Forum Discussion

dsj8wksnnckk's avatar
dsj8wksnnckk
Resolver I
5 months ago
Solved

Error Fetching Data

Hi all, I have a bit of a challenge. I have created Report 1 that uses various data sources. In this report my final product is a table with the following columns Customer, Project Margin ...
Need Help
  • dsj8wksnnckk's avatar
    dsj8wksnnckk
    5 months ago

    At this point, I just merged the two reports due to short timeline. After hours of searching I couldn't locate the reason.

Murtaza_Ghafoor's avatar
Murtaza_Ghafoor
Super User
5 months ago

Why This Happens (Simple Explanation)

The issue is because:

Calculated columns are evaluated during data refresh

Measures are evaluated when the report runs (query time)

When Report 2 connects to Report 1 (semantic model chaining), the Service cannot properly evaluate a calculated column that depends on a measure from another semantic model.

Desktop sometimes allows it because it is more flexible locally.

But Power BI Service is strict — it does not allow this dependency chain.

So the model works in Desktop, but fails in Service.

Recommended Solution

Convert all logic to measures only.

Instead of:

Project Margin Score → calculated column

Customer Score → calculated column

Create them as measures.

Because:

Measures are calculated at query time

Measures work properly across semantic models

Power BI Service fully supports this

This follows best practices.

If this helps, ✓ Mark as Kudos | Mark as Solution| Help Others



  • dsj8wksnnckk's avatar
    dsj8wksnnckk
    Resolver I
    5 months ago

    The same error happens.

    The measure I need to use in Report2:

    Measure:
    Current Margin % =
    DIVIDE(
        [Current Margin in EUR],
        [Contracted Price in EUR]
    )



    This is all from Report1:

    Measure:
    Current Margin % =
    DIVIDE(
        [Current Margin in EUR],
        [Contracted Price in EUR]
    )


    Measure:
    Current Margin     in EUR =
    [Contracted Price in EUR] -
    [Total Direct Project Staff Costs]

    Measure:
    Total Direct Project Staff Costs = SUM('Direct Project Staff Costs'[Direct Project Staff Costs])


    Measure:

    Contracted Price in EUR =
    DIVIDE(
        SUM('Project Table'[Contracted Project Price]),
        SUM('Project Table'[FX Rate EUR to Currency])
    )


    Only calculated column:
    FX Rate EUR to Currency =
    LOOKUPVALUE(
        'FX Rates'[FX Rate EUR to Currency],
        'FX Rates'[Currency],
        'Project Table'[Contracted Currency],
        'FX Rates'[Month],
        'Project Table'[Month of Actual Start]
    )



    • V-yubandi-msft's avatar
      V-yubandi-msft
      Community Support
      5 months ago

      Hi dsj8wksnnckk ,

      Since you've already tested both measures and calculated columns and the issue persists in the Service, it likely isn't related to a column versus measure issue.

      It seems that Report 2 could be extending the semantic model of Report 1, such as through relationships or added logic. This can sometimes cause the Service to behave differently than Desktop.

      Please double check the following

      1. Are there any new relationships in Report 2?

      2. Have any calculated columns been added?

      3. Is the Currency + Month combination unique in the FX Rates table for the LOOKUPVALUE function?

      If possible, consider keeping Report 2 as a thin report and moving the scoring logic to Report 1.

       

      Let us know what you find.