Issue with setting data type for measures

[AndriyK]

hello,

we got a SSAS tabular on SQL server 2019 on prem which is accessed from Power BI service.

To develop ssas models i'm using Visual Studio and Tabular Editor 2, to deploy changes from model file to ssas database i'm using Power BI ALM Toolkit.

the issue:
when i'm comparing the model file with ssas database on the server using the ALM tool kit, the measures in the model file shown with no data type, but the measures in the db shown with a data type variant. and it stays this way after i promote the changes from the model file to db.

so, every time i compare the file to db, i see all the measures in the model that are not the same as they have no data type in the file and variant data type in the db and these measures are shown as changes.

i've tried to set the data type in the model file using the Tabular Editor, but looks like this option is disabled, even i've enable the experimental features in preferences.

could you please let me know if it is possible to set the measure data type in the model file.

and if it is possible, how i can do it.

thank you,

Andriy

[rajendraongole1 · Accepted solution]

Hi @AndriyK - SSAS Tabular models on SQL Server 2019 do not natively support setting an explicit data type for measures. Instead, measures default to the variant data type in the SSAS database. This behavior causes discrepancies when comparing your model file with the SSAS database using tools like Power BI ALM Toolkit, as the model file does not explicitly include data types for measures.

Even with Tabular Editor 2.x, which allows editing SSAS models, it does not allow you to explicitly set a data type for measures because SSAS doesn’t support it.The "Allow unsupported Power BI features (experimental)" option in Tabular Editor is primarily for models targeting Power BI datasets or newer versions of SSAS. It doesn’t enable features unsupported by your current SSAS version.

Alternatively, focus on deploying models directly to Power BI datasets in the cloud, which leverage the latest Tabular model features.

Hope these details helps.

[AndriyK · Accepted solution]

*** Update 2025-01-14 ***

the issue was fixed in ALM Toolkit v.5.1.11 
https://github.com/microsoft/Analysis-Services/releases 
Big thanks to Christian Wade and ALM toolkit dev team for resolving it so promptly!  

*********

Hello,

i've found the solution and posting it in case anyone expiriencing the same issue. found it on the Power BI ALM toolkit github page:
i've switched to use TMSL in Options and now it works fine and ignores measures data types when comparing the models.

[AndriyK]

hi @rajendraongole1 ,

thanks a lot for your response and explanations!

[rajendraongole1 · Accepted solution]

Hi @AndriyK - SSAS Tabular models on SQL Server 2019 do not natively support setting an explicit data type for measures. Instead, measures default to the variant data type in the SSAS database. This behavior causes discrepancies when comparing your model file with the SSAS database using tools like Power BI ALM Toolkit, as the model file does not explicitly include data types for measures.

Even with Tabular Editor 2.x, which allows editing SSAS models, it does not allow you to explicitly set a data type for measures because SSAS doesn’t support it.The "Allow unsupported Power BI features (experimental)" option in Tabular Editor is primarily for models targeting Power BI datasets or newer versions of SSAS. It doesn’t enable features unsupported by your current SSAS version.

Alternatively, focus on deploying models directly to Power BI datasets in the cloud, which leverage the latest Tabular model features.

Hope these details helps.