How to Use the PowerBI Template

The PowerBI template is provided as a starting point for Nexus users. It is configured to use the various data files out of the box. Some additional configuration is needed.

Save a copy of the template in case there is a need to restore it in the future. Store the template in a folder where the data files will be stored as well. If the data file(s) are found at the expected path, reloading of the data is easy.

Depending upon the role associated to your account, the available data files will be displayed in the list with their GET button. The files will be delivered via a link in an email. The data files are created in queues on the cloud and therefore, may require a small amount of time to be generated.

Go to the BI Downloads Page

If the email is not received within an hour of the GET request, check that it is not being trapped in your email programs spam filter. Also, ensure that emails can be received from the ctcsoftware domain. This may require some assistance from your company's IT.

Click the download link in the email. Your computer's default internet browser will open and, depending on it's settings, will either prompt for download locations to save to or simply download to the default location (usually your “Downloads” folder).

The template was created using the free desktop version located on Microsoft's website. There are a lot of good resources online for learning how to use PowerBI.

• Microsoft Learning - PowerBI
• PowerBI Tips
• Stack Overflow PowerBI topics

NOTE: if your organization does not wish to use Projects/PAL or CMS, those tables should be removed from the template before configuration to prevent encountering errors.

Upon launching PowerBI, on the start screen, click “Open other reports”. Browse to the template downloaded previously to open it.

The template needs to be configured to point to your organization data. To do this:

1. On the tool ribbon, click “Transform Data” then –> “Edit Parameters”
2. Change the DataFolder value to match the path where the data files have been placed. Be sure that the path ends with a back slash ( \ )
3. The name of the data files downloaded contains your Organization ID in a format like c11234111-c8fb-4156-952d-c7ec47ff5b6c. This is the value you will put in the OrgId field
4. Click OK, then “Apply Changes” on the message band in PowerBI
5. Save the PowerBI report.

The next time new data files are downloaded, simply replace the previous files in the configured location and click “Refresh” on the PowerBI tool ribbon next to “Transform Data”.

More Information about the CMS Data

More Information about the PAL Data