Question

Why are users unable to view a shared report in Power BI Service, despite having the correct permissions?

Some users report that they cannot access a shared report in Power BI Service, even though they appear to have the necessary permissions. I've confirmed their access level, but they still encounter an access error. What could be causing this, and how can I resolve it?

Answer 1

• Jusri Sadik is the sole author of the article, and he has provided a detailed account of the factors hindering Power BI users from accessing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).  The article describes the three main classifications of the issue: permissions, object exposure, and vertical filtering of the data through Row Level Security (RLS).  In the first embodiment of the problem, Sadik suggests making sure that the given users are indeed part of the appropriate group or workspace in the Power BI Service, as access permissions in Power BI are usually assigned through different roles within a workspace, such as Viewer, Contributor, or Member.  This is because there are cases where the user has been added to the workspace but cannot have access to the report since the sharing settings of the report have been customized to limit certain contents of that workspace. Manami asks users to ensure that the report is shared with the necessary users and that all the appropriate permissions have been assigned to both the workspace and the report.
• Another issue that is prevalent in these types of situations regards row-level security, RLS. In this case, if the report employs RLS to restrict the data to be displayed based on the user’s Role Membership or group membership, it may display an “access denied” message to those who are not assigned to the RLS role. That’s why it’s imperative to make sure that all individuals or teams have been given the appropriate roles, as RLS restrictions supersede any other access permissions. If reports are generated with RLS applied, ensure that the relevant users are assigned to the RLS segmentation as built in the dataset settings.
• Lastly, ascertain that the users are granted permission to view the underlying dataset. Sometimes, the report may have been shared but not the dataset because the dataset may have certain restrictions on access from certain users. Open the dataset in Power BI Service and check the settings to confirm that users are assigned view permission for the dataset. In the event that all configurations are in order and the problems complained of continue to exist, it would be advisable to remove the cache of the users’ browsers or suggest to the users to use another browser as the problem could be caused by some caching local which hinders viewing the report.