Forum Discussion

ldacey's avatar
ldacey
Advocate I
9 years ago
Solved

Questions about utilizing Parameters

Is it better to create a view in the database and have Power BI connect to that view, or would it be more viable to create parameters to filter data/queries?

 

Say I have a table which is fairly massive but I want to report on it per 'region' (based on a dimension in table). Currently, I create a view in the database and then connect Power BI and refresh the charts and it seems to work well. As more 'regions' become interested in having their own dashboard, I have to create and manage additional views though. It would be nice if the end-user could filter for their own region and have the data refresh.

 

  • The table with all 'regions' accumulates many rows per day and is >5mil rows total so I would want the view to load quickly
  • The access to the data is through PowerBI.com - I publish the dashboard there so the end user would have to be able to select a parameter through the web portal. No one has access to the underlying database.
  • I assume using a Power BI template (empty dashboard with no data) and parameters would not work unless my end users had direct access to the database, right? So if I created an Azure SQL Server database and pointed Power BI to that source, an end user could have Power BI visualize their 'queries' (through pre-built parameters)
  • ldacey

     

    It's better to import views instead of tables into Power BI to avoid strong dependency between the physical data model and the report. Please see: Data Import Best Practices in Power BI.

     

    And I don't suggest use Query Parameter since it can't be used on Power BI Service.

     

    Regards,

    Simon Hou

1 Reply

  • v-sihou-msft's avatar
    v-sihou-msft
    Microsoft Employee

    ldacey

     

    It's better to import views instead of tables into Power BI to avoid strong dependency between the physical data model and the report. Please see: Data Import Best Practices in Power BI.

     

    And I don't suggest use Query Parameter since it can't be used on Power BI Service.

     

    Regards,

    Simon Hou