions allow you to set specific access rights for each artifact. This enables scenarios where users might have access to some reports but not others within the same workspace.
How Item-Level Access Works
Power BI provides several mechanisms for configuring item-level access:
1. Sharing Reports and Dashboards You can share individual reports or dashboards with specific users or groups. Recipients receive read-only access to the shared item. You can also grant recipients permission to reshare the item with others.
2. Build Permissions on Datasets Build permission allows users to create new content based on a dataset. This includes creating reports in Power BI Desktop or using Analyze in Excel. Build permission can be granted through apps, workspace roles, or dataset-specific settings.
3. Row-Level Security (RLS) RLS restricts data access at the row level. You define roles with DAX filters that limit which data rows users can see. Users are then assigned to these roles, ensuring they only view data relevant to their permissions.
4. Object-Level Security (OLS) OLS restricts access to specific tables or columns within a dataset. This is configured in tabular modeling tools and prevents users from seeing certain metadata or data elements.
5. App Permissions When publishing apps, you can configure different audiences with varying access levels to reports and dashboards within the app.
Key Permission Levels
- Read: View the item - Reshare: Share the item with other users - Build: Create new content from datasets - Write: Edit the item
Exam Tips: Answering Questions on Configure Item-Level Access
Understand the Hierarchy: Remember that workspace roles provide baseline permissions, but item-level settings can restrict access further. A user with Viewer role in a workspace can still be prevented from seeing specific items through RLS or sharing restrictions.
Know the Difference Between RLS and OLS: RLS filters rows of data based on user identity, while OLS hides entire tables or columns. Exam questions often test whether you can distinguish between these two security methods.
Build Permission Scenarios: Be prepared for questions about when Build permission is needed. If a question mentions creating reports from existing datasets or using Analyze in Excel, Build permission is typically required.
Sharing vs. Workspace Access: Understand that sharing an item grants access to that specific item only, not to the entire workspace. Users who receive shared items do not become workspace members.
App Audience Configuration: Know that apps allow you to create multiple audiences with different content visibility. This is a common exam topic for controlling access to subsets of app content.
Watch for Tricky Wording: Questions may present scenarios where a user has workspace access but should not see certain data. The solution typically involves RLS or OLS rather than removing workspace access.
Remember Admin Settings: Some item-level access features can be controlled or restricted by Power BI tenant administrators. Be aware that admin settings can override user-level configurations.
Practice Scenario-Based Questions: Many exam questions present real-world scenarios requiring you to choose the appropriate security mechanism. Focus on understanding when to use each type of item-level access control.