Forum Discussion

sandra_p's avatar
sandra_p
Helper I
6 years ago

Keeping data sources in separate folder and model data only within tables that reference source

I can't recall the resource, but I read once, that it is a good practice to keep datasource tables in a separate folder, don't shape them, and then reference them and do all the data shaping and mode...
General Comment
Tips and Tricks
v-yingjl's avatar
v-yingjl
Community Support
6 years ago

Hi sandra_p ,

In most instances, we connect to the data source and shape data directly because what we have done in power query can all be seen in Applied steps and Advanced editor, we can restore the data source by deleting steps when we need. This sounds cumbersome but we don't need to reconnect to the data source to get table again to add memories in power bi.

Another situation is that we really need to refer to the source table, in this way, we can use 'Duplicate' and 'Reference' in power query:

  • Duplicate copies a query with all the applied steps of it as a new query; an exact copy.
  • Reference will create a new query which has only one step: Getting data from the original query.

  • It is a good idea to uncheck the enable load on other queries to save some memory in Power BI.

You can refer this article which describes in detail the differences between them.

 

Best Regards,
Yingjie Li

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