Forum Discussion
Compare data from 2 Dashboards
I have a dashboard pulling datasets from a number of datasources, analysing the performance of our Sales team throughout the year.
The datasets all have RLS so the Sales Managers can see the data for everyone in their team, while the individual Sales Reps only see data relevant to themselves, including targets, total sales so far etc
We’ve been running this for 3 years now; so we have a 2023 dashboard, a 2024 dashboard, and the current 2025 dashboard which is still updating daily.
The 2023 & 2024 dashboards no longer update. Once the financial controller signed off of on those, we cancelled the daily dataset update & the data remained unchanged.
The only parameter in each of the dataset SQL queries is for the current year, i.e. 2025 in the current dataset
I’m being asked to develop a dashboard comparing the data for each year, e.g. so that a sales rep (or their manager) could see on 1 screen where they are this year compared to 2024
I don’t want to edit the datasets in the current dashboard to include last years data, as there’s always the risk that some of that has been changed in their source systems since this data was signed off (& the sales team paid their bonus)
What I’d like to do is compare the static 2024 data with the live 2025 data in my current dashboard – is this possible, to use a previous dashboard as the source of my data?
Have you published the 2023 and 2024 dataset to Power BI service?
If No then I am sorry I dont support users who try do things without a license.If Yes then you can create a Live Connection to the each year's dataset.
In Power BI Desktop click on Get Data > Power Bi Semantic Data Models.
Click on 2023 and then repeat for 2024. They can be in different workspaces.You can now build relationships and reports on the data from the 2 datasets.
When you publish your new report it will linked and not copy 2023 and 2024.
If you view linage in the Power BI Service you will see these links.
I call it a "daisy chain" but that is not the proper name.The 2023 and 2024 RLS wont be overidden by the new report.
A user must have read access to the 2023, 2024 and your new dataset in the "daisy chain" to view the new report.
Learn more about Live Connections herehttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/connect-data/desktop-report-lifecycle-datasets
I would consider trying to just have one combined sales file or a current and history sales file, rather than one for each year. It will be a lot simpler.Be certain you understand the difference between read, contributor and admin, and check the security carefully. Novices typically assign RLS by users which is a disaster waiting to happen when you start having lots of daisy chains across lots of workspaces.
I recommend creating security groups and then then nest one group within another to form the daisy chain. Then test that group with a user.Then add other users to the one group, safe in the knowldege they will automativally inherit the group's daisy chain security. Never add RLS security to individual users because that is when novices mess-up. ☹️☹️☹️
Please click thumbs up and [accept solution] thank you
Hi donnellyk ,
Thank you for contacting the Fabric Community, and thanks to speedramps for the quick and clear explanation.
As speedramps mentioned, this setup requires that the datasets (such as those for 2023 and 2024) are already published to the Power BI Service. Otherwise, a live connection from a new report can’t be created.
For reference:
Please review the document speedramps provided. I’ve also included an additional reference for further clarity.
Helpful Reference: What's the difference between live connections and DirectQuery? - Power BI | Microsoft Learn
If you have any more questions, feel free to reach out.
Thanks and regards,
Community Support Team_Yugandhar.
7 Replies
Have you published the 2023 and 2024 dataset to Power BI service?
If No then I am sorry I dont support users who try do things without a license.If Yes then you can create a Live Connection to the each year's dataset.
In Power BI Desktop click on Get Data > Power Bi Semantic Data Models.
Click on 2023 and then repeat for 2024. They can be in different workspaces.You can now build relationships and reports on the data from the 2 datasets.
When you publish your new report it will linked and not copy 2023 and 2024.
If you view linage in the Power BI Service you will see these links.
I call it a "daisy chain" but that is not the proper name.The 2023 and 2024 RLS wont be overidden by the new report.
A user must have read access to the 2023, 2024 and your new dataset in the "daisy chain" to view the new report.
Learn more about Live Connections herehttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/connect-data/desktop-report-lifecycle-datasets
I would consider trying to just have one combined sales file or a current and history sales file, rather than one for each year. It will be a lot simpler.Be certain you understand the difference between read, contributor and admin, and check the security carefully. Novices typically assign RLS by users which is a disaster waiting to happen when you start having lots of daisy chains across lots of workspaces.
I recommend creating security groups and then then nest one group within another to form the daisy chain. Then test that group with a user.Then add other users to the one group, safe in the knowldege they will automativally inherit the group's daisy chain security. Never add RLS security to individual users because that is when novices mess-up. ☹️☹️☹️
Please click thumbs up and [accept solution] thank you
Please clarify to me
The data for different years (2023, 2024 and 2025) are they in the same semnatic model?
Tnanks
If this helped, please consider giving kudos and mark as a solution
me in replies or I'll lose your thread
consider voting this Power BI idea
Francesco Bergamaschi
MBA, M.Eng, M.Econ, Professor of BI
Hi donnellyk ,
Thank you for contacting the Fabric Community, and thanks to speedramps for the quick and clear explanation.
As speedramps mentioned, this setup requires that the datasets (such as those for 2023 and 2024) are already published to the Power BI Service. Otherwise, a live connection from a new report can’t be created.
For reference:
Please review the document speedramps provided. I’ve also included an additional reference for further clarity.
Helpful Reference: What's the difference between live connections and DirectQuery? - Power BI | Microsoft Learn
If you have any more questions, feel free to reach out.
Thanks and regards,
Community Support Team_Yugandhar.
Hi donnellyk ,
Could you let us know if your issue has been resolved or if you are still experiencing difficulties? Your feedback is valuable to the community and can help others facing similar problems.
Hi donnellyk
Please can you click thumbs up and the [accept solution] button or provide feedback.It is polite and sensible to acknowledge helpers when they took time and effort to answer your questions, especially if you may need their help again.
Thank you 😀😀😀
Hi donnellyk ,
I wanted to follow up and see if your issue has been resolved. If you're still experiencing any challenges or need further assistance, please feel free to reach out.
Thank you.
Hi donnellyk ,
May I know if your issue has been resolved, or are you still facing any difficulties? If you need any additional information, please feel free to let us know.
Thank You.
