The Simplesat connector for Power BI Desktop brings your survey responses into Power BI as one table, with a row for each response.

You install the connector in Power BI Desktop and connect it with a Simplesat API key. There's nothing to set up on Simplesat's Integrations page, and nothing is written back to Simplesat.

Before you start

You need:

Power BI Desktop, which runs on Windows.
A Simplesat API key that's Full access, or Custom with Read on Responses and Questions. The Legacy account key also works.

API keys are available on every Simplesat plan. You create them on Admin → API keys, which needs the Owner or Admin role, or a custom role with Access API key. A new key is shown only once, so copy it as soon as you create it.

The connector reads responses from every survey in your workspace, no matter who created the key.

To create or manage keys, see API keys.

Install the Simplesat connector

The connector is a file you add to Power BI Desktop. Microsoft doesn't certify it, so you also have to set Power BI to load it.

Download the connector file: https://cdn.simplesat.io/files/simplesat-powerquery-connector.mez
Copy the file into Documents\Power BI Desktop\Custom Connectors. If there's no Custom Connectors folder, create it inside the Power BI Desktop folder.
In Power BI Desktop, go to File → Options and settings → Options → Security.
Under Data Extensions, select (Not Recommended) Allow any extension to load without validation or warning, then click OK.
Restart Power BI Desktop.

Tip: The Documents folder Power BI reads might not be the one you expect. It can be your OneDrive Documents folder, or your Mac's Documents folder if you run Windows with Parallels. To find it, click Open → Browse this device in Power BI. The Documents folder that opens is usually the right one.

Connect Power BI to Simplesat

In Power BI Desktop, go to Home → Get data → More….
In the dialog that opens, search for Simplesat, select it and click Connect. It's normal for Power BI to mark Simplesat as a preview connector. When Power BI says it's a third-party connector, click Continue.
Fill in the date range and click OK:

Setting	What to enter
RangeStart	Required. The start of the date range.
RangeEnd	Required. The end of the date range.
UseModifiedDates	Optional. Leave it as `false`, the default, to pick responses by the date they were created. Enter `true` to pick them by the date they last changed.

The first time you connect, Power BI asks for a key. Paste your Simplesat API key into the key box and click Connect. Power BI saves the key, but it can ask for it again when you change RangeStart or RangeEnd. If it does, paste the key again.
Click Load, or click Transform data to shape the table before it loads.

Heads up: If a response changed after RangeEnd, for example with a tag added or a later answer, it doesn't come in, even when you pick responses by created date. To get every response created in a past period, set RangeEnd to a date after today, then filter the created column.

What lands in Power BI

Responses from every survey in your date range share the one table, with these columns:

Column	What it holds
`id`	The response ID
`created`, `modified`	When the response was created, and when it last changed
`survey.id`, `survey.name`	The survey
`tags`	The response's tags, separated by commas
`ticket.external_id`, `ticket.subject`	The ticket ID and subject from the tool the survey came from
`ticket.custom_attributes.`field name	One column for each ticket field
`customer.name`, `customer.email`, `customer.company`, `customer.external_id`	The customer
`customer.tags`, `customer.custom_attributes.`attribute name	The customer's tags, and one column for each customer attribute
`team_member_1.`field, `team_member_2.`field	One set for each team member on the response: name, email, role and ID
`answer_1.`field, `answer_2.`field	One set for each answer, numbered by the question's position in its survey: the rating or choice (`choice`), its label (`choice_label`), `sentiment`, `comment`, the follow-up answer, and the question itself (`question.text`, `question.metric`)
`language`, `source`, `ip_address`	The response's language, where it came from, and the IP address it was sent from

answer_1 can hold a different question in each survey. To keep each survey's questions apart, use the question.text columns or filter on survey.name.

Answers to questions from archived or deleted surveys land in columns named answer_question ID_deleted.

There's no CSAT or NPS score column, so calculate scores from the ratings.

The table updates when you refresh. Each refresh reads every response in your date range again, so changes made in Simplesat since the last refresh come in, and deleted responses drop out.

Change the API key

If the key Power BI uses is deleted in Simplesat, the next refresh fails. To switch Power BI to a different key:

In Power BI Desktop, go to File → Options and settings → Data source settings.
Select Simplesat and click Clear Permissions. There can be a separate Simplesat entry for each date range you've used, so do this for each one.
Refresh. When Power BI asks for a key, paste the new one.

If you edit a Custom key in Simplesat, keep Read on Responses and Questions.

Troubleshooting

Simplesat doesn't appear in Power BI's Get data list

Check each of these:

The .mez file is in the Custom Connectors folder inside the Documents folder Power BI reads. That can be your OneDrive Documents folder, or your Mac's Documents folder if you use Parallels. If you're not sure which Documents folder Power BI reads, click Open → Browse this device in Power BI, which usually opens it.
(Not Recommended) Allow any extension to load without validation or warning is selected under File → Options and settings → Options → Security → Data Extensions.
The .mez file isn't blocked. Windows can block files you download, so right-click the file and choose Properties. If you see Unblock, select it and click OK.
You restarted Power BI Desktop after doing all of the above.

If Simplesat still doesn't appear, move the .mez file to Documents\Microsoft Power BI Desktop\Custom Connectors, creating the folders if you need to, and restart Power BI Desktop.

Some responses are missing from my Power BI data

First check which date your range is matching. If UseModifiedDates is false, a response comes in only if it was created inside the range. If it's true, its last change has to fall inside the range.

Either way, a response that changed after RangeEnd is left out, even if it was created in the range. To include every response created in a period, set RangeEnd to a date after today and filter the created column.

New responses come in only when you refresh.

My Power BI refresh stopped working

The API key Power BI uses may have been deleted, or a Custom key may have lost Read on Responses or Questions. To fix it:

On Admin → API keys, create a new key or fix the existing one.
In Power BI Desktop, go to File → Options and settings → Data source settings, select Simplesat and click Clear Permissions. There can be a separate Simplesat entry for each date range you've used, so do this for each one.
Refresh, and paste the key when Power BI asks for it.

FAQ

Is it normal that Simplesat shows as a preview connector in Power BI?

Yes. The connector is published as a preview, so Power BI labels it that way. You can use it as normal.

What does UseModifiedDates do?

It decides which date your range filters on: the date each response was created (false, the default) or the date it last changed (true). A response changes when, for example, a tag is added or the customer answers another question.

Which API key should I use?

Any key from Admin → API keys that's Full access, or Custom with Read on Responses and Questions. The Legacy account key works too. Every key reads responses from every survey in your workspace, so it doesn't matter who created it.

Can I get our CSAT or NPS score from the connector?

Not as a column. The data has each response's rating, label and sentiment, and you calculate the score from the ratings.

Does the data in Power BI update by itself?

It updates each time you refresh. Each refresh reads every response in your date range again.

Power BI integrations