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Businesses actively seek solutions that seamlessly integrate with their current infrastructure to optimize their financial planning and analysis (FP&A) processes. Power BI external tools offer a compelling solution, helping businesses unlock enhanced functionality with an already powerful platform.
These tools can provide improved capabilities without creating unnecessary headaches or requiring system overhauls or complicated integrations. Learn more about your options and how to add external tools to Power BI.
What Are External Tools for Power BI?
External tools in Power BI are third-party applications that can be integrated into the Power BI interface to extend its functionality. These tools are created by the Power BI community, including business intelligence professionals and developers. Such tools use Power BI and Analysis Services application programming interfaces (APIs) to improve Power BI Desktop’s data modeling and reporting features.
The External Tools ribbon in Power BI Desktop provides easy access to these external tools, which are installed locally and registered with Power BI Desktop. When launched from the External Tools ribbon, Power BI Desktop passes relevant information to the tool, such as the name and port number of the internal data model engine, as well as the current model name.
External tools for Power BI generally fall into one of several categories.
Semantic Modeling
Open-source tools such as DAX Studio, ALM Toolkit, Tabular Editor and Metadata Translator extend Power BI Desktop’s functionality for specific data modeling scenarios. These tools enable tasks such as Data Analysis Expressions (DAX) query and expression optimization, application lifecycle management (ALM) and metadata translation.
Data Analysis
Tools in this category allow users to connect to a Power BI model in a read-only mode for querying data and performing analysis tasks. For example, these tools may launch Python, Excel or Power BI Report Builder to connect to the Power BI Desktop model for testing and analysis without the need to publish a .pbix file to the Power BI service. Additionally, there are tools available to document a Power BI semantic model.
Miscellaneous
Some external tools don’t directly connect to a Power BI model but instead provide helpful content and tips for Power BI Desktop. Examples include PBI.tips tutorials, DAX Guide from sqlbi.com and the PowerBI.tips Product Business Ops community tool. These tools make the installation of a wide selection of external tools easier and assist with their registration in Power BI Desktop.
Custom
Power BI Desktop lets users integrate their own scripts and tools by adding a *.pbitool.json document to the Power BI Desktop\External Tools folder. This enables users to extend Power BI Desktop’s capabilities according to their specific requirements.
Benefits of Adding External Tools to Power BI
Adding external tools to Power BI can help expand the functionality and value of the business intelligence software. Here are some key advantages of incorporating external tools into your Power BI workflow.
Expanded Capabilities
External tools extend the native features of Power BI, letting users access additional functionalities that may not be available out-of-the-box. These tools can provide advanced data modeling capabilities, custom data visualizations and integration with other programming languages, enabling users to perform complex analysis and create more tailored reports.
Improved Data Connectivity
External tools enable users to connect to databases, cloud services and APIs, allowing them to access and analyze data from multiple sources within a single Power BI environment. This improved connectivity enables users to create comprehensive, integrated dashboards and reports that incorporate data from diverse systems.
Flexibility and Customization
External tools can provide users with the flexibility to customize their Power BI environment according to their specific requirements. Users can choose and integrate tools that align with their unique data analysis workflows, enabling them to work more efficiently and effectively.
9 External Power BI Tools
Let’s review a Power BI tool list featuring some of the most commonly used external add-ons used to improve FP&A.
Acterys Modeller
Acterys Modeller is a powerful, cloud-based service that offers business users the ability to effortlessly create analysis models from ERP, accounting and SaaS systems. These models, also known as star schema data warehouses, serve as optimal foundations for comprehensive data analysis. Users can exercise the option for on-premise installation, too.
The service lets users create write-back and planning-enabled models, which can be easily edited and extended. Business users can effortlessly add products, attributes, account mappings and scenarios to their models, keeping analysis models up to date as business requirements change.
With Instant Link technology, users can seamlessly incorporate existing data warehouse components into their models and make modifications and edits without impacting the source tables.
Acterys Power BI Sync
Acterys Power BI Sync, available as a Windows application and cloud service within the Acterys Modeller, seamlessly integrates with Power BI as an external tool. This tool enables users to synchronize Power BI tables, including calculated columns, with a SQL Server database. Users have the option to synchronize tables as standard staging tables or as a write-back and planning-enabled Acterys data warehouse star schema.
Users can unlock unparalleled planning features, including top-down data entry, driver-based planning and a range of corporate performance management functionalities, such as FX handling and statutory consolidation. With over 600 connectors available, users can seamlessly incorporate these planning features into any data model added in Power BI.
Acterys Power BI Sync also offers convenient editing capabilities. Users can easily edit the synchronized tables directly in the web browser through the Acterys Modeller. Additionally, they can make edits within Power BI using eight custom visuals. For those who prefer working in Excel, Acterys provides an Excel add-in that supports all editing and planning features.
Download a trial version to get started.
ALM Toolkit
The ALM Toolkit is a free, open-source tool designed to manage Microsoft Power BI datasets. The ALM Toolkit simplifies and enhances the management of Power BI datasets with a comprehensive set of features. These features include database comparison, code merging, easy deployment, source-control integration, definition reuse and self-service capabilities for corporate BI.
Built upon the source code of BISM Normalizer, a trusted tool for Tabular models, the ALM Toolkit brings similar functionalities to Power BI datasets. This ensures a seamless and efficient experience for users familiar with BISM Normalizer.
To take advantage of the ALM Toolkit’s capabilities, you can download the free Power BI Desktop version from the official ALM Toolkit website.
Business Ops
The Business Ops tool is a valuable resource that aims to enhance your development experience with Power BI Desktop. It addresses the challenges of locating and accessing the best Power BI external tools.
With the Business Ops installer, you can conveniently add all the top external tools directly into Power BI Desktop. This comprehensive release includes the latest versions of the best external tools available for Power BI Desktop, providing a convenient one-stop shop for accessing and managing all the external tools you need.
Download the Business Ops installer to simplify your development experience and gain easy access to the best external tools for Power BI Desktop.
DAX Studio
DAX Studio is a powerful tool for executing and analyzing DAX queries against Microsoft Tabular models. It offers automated DAX formatting improvements and syntax highlighting, making queries easier to read and understand. Users also can analyze server timings to optimize query performance and customize the delimiter style for added flexibility.
Check out DAX Studio to enhance the DAX query experience and optimize query performance.
Tabular Editor 3
Tabular Editor 3 offers a user-friendly hierarchical view of all objects within a Tabular model, including Analysis Services Tabular and Power BI. This intuitive user interface allows users to easily navigate and edit columns, measures and hierarchies, which are conveniently organized in display folders. Users can edit the properties of multiple objects by selecting them in the tree view.
The latest version provides a powerful DAX Editor with syntax highlighting. This feature lets you easily edit expressions for measures, calculated columns and calculated tables.
Metadata Translator
Metadata Translator for Power BI is a valuable tool that simplifies the localization process of data models. With this tool, users can automatically translate captions, descriptions and display folder names of tables, columns, measures and hierarchies. This is made possible through the integration of Azure Cognitive Services’ machine translation technology.
Users can export and import translations using Comma Separated Values (.csv) files, allowing for easy bulk editing in Excel or other localization tools. This streamlined workflow ensures efficient and accurate translations, saving time and effort for users.
To access the Metadata Translator, users can download the free open-source version.
Power BI Helper
Power BI Helper is a comprehensive tool that enhances the development process in Power BI Desktop. It detects the storage mode and connection mode of tables and files, allowing users to optimize data storage and retrieval.
The tool also helps manage report-level measures and enables file comparison based on these measures. Power BI Helper simplifies visualization analysis by selecting the model and providing valuable insights.
Download the free version of Power BI Helper to access these features.
Power BI Sidetools
Power BI Sidetools is a free external tool that enhances productivity during report development in Power BI Desktop. It offers features such as a DAX generator, debugger and parser for creating and debugging DAX expressions.
The tool also allows for easy data export to Excel, transfer of DAX and M formulas to files, and viewing of formulas in Visual Studio Code. Power BI Sidetools streamlines the development process and improves efficiency for Power BI developers.
Check out Power BI Sidetools to improve your productivity and reporting efficiency.
Expand Business Capabilities With a Unified Data Model
Combining Power BI external tools and Acterys helps businesses embrace a unified approach to their data. By integrating all relevant data sources, including accounting systems, business users can generate professional data models that drive data discovery and planning.
Whether using the cloud or on-premise deployment options, Acterys provides seamless connectivity to numerous data sources, enabling users to create comprehensive and integrated data models.
Acterys acts as the glue that brings together disparate pieces of information, allowing for a cohesive and interconnected data ecosystem. This unified data model not only improves data analysis but also enables organizations to transform their operations and drive meaningful change.
Unlike other tools that focus solely on their own development, Acterys combines the best of both worlds. Leveraging Microsoft’s robust platform and Acterys’ own advancements, users benefit from a powerful combination that drives innovation and delivers exceptional results. Businesses can access one platform that scales with the organization.
With Acterys, businesses can expand their capabilities, harness the power of a unified data model and unlock growth opportunities. Start your Acterys trial today and experience the transformative potential of a unified approach to data modeling.
