Fabric Workspace Basics
Learn the basics of working in a Microsoft Fabric workspace at Rice: managing workspace access, publishing Power BI reports, keeping data current, and using a governed lakehouse slice from the Enterprise Data Platform for reporting.
What a Fabric Workspace Is
A Fabric workspace is a shared place where a team can organize analytics content such as Power BI reports, semantic models, lakehouses, warehouses, dataflows, notebooks, and other Fabric items. Workspaces help teams collaborate while keeping access, publishing, and support responsibilities clear.
For Rice enterprise reporting, DATA @ Rice and EDBI may provide a governed slice of the Enterprise Data Platform through a lakehouse, SQL analytics endpoint, or semantic model. Teams can use that approved data alongside their own sources to build reports, create views, and answer business questions.
Start in Fabric or Power BI
Use your Rice NetID to access assigned workspaces.
Workspace Training Links
Use these resources for the common tasks most workspace users need first: roles, publishing, refreshes, and lakehouse-based reporting.
Workspace Access and Roles
Publish Power BI Reports
Refresh Data
Use a Lakehouse for Reporting
Query Data and Create Views
Rice Support
1. Manage Workspace Access
Workspace access should follow least privilege. Add users through approved groups whenever possible, keep at least two responsible workspace admins, and review membership when team responsibilities change.
| Role | Best For | Typical Rice Use |
|---|---|---|
| Admin | Workspace ownership, settings, access, and support coordination | Small number of DATA @ Rice, EDBI, or designated team owners |
| Member | Managing content and granting lower-level access | Trusted leads who help manage shared workspace content |
| Contributor | Creating and editing workspace items | Report authors, analysts, and builders who publish or update content |
| Viewer | Viewing workspace content without editing it | Limited internal users; broad audiences should usually use a Power BI app |
For broad report consumption, publish reports through a Power BI app instead of adding large audiences directly to the workspace. Use workspace access for builders and managed collaborators.
2. Publish Reports to the Workspace
Power BI Desktop is the main authoring tool for Windows report builders. When a report is ready for shared review or publishing, save the PBIX file in an approved team location, then publish to the correct Fabric workspace.
- Open the report in Power BI Desktop.
- Confirm the report uses approved data sources, naming, and security expectations.
- Select Publish from the Home ribbon or File menu.
- Choose the correct Fabric workspace. Do not publish production content to My Workspace.
- After publishing, open the report in the Power BI service and confirm visuals, filters, refresh settings, and audience access.
Publishing creates or updates the report and semantic model in the destination workspace. Changes made directly in the Power BI service are not automatically saved back to the original Power BI Desktop file, so teams should maintain a clear source-of-truth file or development process.
3. Refresh Data and Keep Reports Current
Refresh responsibilities depend on how the report connects to data. Import models copy data into the semantic model and usually need scheduled refresh. DirectQuery, live connection, and Direct Lake patterns query another source or semantic model, so the report may rely on the upstream source, model, or lakehouse being current.
| Connection Pattern | What Users Should Know | Typical Owner |
|---|---|---|
| Import | Data is copied into the semantic model and needs scheduled or manual refresh. | Report owner or workspace team |
| DirectQuery | Visuals query the source system as users interact with the report. | Source system owner and report owner |
| Live connection | The report connects to an existing semantic model; the report does not refresh separately. | Semantic model owner |
| Direct Lake | The semantic model reads lakehouse Delta tables through OneLake and depends on the lakehouse data being current. | Lakehouse or data product owner |
Before publishing broadly, confirm refresh credentials, gateway requirements, refresh frequency, failure notifications, and who is responsible for fixing failed refreshes.
4. Use an EDP Lakehouse Slice for Reporting
EDBI may provide a curated slice of the Enterprise Data Platform through a Fabric lakehouse. This gives approved teams a governed starting point for reporting while still allowing them to build views, combine data with local sources, and create Power BI reports for their business area.
What You Can Do
- Browse approved lakehouse tables and fields available to your team
- Query approved data with SQL through the SQL analytics endpoint
- Create views to simplify reporting logic without duplicating data
- Connect Power BI Desktop or a semantic model to the governed source
- Blend governed data with approved team-owned sources when appropriate
What to Remember
- Your lakehouse slice reflects an approved scope of enterprise data
- Access should match role, business need, and data governance requirements
- Views should use clear names and reusable business logic
- Sensitive or institutional data should not be broadly shared without approval
- Questions about source definitions should go back to the data owner or EDBI
Common Reporting Flow
- Confirm the workspace, audience, and approved data scope with DATA @ Rice or EDBI.
- Open the Fabric workspace and locate the lakehouse, SQL analytics endpoint, or semantic model provided for your team.
- Use SQL, views, or a semantic model to shape reporting-friendly data.
- Build or update the Power BI report in Desktop or the Power BI service.
- Publish the report to the approved workspace and distribute through a Power BI app when ready.
Workspace Best Practices
- Use a shared workspace for team-owned content, not My Workspace.
- Give users the lowest role that supports their work.
- Use security groups where possible instead of managing many individual users.
- Name reports, semantic models, views, and lakehouse items clearly so others can understand their purpose.
- Track report owner, data owner, refresh owner, and support contact.
- Use a Power BI app for managed report distribution to viewers.
- Review access and refresh health on a regular schedule.
Need Help Setting Up a Workspace?
DATA @ Rice and EDBI can help teams clarify workspace roles, publishing paths, lakehouse access, refresh ownership, and reporting patterns before content is shared broadly.