How to import a JSON file to Power BI

Importing a JSON file into Power BI is straightforward. Here's a step-by-step guide to help you:

1. Open Power BI Desktop:
   Launch Power BI Desktop on your computer.

2. Get Data:
   Click on the "Home" tab in the Power BI Desktop ribbon menu.
   Select "Get Data" from the toolbar dropdown menu.

3. Select JSON:
   In the "Get Data" window, find and select "JSON" from the list of available data sources.
   Click "Connect" to proceed.

4. Navigate to JSON File:
   In the "Navigator" window that appears, navigate to the location where your JSON file is stored.
   Select the JSON file you want to import.
   Click "Open" to load the JSON file into Power BI.

5. Load Data:
   After selecting the JSON file, Power BI will display a preview of the data in the "Navigator" window.
   You may see a hierarchical view of the JSON file's structure, with nested objects and arrays.
   Select the data you want to import by checking the checkbox next to each item.
   Click "Load" to import the selected data into Power BI.

6. Transform Data (Optional):
   If you need to transform or clean up the data before loading it into Power BI, you can click "Transform Data" instead of "Load" in the previous step.
   This will open the Power Query Editor, where you can perform various data transformation operations, such as renaming columns, changing data types, filtering rows, or expanding nested objects.
   Once you're done with the data transformation, click "Close & Load" to import the transformed data into Power BI.

7. Data Model:
   After loading the JSON data into Power BI, it will appear in the "Fields" pane as tables or queries, depending on the structure of your JSON file.
   You can drag and drop fields from the "Fields" pane onto the report canvas to create visualizations, or you can use the data in the data model to create calculated columns, measures, and relationships between tables.

8. Refresh Data (Optional):
   If your JSON data is dynamic and subject to change, you may want to set up a data refresh schedule to keep the Power BI report up-to-date.
   To do this, click on "Transform Data" to open the Power Query Editor, then navigate to the "Home" tab and click on "Options" > "Data Load."
   Here, you can configure the data refresh settings for your dataset.

That's it! You've successfully imported a JSON file into Power BI and can now use the data to create interactive reports and dashboards.