Connect Aphex to Power BI
In addition to our built in reporting app, Aphex Insight we also provide an integration with Power BI so that teams can customise their reports and hunt for insight.
In this guide we will go through the key steps to start analysing your data in Power BI. Where necessary we will include links to more advanced features throughout.
Enable Integration
The Power BI Integration is enabled at a project level so that every team has control over who can access their data. To start, head to your project in Aphex Planner and locate the Integrations page.
To enable the data source:
Open your project
Click your project title in the top left and select
Integrations
from the menuLocate the Power BI section and toggle
Enable Source
Generate a Token
Once you've enabled the Power BI source, you’ll be able to copy your project's unique URL endpoint.
To keep your data secure, the endpoint won’t return any data unless the request includes a valid token. The token is shown once only, so be sure to copy it before closing the window. If it expires or you forget to save it, you can generate a new one at any time.
To generate a token:
On the Integrations page, click
+ Generate New Token
Give your token a name so that people know what it's being used for
Click
Generate Token
Select
Copy Token
Click
Done
to close the window
Download a Template
Next up: pick a template. We’ve created a set of ready-to-use Power BI dashboards so you don’t have to build your own from scratch. Choose one that fits your reporting needs, then you’ll be ready to connect your project data.
To download a template:
Visit Aphex's Resource Hub
Pick a Template
Enter in your details & email
Open the email and click the download link
A PBIT file will download to your device
or build your own using the
Load Data into Power BI
Next step: open your template Before the template can show anything, it needs to connect to your project. This is where you plug in the values you saved earlier and let Power BI load your project data into the report.
To connect the template to your Aphex Project:
Open the PBIT file in Power BI Desktop
You’ll be prompted to enter three values:
Project API URL
Token
Project Name
(this is just for display inside the report)
Click
Load
Power BI will securely request your project data and load it into the report
With your data loaded, the dashboard is ready to use. If you’re familiar with Power BI, you can tweak visuals, add filters, or expand the reports to fit your project’s workflow.
Common Connection Issues
Most connection issues come down to one of a few predictable causes. This section walks through the ones we see most often and how to fix them.
Access Web Content: Use Anonymous Authentication
When Power BI prompts you with the Access Web Content window, make sure Anonymous
is selected.
This is important because the API uses your token for authentication - selecting any other method (like Windows or Organizational Account) will block the connection.
To use Anonymous Authentication:
In the Access Web Content window, select
Anonymous
Make sure no other method is selected, and that no other information has been entered into the window (like Web API Key, or Organizational Account)
You may also need to ensure the
Privacy Level
is set toNone
orPublic
to avoid errors when refreshing
To prompt the Access Web Content window:
Open the template
Click
Transform Data
Select
Data Source Settings
Click
Edit Permissions
at the bottom of the windowMake sure that Credentials match:
Type:
Anonymous
Privacy Level:
None
If needed, select
Edit
to open the Access Web Content window
Response Size Limit (32mb)
By default, your request will return data from the 5 most recent Published Versions. If your project’s dataset is too large, the connection may fail to load. Unless you're on an Enterprise plan, the API response must be under 32MB. You can reduce the amount of data being returned by using query parameters to limit the response size.
Read more about query parameters in our
Replace Expired Credentials
Bearer tokens used for the Power BI integration are valid for 90 days. After that, the connection will stop working until you generate a new token.
If your token has expired, simply return to the project’s Integrations page, revoke the old token, and generate a new one. You’ll need to re-enter the new token into your report to restore the connection.
To replace an expired Token:
Generate a new Token from inside your Aphex Project
Open your template in Power BI
Click
Transform Data
thenEdit Parameters
Select
Edit Token
Delete your old token and add your new one, then select
Save
You may need to
Reload Data
Set up Automatic Refresh
Once your report is connected, you can configure scheduled refresh in Power BI to keep your data up to date automatically.
We suggest setting the refresh to run a few hours (or the day after) your team typically creates the weekly Published Version in Aphex. That way, your dashboard will always reflect the latest plan, without any manual updates.
To set up Scheduled Refresh inside Power BI:
Publish your report to Power BI Service
In Power BI Desktop, go to
File
→Publish
→My Workspace
(or your team’s shared workspace).
Open dataset settings
In Power BI Service, go to your
workspace
→Datasets
tab.Find the dataset linked to your Aphex report and click the
More Options (⋯)
→Settings
Set authentication method to Anonymous
Under
Data source credentials
, confirm that the method is set toAnonymous
.Also check that
Privacy Level
is set toNone
orPublic
, if prompted.
Enable “Skip test connection”
To avoid false errors during refresh setup, make sure to enable “
Skip test connection
”.This setting tells Power BI not to validate the connection in advance, which is fine, because the bearer token is already embedded in the query.
Set up scheduled refresh
Expand the
Scheduled refresh
section and turn it on:Choose
daily
orweekly
refresh
Save your changes
Your dashboard will now stay in sync with the latest Published Plan - no manual exports or updates needed.
Visit the Microsoft Documentation to learn more about Scheduled Refresh in Power BI
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