This FAQ addresses common questions and clarifications that arise while working with plan. It covers environment setup and interface navigation.
You need Contributor or higher access to the Fabric workspace and at least Build access to the semantic model you want to connect.
No — each plan app connects to one semantic model, and it cannot be changed once it is connected. If you need to plan against different data sources, you will have to create separate plan apps.
Ensure that you have at least Viewer access to the workspace where the semantic model is published — the semantic model doesn't need to live in the same Fabric workspace as your report or item, since it can be accessed across workspaces. Still, you do need at least viewer-level permissions on its host workspace to see it in the dialog. If it still doesn't appear, try refreshing the connection or signing out and back in.
No, contributors cannot create a semantic model connection directly. If you only have contributor access, the workspace admin should create the connection, and the contributor can use it.
The Fabric SQL database is where Fabric Planning stores all plan data — inputs, forecasts, scenarios, and writeback entries. It is separate from the semantic model so that plan data can be written back without affecting the underlying actuals or reporting layer.
The semantic model connection pulls your actuals/reporting data in for planning, whereas the SQL database connection is a separate connection that enables collaboration — it's what allows the plan to be saved and shared and is set up after the planning sheet is built.
Yes. In the connection dropdown, an existing connection can be selected instead of choosing Create a new connection, provided it meets the prerequisites.
The SQL database is created first in this flow, but the two are independent items — creating one doesn't depend on the other. However, the SQL database should exist before writeback is attempted, since planning data can only be written back to a Fabric SQL database, not any other data source.
Semantic model data is read-only actuals and reference data pulled directly from your Power BI dataset — historical revenue, dates, and product hierarchies. From Sheets data is data created within Fabric Planning (forecasts, targets, sales plans) and made available for use in other sheets.
Yes — as long as the tables are related in the semantic model, you can combine dimensions from different tables in the rows, columns, and values of a single planning sheet. If the tables are not related, the values will not cross-filter correctly.
No - field assignments are a display configuration only. Adding, removing, or rearranging what appears in Rows, Columns, and Values on a planning sheet does not alter the data in the semantic model or the Fabric SQL database. It only changes what is shown on that sheet.
A visual-level filter applies only to the current planning sheet and does not affect other sheets in the plan app. A global filter applies across all sheets.
Use the footer's Settings control to configure how many rows are displayed per page, then use the page navigation controls - first, previous, next, and last - to move between pages. For columns that extend beyond the visible area, use the horizontal scrollbar at the bottom of the canvas or reduce the zoom level using the zoom slider in the footer. Collapsing the Explorer pane and sidebar panels also gives the canvas more space.
Yes - the Export dialog offers PDF, Excel, and CSV.
Viewing mode isn’t purely static. While it locks down the core design of your report, it keeps the planning sheet highly interactive for day-to-day work. However, there is a clear distinction between temporary visual changes and saved planning actions.
You can customize your view on the fly by changing sheet layouts, updating number formatting, applying Top N rules, or filtering data. However, these visual adjustments are strictly temporary and will not be saved when you exit or refresh the report.
The following core planning and data entry actions are fully saved and committed while working in viewing mode:
