Getting viable data from an Excel workbook into Power BI for data visualization purposes takes some specific preparation. Here is what you need to do.

Microsoft’s Power BI Desktop, integrated with Excel, offers a powerful solution for transforming data into rich, interactive dashboards.

In Page 1, which Power BI opens when launched, click the Excel Workbook option in the Data group. Using the resulting Open dialog, locate the Excel file (Figure C), select it and click Open.

Among the new features is support for Azure Machine Learning and custom JavaScript functions to Excel to extend its capabilities. Excel now also allows Power BI developers to bring the custom ...