Forum Discussion
Live Data Source - add columns?
Hi All,
PowerBi newbie here - have been tasked with the creation of a dashboard which the data is sourced from a live dataset.
all the below buttons are greyed out and not selectable.
- Enter Data
- Edit Queries
- Edit Parameters
- Edit Variables
- Table
- Relationships
i believe the database owner has set up permissions.
Are there work rounds available to add conditional columns to the dataset?
Cheers,
Dennis
hi, lk5683
When you use Live connection, you can not add columns or table, it can only create a report level measure. If you need to add columns, you need to do these in the datasource.
When connecting to SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS), there is an option to either import data from, or connect live to, the selected data model. If you select import, then you define a query against that external SSAS source, and the data is imported as normal. If you select to connect live then there is no query defined, and the entire external model is shown in the field list. If you select DirectQuery, as visuals are built, queries are sent to the external SSAS source. However, unlike DirectQuery, there is no sense in which a new model is being created; in other words, it's not possible to define new calculated columns, hierarchies, relationships, and so on. Instead you are simply connecting directly to the external SSAS model.
Reference:https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/desktop-directquery-about
Best Regards,
Lin
6 Replies
hi, lk5683
When you use Live connection, you can not add columns or table, it can only create a report level measure. If you need to add columns, you need to do these in the datasource.
When connecting to SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS), there is an option to either import data from, or connect live to, the selected data model. If you select import, then you define a query against that external SSAS source, and the data is imported as normal. If you select to connect live then there is no query defined, and the entire external model is shown in the field list. If you select DirectQuery, as visuals are built, queries are sent to the external SSAS source. However, unlike DirectQuery, there is no sense in which a new model is being created; in other words, it's not possible to define new calculated columns, hierarchies, relationships, and so on. Instead you are simply connecting directly to the external SSAS model.
Reference:https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/desktop-directquery-about
Best Regards,
Lin
Hi v-lili6-msft - thanks! i had thought that the datasource was the only place where additional columns were able to be added. thank you for confirming.
just one question
"When you use Live connection, you can add columns or table, it can only create a report level measure. If you need to add columns, you need to do these in the datasource."
do you mean you "you cannot add columns or tables"?
hi, lk5683
Sorry for my carelessness, I have corrected the error in my reply. it is "you cannot add columns or tables". Thank you.
Best Regards,
Lin
I have a related question. We currently have a dataset that comes from Solver. We then have reports that have been built off of a live connection to this dataset. However, when we added columns in Solver, they showed up in the dataset but not in any reports that had already been built. Does this mean to get these additional columns we would need to recreate these reports off the refreshed dataset? This seems like a flaw in PowerBI.
I have a related question... I'm connecting live to an SSAS tabular model. I am also creating a few report level measures using the dax CALCULATE and FILTER functions. The measures appear to be working correctly. However, after the model refreshes, the report-level measures featured in Card visuals display an X instead of the measure. This can be corrected by hitting the refresh button. Why do the visuals fail to generate automatically after refresh, and what can be done to solve this issue so I don't have to hit the refresh button manually after each scheduled refresh (using connect live)?
