Importing data
Power BI is best known for the impressive data visualizations and dashboard capabilities it has. However, before you can begin building reports, you first need to connect to the necessary data sources. Within Power BI Desktop, a developer has more than 130 unique data connectors to choose from, ranging from traditional file types, database engines, big data solutions, cloud sources, data stored on a web page, and other SaaS providers. This book will not cover all 130 connectors that are available, but it will highlight some of the most popular.
When establishing a connection to a data source, you may be presented with one of three different options regarding how your data will be treated: Import, DirectQuery, or live connection. This section will focus specifically on the Import option.
Choosing to import data, which is the most common option and default behavior, means that Power BI will physically extract rows of data from the selected source and store it...