Skip to main content
cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

The Power BI Data Visualization World Championships is back! Get ahead of the game and start preparing now! Learn more

Reply
cmholden
Regular Visitor

VisualSetings with Empty DataView

I am developing a custom visual that on some occasions does not need any input data from the Fields and hence the DataView is empty. Using the following in capabilities.json:

 
"supportsEmptyDataView": true,
 
This works fine. 
 
The problems arises with the property settings in the update function. I have a popup dialog that allows a user to set a hidden property and then stores the result in the  visual class with:
 
this.visualHost.persistProperties(objects);
 
When I access the properties in update() with; 
 
this.visualSettings = VisualSettings.parse<VisualSettings>(dataView);
 
This again works fine if there is data in the DataView. However, with no data, only the default values are returned. I also notice that if I manually set a property as a user, the missing property then becomes available in the update method - so the data are actually there but not processed unless a data field is added or a property updated. 
I imagine that there is a call made somewhere the does this in the background i.e forces the properties to be enumerated. Is it possible to fire this programatically so that I don't have to force the user to add a dummy data field - or is there some other way of making the property available?
0 REPLIES 0

Helpful resources

Announcements
Power BI DataViz World Championships

Power BI Dataviz World Championships

The Power BI Data Visualization World Championships is back! Get ahead of the game and start preparing now!

November Power BI Update Carousel

Power BI Monthly Update - November 2025

Check out the November 2025 Power BI update to learn about new features.

FabCon Atlanta 2026 carousel

FabCon Atlanta 2026

Join us at FabCon Atlanta, March 16-20, for the ultimate Fabric, Power BI, AI and SQL community-led event. Save $200 with code FABCOMM.