Microsoft PowerPivot for SQL Server 2012 Release Notes

This Release Notes document describes known issues that you should read about before you install or troubleshoot PowerPivot for Microsoft SQL Server 2012 (download PowerPivot here). This Release Notes document is available online only, not on the installation media, and it is updated periodically.

For information about how to get started and install PowerPivot, visit PowerPivot Help , the PowerPivot Forums, and the PowerPivot Wiki portal page

Contents

1.0 Before you Install

2.0 Known Issues

1.0 Before You Install

Before you install PowerPivot, read the following required actions.

1.1 PowerPivot Installation Fails if VSTO 4.0 Runtime Is not Installed

You must install Visual Studio Tools for Office (VSTO) 4.0 runtime before you install PowerPivot. You can download the VSTO runtime from this Microsoft Download Center page. This is an issue for Office 2010 users only. A separate download of the VSTO runtime is not required when Office 2010 SP1 is installed.

1.2 Need .NET Framework 4.0 on Your Computer

If you do not have .NET Framework 4.0 on your computer, the SQL Server 2012 version of PowerPivot for Excel installs successfully, but the PowerPivot tab does not appear in the Excel ribbon. You must install .NET Framework 4.0.

1.3 Need Silverlight 5 on Your Computer

Both PowerPivot for SharePoint and Power View include Silverlight-based components that require Silverlight 5 to be installed on the user’s computer. If you do not have the required version of Silverlight, you will be prompted to install it when you navigate to an area of the web application that requires it. You can install Silverlight 5 from https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=243096.

1.4 PowerPivot for SharePoint Requires SharePoint Server 2010 SP1

If you plan to use SQL Server 2012 features in a SharePoint environment, then SharePoint Server 2010 Service Pack 1 (SP1) is required. We also recommend that you install the latest patches for SharePoint Server 2010 SP1.

Workaround: You must install SP1 and fully patch the server farm before you add SQL Server features to the farm. This requirement applies to the following SQL Server 2012 features:

  • Using an instance of Database Engine as the farm's database server.

  • Configuring PowerPivot for SharePoint.

  • Deploying Reporting Services in SharePoint mode.

1.5 Previous PowerPivot for SharePoint Workbooks Do Not Automatically Upgrade with SQL Server 2012

When you upgrade your existing PowerPivot for SharePoint installation to the SQL Server 2012 version of PowerPivot for SharePoint, your existing PowerPivot for SharePoint workbooks are not upgraded automatically, by default. Without an upgrade, workbooks can be used on SharePoint, but Data Refresh will fail for SQL Server 2008 R2 PowerPivot workbooks. SQL Server 2012 PowerPivot workbooks are not affected. However, you can configure an automatic upgrade feature on a PowerPivot for SharePoint instance that upgrades SQL Server 2008 R2 workbooks to the latest version, thereby enabling Data Refresh for those workbooks. For more information, see Upgrade PowerPivot for Excel and PowerPivot Data.

Workaround: If you do not want to enable PowerPivot Workbook Auto-upgrade, you must download the workbooks from SharePoint, upgrade the workbooks manually by opening them in Excel, and then upload them back onto SharePoint. The usage workbook will fail refresh, and you must upgrade it manually as well.

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2.0 Known Issues

The following known issues apply to Microsoft SQL Server 2012 PowerPivot for SharePoint.

2.1 Scheduled Data Refresh does not work when 'Also refresh as soon as possible' is checked

SQL Server 2012 PowerPivot for SharePoint skips refreshing workbooks that have the checkbox Also refresh as soon as possible enabled in the Data Refresh schedule. PowerPivot for SharePoint will refresh the workbook as soon as the user clicks the OK button in the Data Refresh schedule, but will skip all subsequent refresh cycles. After the first refresh, the workbook is no longer refreshed anymore. The Data Refresh history will show no further attempts to refresh the data.

2.2 PowerPivot Management Dashboard's Bubble Chart Control Might Not Work

In the PowerPivot Management Dashboard, the bubble chart control does not work when the regional settings of the SharePoint server are specific to following:

  • Affected format (bug shows up): day/month/year, year/day/month (Examples: European languages, Indian, etc.).

  • Non-affected format (no bug): month/day/year, year/month/day (Examples: USA, Japanese, etc.).

2.3 Validation may fail when creating a .bism file using PowerPivot for SharePoint

A BI Semantic Model connection file (.bism) executes in different security environments between when it is validated and when it is used. For use, the application’s service account must be a SSAS Server administrator for the target server. But during validation, the SharePoint web application’s service account is used. Therefore it is not uncommon to be in a situation where the user who is creating the .bism file may not be in a web application that has permissions to validate, but when the file is actually used, it succeeds. To see if this is the case, when validation fails, simply check the “Save the link file without connection validation” box and click OK. Make sure that the application that is going to use the .bism file, e.g. Excel Services or Reporting Services, does have the required permissions (i.e. that its service account is a SSAS server administrator on the target server) and then try to use the file. The .bism file may actually work even if validation has failed.

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