Restore Content

The restore wizard takes objects out of an archive in three steps - Pick, Place, Review - and writes them into workspaces you choose, signed in as you.

Before you begin

• You hold the MetaMiner Tenant Admin permission, and delegated sign-in is configured for the environment (see Prerequisites and Access).
• You can write to the target workspaces in Power BI yourself. The wizard offers only workspaces your own account can see.
• A restore writes into the tenant of the environment the archive was taken from.

A restore writes to your tenant

Overwrite replaces the item already there. Read the Review step before you click Restore.

Steps

On the Power BI Backup tab, select an archive and click Restore (or click Restore in the Archive contents dialog). The wizard opens as Restore from - Step 1 of 3: Pick. While it waits on Microsoft, the status beside the buttons reads Working... If a Microsoft sign-in window opened, finish signing in there.

Step 1: Pick

1. Tick what to restore in the tree. Ticking a workspace ticks its objects. Select all and Select none act on the whole tree; the counter shows n of m selected.

   Only objects the archive actually holds are listed. The footer counts the others; Show not captured (n) lists them for reference.

2. Select a row and set What to restore: on the right. Each line is one thing the archive holds for that row, with a count or size.

   Line	Row	Default	Effect
   Definition	Object	On	Writes the object into the target workspace.
   Data (.pbix)	Report with captured data	Off	Writes back the report and its data as captured. Without it, only the definition is restored.
   Item access	Object	Off	Puts back who the object was shared with. Semantic models only; Power BI has no write API for report, dashboard or dataflow permissions.
   Folders	Workspace parts	On	Creates the workspace's folders so objects land where they used to. Removes nothing.
   Workspace access	Workspace parts	Off	Adds the archived workspace access list.
   Settings	Workspace parts	Off	Applies the archived workspace description.

Image of the restore wizard Pick step with one workspace ticked, a report selected and its What to restore lines on the right

../images/backup-restore/restore-pick.png

Step 2: Place

1. Review the grid. Each row is one object (or a workspace's parts) with where it goes and what will happen.

   Column	Editable	Shows
   From workspace, Type, Object	No	Facts from the archive.
   Target workspace	Yes	Where the row goes. Defaults to the workspace it came from, if it still exists and you can write to it.
   Target folder	Yes	A folder in the target, , or the workspace root. An overwritten object stays where it is.
   Restore	No	What was ticked on Pick, or why the row cannot run.
   What happens	Yes, when something is already there	Create, Overwrite, Create (new name), Skip, choose..., checking... or unknown.

2. Change a destination: select rows, open Target workspace, and use Choose a target workspace. Type in Find:, pick a workspace, set Apply to: (only this row, every row from the same source workspace, or every row in this restore), then Use this workspace. New workspace... defines a workspace to create; see Restore to a New Workspace.

   Image of the Choose a target workspace dialog with a filter typed, a workspace selected and Apply to set to every row from the source workspace

   ../images/backup-restore/restore-target-picker.png

3. Answer every row that already exists in the target, in What happens or in the details panel below the grid. Only the choices the row's type supports are offered.

   Choice	Effect
   Overwrite	Replaces the item already there, in place. It keeps its id, so links and apps pointing at it keep working. Default when a row goes back to the workspace it came from.
   Keep both	Leaves the existing item alone and restores this one beside it, under the name you type in New name. Default when a row goes to a different workspace.
   Skip	Writes nothing for this row.

   Type rules: a paginated report (.rdl) supports all three; Overwrite replaces it in place through the Power BI import and keeps its id. A Dataflow Gen1 cannot be overwritten: choose Keep both or Skip, or delete it in Power BI first.

4. For a report whose semantic model is not being restored and is not in the target, choose a model in the Bind to card. See Bind Reports to Semantic Models.

5. Clear the red rows. Each shows its problem, such as No target chosen, Workspace not found here, Nothing selected, Already there - choose, Needs a model or Name taken. Press F8 to jump to the next blocked row and Shift+F8 to go back.

   Footer helpers: Answer all... applies one answer to every row waiting for one (or every row from one workspace); Set what to restore... turns one line (for example Data) on or off for all ticked rows; Re-check reads the targets again.

Image of the Place step grid with mixed Create, Overwrite and one red row, and the details panel below showing the Restore to and Restore cards

../images/backup-restore/restore-place.png

Workspace access mode

The Restore card offers an access mode beside Workspace access and Item access. Only add only is available: MetaMiner adds the access the archive holds and changes nothing else.

Step 3: Review

1. Compare From the archive (left) with The targets afterwards (right). Every node on the right carries its outcome: + create (new id), ~ overwrite (keeps its id), + new name, = unchanged, ? unknown, ~ the workspace itself. Select a node to see exactly what will happen to it.
2. Read the notes below the panels: name collisions between archived rows, objects that already exist, actions your access does not permit, and reports that need a model. The footer reads n object(s) into m workspace(s).
3. Click Restore.

Image of the Review step with the archive on the left, two target workspaces on the right with + create and ~ overwrite marks, and the notes below

../images/backup-restore/restore-review.png

Watch the run

The Restoring dialog shows a progress bar, the object being written (Writing ...) and one line per object as it ends: done, skipped (with the reason) or failed (with the error). Steps shows the step-by-step log; Details shows the full text for the selected line.

Button	Effect
Stop	Asks to confirm, then stops after the object being written. Nothing after it starts; what is already restored stays.
Run in Background	Closes the dialog. The restore keeps running; follow it on the Power BI restore card in Task History at the bottom of the MMC window, and click the card to reopen the dialog.
Close	Shown once the run is over.

The end line reads n restored - n skipped - n failed, or Stopped - ... if you stopped it. If the targets changed between Review and the run, nothing is written and the dialog lists what to check on Place.

Image of the Restoring dialog at the end of a run with the summary line and a list of done, skipped and failed objects

../images/backup-restore/restore-run.png

Verify

Open the target workspaces in Power BI and check the restored items. Then:

• Re-enter data source credentials and gateway bindings for restored semantic models and dataflows; they are never in an archive, so refreshes fail until you do.
• Refresh restored semantic models and dataflows to load their data.
• Update apps, embedded links and bookmarks that point at newly created items; created items get new ids. Overwritten items keep theirs.

Troubleshooting

The Place step offers no target workspaces, or says Could not check the target

You are not signed in with the permissions the restore needs, or your account cannot see the workspace. Sign in again when prompted, then Re-check. See Troubleshooting.

Lost contact with the server. The restore may still be running there.

The MMC could not reach MMS for about two minutes. The restore continues on the server. Check the target workspaces in Power BI.

Next steps

• Bind Reports to Semantic Models
• Restore to a New Workspace
• Troubleshooting