Category: Power BI

Chris Webb troubleshoots an issue:

Some time ago I wrote a pair of popular posts about using the Query and RelativePath options of the Web.Contents function in Power Query and why they are important for dataset refresh. I have recently learned something extra about this subject which merits a new post, though: how to handle multiple URL query parameters with the same name.

It’s interesting to see how Power Query handles this, as there’s no defined standard behavior. Some renderers give you just the first item, some just the last, and some (like IIS + .NET) give you back a list of all items when you have a query string like ?param1=x&param1=y&param1=z.

Paul Turley continues a series on relationship modeling in Power BI:

So far, you’ve seen that the essential components of a data model include tables related to each other. Filtering records in one table prorogates the filter to related tables(s), causing records in the related table to be filtered. This dimensional model schema is the foundation of the reporting solution. Once the fact and dimension tables are in-place, you can create more advanced solutions by working outside of this standard relationship pattern.

Read on for the full story.

Chris Webb answers a timeless question:

One question I get asked all the time is this:

Why don’t you add [insert feature idea here] to Power BI?

It’s sometimes followed up by one or more of the following comments:

It would be so easy for you to do
I can’t believe you haven’t done it already
Power BI is unusable without it
[insert competitor name here] has had this feature for years

…and a real or virtual exasperated sigh.

Read on for the answer. This isn’t special to Power BI or even Microsoft—once you start to have customers with competing interests, these decisions get a lot harder.

Wolfgang Strasser explains the notion of chaining when working with Power BI datasets:

In my last blog post I introduced the new concept of DirectQuery for Power BI datasets. This feature allows you to extend and modify a (remote) published Power BI dataset with the help of a local model.

The local model does not contain a copy of the remote dataset but a reference to it. You, as Power BI developer, are able to extend the referenced model with new data sources (like the Excel file I used in my previous example) and/or extend the model with new measures, columns and so on. For a new data model, relationships between the two data islands can be created.

Read on for examples of how this can be useful and what the current limitations look like.

Wolfgang Strasser gives us a walkthrough of DirectQuery for Power BI datasets:

With the December 2020 release of Power BI Desktop, this approach changed. You are now able to change a live connection to a Power BI dataset (or an Azure Analysis Services connection) to DirectQuery mode. Which allows us, to enhance the remote model with new columns, tables, additional datasources and create relationships between the datasources.

Let’s dive deeper into this and look at the story together with a sample.

I’ve seen and linked to several posts talking about the idea, but Wolfgang has a demo going, which makes it easier to follow.