Prepare the Data

The Get Data button on the Home ribbon. It opens a categorized list (File, Database, Power Platform, Azure, Online Services, Other) so you can pick a connector.

You can select worksheets, named tables, named ranges, and (with the right connector) defined PivotTable sources. Named tables generally import most cleanly because their shape is well defined.

CSV (comma-separated values). The connector lets you set the delimiter, file origin (encoding), and how many rows to use for data-type detection.

The Web connector. It can detect HTML tables on the page, and the newer 'Add table using examples' feature lets you teach it a pattern by typing sample values.

OData means Open Data Protocol — a REST-based standard for querying and updating data over HTTP. It is useful because many services expose OData feeds, and the connector understands the metadata to present tables and relationships.

Microsoft Dataverse (formerly the Common Data Service). It backs Power Platform apps and exposes its tables to Power BI with a dedicated connector that supports query folding.