Cancel "Working on it" dialog

[tkiwi]

Is there a way to cancel the process of adding a calculated column in Power BI when the "Working on it" message is displayed?

[bhalicki]

For anyone else who comes across this topic and hasn't found a solution... sometimes I find opening task manager and killing off individual processes works (other than the main PowerBI Desktop process).  I often find PowerBi Desktop hangs, and killing off the individual processes is enough for it to crash and recover, which then gives me the option to at least save and restart gracefully.  Last resort before killing off the main process unfortunately.

[Anonymous]

Hi @tkiwi 

Currently, there isn't a direct method to cancel the process once it has started and the "Working on it" dialog is displayed. Power BI does not provide an explicit "cancel" button for this operation. The process is designed to complete the task it has begun to ensure data integrity and consistency within your model.

However, if you find that the operation is taking an unusually long time and you suspect it might be stuck or causing issues, you might consider the following steps as a workaround:

1. Wait it out: Sometimes, complex calculations can take a significant amount of time, especially with large datasets.
2. Force Quit Power BI Desktop: If the process seems to be stuck indefinitely, you might need to force quit Power BI Desktop. Please note, this should be a last resort as it can result in unsaved work being lost. To do this, you can use the Task Manager on Windows and end the Power BI Desktop task.
3. Review and Optimize Your DAX Formula: Before attempting to add the calculated column again, review your DAX formula for any potential inefficiencies. Consider simplifying the formula or breaking it down into smaller, more manageable parts.

For future operations, it's a good practice to save your work before performing compute-intensive operations. This way, you can ensure that your progress is not lost in case you need to force quit the application.

Best Regards,
Jing
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[tkiwi]

The ESC key doesn't work, and stopping Power BI via Task Manager is not an ideal solution.

[rajendraongole1]

Hi @tkiwi - you can try with Esc key on your keyboard. This sometimes interrupts the process and cancels the operation.

or you can directly close the application and reopen it with saved changes will get added your report.

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