Summary  
This chapter covers establishing connections to external CSV data sources, previewing their contents, and choosing between loading data directly or transforming it before import.

General domain of usage  
Business intelligence

Every Power BI report starts by connecting to data. In this chapter, you'll use the Get Data feature to load three CSV files from Summit Gear Co. (sales transactions, a product catalog, and a customer list) into Power BI Desktop.

You'll learn how to preview data before loading it, understand the difference between the Load and Transform Data options, and verify that your tables loaded correctly using Table View and the Data pane. These three tables will serve as the foundation for everything you build in the rest of the course.



Download Data

## Task
Download the three Summit Gear Co. CSV files and save them in a dedicated course folder on your computer.

### Task Steps
1. Download the following files from the course materials:
   - `summit-gear-sales.csv`.
   - `summit-gear-products.csv`.
   - `summit-gear-customers.csv`.
2. Create a folder for your course files (for example, `Documents/PowerBI-Course/`).
3. Save all three CSV files into that folder.
4. Keep this folder location consistent throughout the course. Power BI remembers file paths, so moving files later will break your data connections.

### Expected Outcome
- Three CSV files saved in a single, dedicated course folder;
- You know the folder path and can navigate to it easily.


After selecting a CSV file through Get Data, Power BI shows you a preview window with two buttons at the bottom. What does the "Transform Data" button do?

You loaded a CSV file and later moved it to a different folder on your computer. What happens when you try to refresh the data in Power BI?

Master the skills needed to turn raw data into professional, interactive reports using Power BI. You'll connect to data sources, clean and transform data with Power Query, build data models, write DAX measures, and publish polished dashboards to Power BI Service. No prior experience required.

Get hands-on experience with Power BI Desktop: understand where it fits in the modern data stack, install it, explore the interface, connect to your first dataset, and build your first bar chart.

Master the skills needed to clean, transform, and combine data using Power Query – from filtering rows and adding columns to merging tables and reshaping data with pivot operations.

Explore the essentials of relational data modeling and DAX – build star schemas, define relationships, write measures, and use time intelligence functions to answer real business questions.

Dive into the fundamentals of Power BI visuals – choose the right chart type, configure slicers and filters, add drillthrough navigation, and create bookmark-driven interactive experiences.

Transform the way you present data by applying layout and design principles, building multi-page reports, setting up row-level security, and publishing to Power BI Service with scheduled refresh.

Gain a solid understanding of the end-to-end Power BI workflow by completing a guided project – from data preparation and modeling to building a multi-page dashboard and publishing it to the Service.

Connecting to Data

Task

Task Steps

Expected Outcome

1. After selecting a CSV file through Get Data, Power BI shows you a preview window with two buttons at the bottom. What does the "Transform Data" button do?

2. You loaded a CSV file and later moved it to a different folder on your computer. What happens when you try to refresh the data in Power BI?