Soterre PBI Analyzer

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Soterre PBI Analyzer — External Tool ​

Integrate Soterre PBI Analyzer directly into Power BI Desktop as an External Tool, or connect to Power BI Service datasets via the XMLA endpoint.

Overview ​

The Soterre PBI Analyzer External Tool is a standalone Windows application that plugs into Power BI Desktop through the official External Tools ribbon. It analyzes the currently open semantic model (or any dataset published to Power BI Service) and reports the same flags as the main Soterre PBI Analyzer.

What You Can Do With It ​

  • Analyze the model open in Power BI Desktop — one click from the External Tools ribbon.
  • Analyze datasets in Power BI Service — connect via XMLA endpoint and pick any dataset in a Premium / Fabric workspace.
  • Run the same flag checks as the main analyzer (unused tables, complex DAX, duplicates, etc.) without uploading .pbix files manually.

System Requirements ​

RequirementDetails
Operating SystemWindows 10 or later (x64)
Power BI DesktopLatest version (only required for Desktop integration)
.NET RuntimeNone — the tool ships as a self-contained executable
For Service usePower BI Premium / Fabric capacity workspace with XMLA endpoint read access enabled

The external tool comes as a pre-built package — you do not need to build it from source.

Download and Install ​

  1. Download the Soterre PBI Analyzer External Tool package (.zip archive) provided by our team.

  2. Extract the archive to a permanent location on your machine, for example:

    C:\Program Files\Soterre\PBI-Analyzer-External-Tool\

    Do not place it in a temporary folder — Power BI Desktop will launch the executable from this path every time.

  3. Inside the extracted folder you will find:

    • pbi-desktop-external-tool.exe — the main application
    • Supporting .dll files and dependencies

Step 1: First Launch (Register with Power BI Desktop) ​

The external tool registers itself automatically with Power BI Desktop on first launch — but this requires administrator rights, because registration writes a file into Power BI Desktop's system directory:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Power BI Desktop\External Tools\

1.1 Run as Administrator (One Time Only) ​

  1. Right-click pbi-desktop-external-tool.exe
  2. Select "Run as administrator"
  3. Confirm the UAC prompt

The tool will:

  • Create the registration file soterre-pbi-analyzer.pbitool.json in the External Tools directory
  • Open its main window

If you skip admin rights on first launch: The tool will display a warning: "Could not register as a Power BI External Tool — administrator rights are required. Please run the application once as administrator to complete registration."

The tool will still work for XMLA / Power BI Service connections, but the Power BI Desktop ribbon button will not appear until you run it once as administrator.

1.2 Verify Registration ​

  1. Close and reopen Power BI Desktop
  2. Open any .pbix file
  3. Go to the External Tools ribbon
  4. You should see Soterre PBI Analyzer alongside tools like DAX Studio or Tabular Editor

After registration, you do not need to run the tool as administrator again — Power BI Desktop will launch it normally from the ribbon.

Step 2: Analyze a Model Open in Power BI Desktop ​

This is the simplest workflow — analyze whatever you're currently editing.

  1. Open any .pbix file in Power BI Desktop
  2. Click the External Tools ribbon
  3. Click Soterre PBI Analyzer

Power BI Desktop launches the external tool and passes the connection details (local Analysis Services instance and database name) as command-line arguments. The tool connects automatically and displays the analysis.

Under the hood: Power BI Desktop runs a hidden local Analysis Services engine for every open .pbix file. The external tool attaches to it via the Tabular Object Model (TOM), reads the model metadata, and runs the flag checks — no files are uploaded anywhere.

Step 3: Analyze a Dataset in Power BI Service (XMLA) ​

The external tool can also connect to datasets published to Power BI Service via the XMLA endpoint.

3.1 Prerequisites ​

RequirementDetails
Workspace capacityPower BI Premium (P SKU) or Fabric capacity (F SKU) — XMLA is not available on Pro workspaces
XMLA Endpoint — Read accessEnabled in the Power BI Admin Portal (tenant setting)
User accountMust have at least Contributor access to the workspace

3.2 Find Your Workspace ID ​

  1. Open https://app.powerbi.com
  2. Navigate to the workspace you want to analyze
  3. Copy the workspace name (or the GUID from the URL after /groups/)

3.3 Build the XMLA Endpoint URL ​

The XMLA endpoint follows this pattern:

powerbi://api.powerbi.com/v1.0/myorg/{workspace-name-or-id}

Example:

powerbi://api.powerbi.com/v1.0/myorg/BI-Production

3.4 Connect From the External Tool ​

  1. Launch pbi-desktop-external-tool.exe directly (no admin needed after first registration)
  2. In the connection dialog, paste the XMLA endpoint URL
  3. Sign in with your Azure AD account when prompted
  4. The tool enumerates all datasets in the workspace
  5. Select a dataset and run the analysis

Which Flags Does It Detect? ​

The external tool runs the same flag checks as the main Soterre PBI Analyzer. See the Flags overview for the full list, including:

Note: Visual-level flags (Excessive visuals, Non-Data visuals, Merge cards into matrix) are only available in the main Soterre PBI Analyzer because the external tool reads the semantic model via TOM and does not have access to report layout metadata.

Troubleshooting ​

ProblemCauseSolution
Tool doesn't appear in Power BI Desktop External Tools ribbonRegistration file was not created (not run as admin on first run)Close Power BI Desktop, right-click the .exe and select "Run as administrator", then reopen Desktop
"Administrator rights are required" warning on launchTrying to register without elevationRun the executable as administrator once — only needed for the initial registration
Tool appears in ribbon but fails to connectThe .exe was moved after registrationMove the tool back to its original location, or re-run as administrator to refresh the registration
Cannot connect to XMLA endpointWorkspace is not on Premium / Fabric capacityXMLA endpoints require a Premium (P SKU) or Fabric (F SKU) workspace
XMLA connects but dataset list is emptyUser account lacks workspace accessAsk a workspace admin to grant you at least Contributor access
"XMLA endpoint read access is disabled"Tenant setting is offA Power BI administrator must enable XMLA Endpoint → Read in the Admin Portal → Capacity settings
Registration succeeds but Power BI Desktop doesn't show the toolDesktop was already open during registrationFully close and reopen Power BI Desktop — the External Tools ribbon is only scanned on startup