Does using R Script turn character columns into Factors?

[letitout78]

I have a complex data transformation that I've confirmed to work in R Studio. When I run the same in Power BI using Run R Script, however, I recieve Factor related errors like "Evaluation error: level sets of factors are different" and "Column `xyz` joining factor and character vector, coercing into character vector." The tables that I'm transforming are sourced from SQL and imported to Power BI before running the R scripts so this error baffles me, as there is no concept of Factor in Power BI. And note that I do not receive these errors when the same script is run on R Studio. I tried running as.character on all my character columns at the beginning of the script but that led to timeout error. Is this a known problem and how can I get around it?

[v-joesh-msft]

Hi @letitout78 ,

What version of your desktop is it? Perhaps you can try upgrading to the latest version to see if it works.
I think it may be related to the limitations that are mentioned at the end of the following documents:

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/desktop-r-in-query-editor#limitations

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/desktop-r-visuals 

Best Regards,

Community Support Team _ Joey
If this post helps, then please consider Accept it as the solution to help the other members find it more quickly.