Data Source Settings and Privacy

Return to an existing connection

A connection is not frozen after its first successful load. In Power BI Desktop, you can return to the connection settings and change them after creating the connection and loading its data.

That matters whenever the source and its access rules evolve. A file can move to another folder, a database can move to another server, or an organizational security policy can require a credential update. Connection maintenance lets the report continue using the intended source without starting the entire connection workflow again.

The first decision is to identify what changed:

To open the maintenance list from Power BI Desktop, use Home → Transform data → Data source settings. Data source settings opens the list of existing source connections and the actions used to maintain them.

Select the source that needs attention. You can then right-click it to open its context menu or use the update buttons in the lower-left area of the window. Choose the action that matches the changed configuration, update the requested setting, and apply the change.

Do not confuse this command with later or earlier stages:

• Navigator previews and selects tables or entities after a connection succeeds.
• Transform Data opens Power Query for reviewing and preparing data.
• Close and Apply commits completed Power Query changes.

None of those three commands opens the list of existing connections for maintenance; that job belongs to Data source settings.

Pick the maintenance action that matches the change

The Data source settings window offers three maintenance actions with deliberately different purposes.

Clear Permissions removes saved permission information for an existing connection so that the connection can request it again.

The action name is a clue to its scope. A location problem belongs to the source address. A password or privacy-level problem belongs to permissions. Removing saved access data entirely is different from editing it in place.

Suppose a report uses Sales.xlsx, a SQL Server database, and another existing source:

• Sales.xlsx moved: choose Change Source and replace its path.
• The SQL Server password changed: choose Edit permissions and update the credential.
• The selected source must ask for access information again: choose Clear Permissions.

Change Source does not edit credentials or privacy levels, and Edit permissions does not replace a path, server, or database. Clear Permissions does not retain and modify the saved configuration; it removes it.

Navigator is not a fourth maintenance action. Selecting another table in Navigator changes which source object you want to use after connecting; it does not repair an obsolete connection path or update saved access information.

Repair a moved file safely

When a connected file moves, the report's old path no longer identifies its location. For a moved file, open Data source settings, select the file, choose Change Source, and update the file path or browse to the replacement file. Confirm the new location with OK, and then close the Data source settings dialog.

The sequence is short:

1. Open Data source settings.
2. Select the connected file.
3. Choose Change Source.
4. Enter the new file path or use Browse.
5. Select OK, then Close.

Changing credentials would leave the obsolete path untouched. Clearing permissions would remove saved access information but would also leave the obsolete path untouched. Navigator cannot repair the connection because it becomes useful only after Power BI has reached a source and can display its objects.

The replacement file must preserve the original structure. Deleting or renaming source columns can break the reporting model. Queries, relationships, calculations, and report fields can depend on the columns they were built to use; a new path does not repair a missing or renamed column.

For example, moving Sales.xlsx while retaining columns such as OrderDate, ProductID, and Amount is a location-only change. Moving the workbook and renaming Amount to NetAmount is also a structural change. Address that incompatibility before treating the replacement as equivalent to the original.

The risk comes from the changed schema, not from an authentication identity. A renamed column does not change the Windows account used to connect, and changing a file path does not turn the workbook into SQL Server or automatically clear all saved permissions.

Update relational connection details in Power Query

Power Query provides two routes back to an existing source's connection details. This is useful when you are already inspecting a query and discover that its server or database address must change.

The first route starts from the selected query: select the table, then choose Data source settings on the Home ribbon. This opens the same maintenance context in which you can select the source and choose the appropriate action.

For a relational source, the second route is in the Query Settings pane. Find the Source step and select the settings icon next to it. That control reopens the connection details associated with the query's Source step; it is the alternative Query Settings route for changing relational connection information.

In the window displayed from the Source step, update the server and database details and confirm the dialog with OK. After updating server and database details from Power Query, confirm the dialog and then select Close and Apply.

These controls perform separate parts of the job:

Canceling the connection dialog prevents the new details from being confirmed. Opening Navigator would return to object selection rather than complete this existing Query Settings edit. Clearing permissions would affect stored access information, not the requested server and database values.

Match a SQL Server sign-in to the identity

A SQL Server connection presents three documented sign-in choices: Windows, Database, and Microsoft account. Choose among them according to the identity supplied for that source.

Use Database when a database administrator provides a unique database sign-in rather than a Windows or Microsoft account identity. Enter that database-issued user name and password on the Database tab. Conversely, a Windows identity belongs under Windows, and a Microsoft account identity belongs under Microsoft account.

The credential type does not describe where the server is or which table to load. It describes how the connection authenticates the supplied identity.

Keep authentication separate from connectivity and preparation choices. Connect live is an Analysis Services connectivity option that keeps data and calculations in their original model; it is not a SQL Server credential type. Navigator selects available tables or entities after connection. Transform Data launches Power Query so selected data can be reviewed and cleaned before loading.

Therefore, a database administrator's unique SQL sign-in maps to Database, even if a question also mentions tables, real-time data, or Power Query. Those details do not transform Connect live, Navigator, or Transform Data into authentication methods.

Likewise, changing from one sign-in identity to another does not require replacing the database with a workbook. Source location and authentication remain distinct settings.

Rotate credentials without relocating the source

A password rotation changes access information, not the source's address. When a security policy requires a new password for a SQL Server connection that uses a database-issued identity, choose Edit permissions and keep Database as the credential type. Enter the new credential and apply the update.

The two parts of that decision answer different questions:

• Edit permissions identifies the configuration being changed: saved access information.
• Database identifies the kind of identity being supplied: credentials issued by the database system.

Do not choose Change Source when the current server and database are still correct; that action addresses location details. Clear Permissions can remove saved permission information and cause the connection to request it again, but continuing with an expired password would not satisfy the policy. Connect live cannot replace Database because it is a connectivity choice for Analysis Services, not an authentication identity.

Change a privacy level in place

A privacy-level update also belongs to the selected source's saved permission configuration. To change a saved privacy level, select the source in Data source settings, choose Edit permissions, update the privacy setting, and apply the change.

If the server is already correct, leave it alone. Change Source would edit a path, server, or database and would therefore target the wrong configuration. Clear Permissions would remove saved permission information rather than perform the requested in-place privacy selection. Navigator would select an object to load rather than change an existing source's privacy configuration.

This produces a reliable decision rule:

Key takeaways

• Data source settings opens the maintenance list after a connection has been created and loaded. Reach it through Home → Transform data → Data source settings, then select the source and use its context menu or the lower-left update buttons.
• Change Source updates a file path, server, or database. For a moved file, update or browse to the new path, confirm it, and preserve the original file structure so renamed or deleted columns do not break the model.
• In Power Query, select the table and use Data source settings on the Home ribbon, or use the settings icon beside Source in Query Settings for relational details. Confirm the dialog, then choose Close and Apply.
• Edit permissions changes a saved credential or privacy level. Clear Permissions removes saved permission information so the connection can request it again.
• SQL Server offers Windows, Database, and Microsoft account sign-in choices. Match the type to the supplied identity; a database administrator's unique sign-in belongs under Database.