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# Download PBIX for Report created in Service

![](/files/-M4zyjGMGDr88HI7kDAS)

*I've been there many times myself, and I have witnessed other people having the problem: The ability to create a new report directly in Power BI Service, connected to an existing dataset, is very powerful for its agility.*

*It comes with a huge limitation, though: **The resulting report cannot be downloaded as a PBIX file**, hence cannot be edited further in Power BI Desktop, or shared or archived as a file. Sometimes, new users aren't even aware of this, invest a lot of time and energy into building beautiful reports directly in the browser, only to realize later that they are now locked in.*

Here is the same problem reported in a Power BI Community Forum:

* [Can't download .pbix from report on service](https://community.powerbi.com/t5/Service/Can-t-download-pbix-from-report-on-service/td-p/854601)

**This article gives you a solution which works for anyone without any advanced technical skills.** It is based on two important insights:

{% hint style="info" %}

1. For a report to be downloadable as a .pbix file, it must have been created in Power BI Desktop originally.
2. The `Update Report Content` API allows to swap the contents of any two reports in Power BI Service, provided they are connected to the same dataset.
   {% endhint %}

Putting those two points together, we can come up with this process to download a report PBIX that was previously blocked from being downloaded:

1. Report `A` has been created from dataset `B` in Power BI Service, and cannot be downloaded.
2. In Power BI Desktop, create a new report `C` connected to the same dataset `B`, leave it otherwise empty, and upload it to the same workspace. This report **can** subsequently be downloaded as a .pbix file, even once edits have been made to it in the Service.
3. Use the [Update Report Content API](https://docs.microsoft.com/rest/api/power-bi/reports/updatereportcontentingroup) - which can be triggered interactively on that docs page - to update report `C` with the contents of report `A`.
4. Download report `C`, now containing all the pages, filters and visuals from the original report `A`, and make further edits in Power BI Desktop.

## Using the *Update Report Content* API

The API requires a POST request to be made to this url: `https://api.powerbi.com/v1.0/myorg/groups/{groupId}/reports/{reportId}/UpdateReportContent`.

`{groupId}` and `{reportId}` represent the report **to be updated**. In our case that is the one we've uploaded as an empty/dummy report from Power BI Desktop, report `C`.

The request must be made with a json body like this:

```javascript
{
  "sourceReport": {
    "sourceReportId": "8e4d5880-81d6-4804-ab97-054665050799",
    "sourceWorkspaceId": "2f42a406-a075-4a15-bbf2-97ef958c94cb"
  },
  "sourceType": "ExistingReport"
}
```

That describes the report the content is coming from, in our case report `A`. *`"sourceType": "ExistingReport"`* always has to be specified exactly like that.

If both reports are in the same workspace, `sourceWorkspaceId` does not need to provided, which simplifies the format further:

```javascript
{
  "sourceReport": {
    "sourceReportId": "8e4d5880-81d6-4804-ab97-054665050799"
  },
  "sourceType": "ExistingReport"
}
```

Let's start by collecting the necessary information. There are two reports in my workspace - one *Created in Service*, which cannot be downloaded, one *Created in PBI Desktop*, which can be downloaded:

![](/files/-M4zyjGSUOzdyJ_aMARq)

The *Created in PBI Desktop* report is the one to be updated. Its url is: `https://app.powerbi.com/groups/7e2f5035-afa4-49c9-8a6d-9c5fdff2245d/reports/d7de9a81-ab33-48d1-b124-0305e4a9276f/ReportSection`.

Hence, I can extract:

* `groupId` = `7e2f5035-afa4-49c9-8a6d-9c5fdff2245d`
* `reportId` = `d7de9a81-ab33-48d1-b124-0305e4a9276f`

The *Created in Service* report is the source report, and its url is: `https://app.powerbi.com/groups/7e2f5035-afa4-49c9-8a6d-9c5fdff2245d/reports/51a1cd5d-78b7-434c-8268-08d3c63882a4/ReportSection`.

That gives me:

* `sourceReportId` = `51a1cd5d-78b7-434c-8268-08d3c63882a4`

## Invoking the *Update Report Content* API interactively

Let's navigate to the API Docs page for [Update Report Content](https://docs.microsoft.com/rest/api/power-bi/reports/updatereportcontentingroup). It has that really useful green "Try It" button:

![](/files/-M4zyjGUrX2npYHm4-a1)

Clicking this opens a new panel on the right with a *Sign in* button. Use that to sign in with your Power BI account:

![](/files/-M4zyjGWJFsxAJKomy43)

Then, simply fill in the parameters collected earlier:

![](/files/-M4zyjGYpOlNZlf46Wzi)

...and click the green "Run" button below:

![](/files/-M4zyjG_hZPwYO5PIUsh)

If everything went well, "Response Code: 200" will be reported:

![](/files/-M4zyjGbooERHsYJTFhC)

I can now open the report `C`, the one uploaded from Power BI Desktop earlier. It has exactly the same contents as report `A`, however, this one can also be downloaded!

![](/files/-M4zyjGd_3mn4TxVVOWV)

Problem solved.