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Installing Power BI Desktop

Download, install and set up Power BI Desktop on Windows — step by step

What you will learn
  • How to download and install Power BI Desktop
  • The three main views in Power BI Desktop
  • How to navigate the Power BI interface
Power BI Desktop is a free Windows application. It is not available on Mac natively (though you can use it via Parallels or a Windows VM on Mac). This tutorial walks you through downloading and setting up Power BI Desktop so you are ready to follow every tutorial in this series. System requirements: Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit), 2 GB RAM minimum (4 GB recommended), 1.5 GB available disk space, .NET 4.6.2 or later (usually already installed). You do not need a Microsoft account to use Power BI Desktop for local work. You only need an account when publishing to Power BI Service.

Example

Step-by-step installation
OPTION 1 — Microsoft Store (Recommended)
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1. Open Microsoft Store on Windows 10/11
2. Search "Power BI Desktop"
3. Click "Get" → installs automatically
4. Updates automatically (always latest version)

OPTION 2 — Direct Download
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1. Go to: microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=58494
2. Download PBIDesktopSetup_x64.exe
3. Run installer → click Next → Accept licence → Install
4. Launch Power BI Desktop

FIRST LAUNCH:
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• Splash screen appears — close it (X button)
• You will see: Report view | Data view | Model view
• You do NOT need to sign in to start building
💡 Microsoft Store version is preferred — it updates automatically. The downloaded .exe version requires manual updates.

Key Points

  • ✓Power BI Desktop is Windows-only. Mac users need Parallels, Boot Camp, or a Windows VM
  • ✓Close the splash screen to go straight to the canvas — sign-in is optional for local work
  • ✓Three views: Report (building visuals), Data (seeing your tables), Model (setting relationships)
  • ✓Power BI updates monthly — new features appear in every release
  • ✓Check Help → About to see your current version

Practice Question

Where in Power BI Desktop do you go to see and manage the relationships between your tables?

Related Topics

Power BI IntroductionWhat Power BI is, why every data analyst needs it, and how it fits the analytics stackPower BI Desktop InterfaceMaster every pane, panel and button in the Power BI Desktop interfaceConnecting to Data in Power BIImport data from Excel, CSV, SQL Server, and web sources into Power BI