What are Power Bi Template Files? What do they do? Template files allow a Power BI file (PBIX) to be saved without the data, but retain all of the metadata, query definitions, data models and the details for the visuals to be presented when the data is refreshed And it is really easy to do #powerbi #powerbitips #selectdistinct

2. Shrink File Sizes using
Power BI Templates

3. Why would you need to
Power BI report files, which contain the full data as an import can become very large
if the dataset is also large
One very easy solution to shrink the file is to save it as a template (PBIT)
Template files allow a Power BI file (PBIX) to be saved without the data, but retain all
of the meta data, query definitions, data models and the details for the visuals to be
presented when the data is refreshed
And it is really easy to do

4. Start with any PBIX file
Open any PBIX File
In this example our
PBIX file is not too
large it is 21MB

5. Save as a PBIT Template file
Click File, Save as
In the dialogue box, select the filepath
and name for your template
In Save as type, select the drop down
and select the *.pbit file type
Click save
Then optionally, give the template a
description and click ok

6. Open the PBIT file
We can see the new file type is much
smaller, just 61k in this example
Double click to open the file
As the file opens, it will refresh the data
automatically

7. Power BI is rebuilt from the template
After the data refreshes
All of the content is reproduced exactly
as it was in the original PBIX file
This can be a great way to share
dashboards among developers if they
contain millions of rows
The tiny PBIT files can easily be
emailed, and if the recipient has
permission to refresh the source data
they can see exactly what the original
PBIX file contained

8. Hope you found this useful

9. For more Tips, Tricks and
Timesavers, visit our website
Tips and Timesavers | Select Distinct Limited
Credit: simon.harrison@selectdistinct.co.uk