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Daves902's avatar
Daves902
New Member
7 years ago

Managing Label Changes from Source to PowerBI

Hello - we currently import standard Salesforce objects and reports for PowerBI, however, we need to change some labels in Salesforce.  When we refresh the reports (in a sandbox) the changes pull through correctly in Salesforce but when we refresh in PowerBI it errors to say it cannot find the first label that has been changed.  I have edited the column headings in the data model but that didn't work.

 

Is there a protocol for managing this type of transition?  This is a very high profile project so any help would be greatly appreciated ~ Thank you..

Need Help

3 Replies

  • Anonymous's avatar
    Anonymous
    Not applicable
    7 years ago

    There's definitely ways of handling this, but you will want to do this in Power Query.  Gil Raviv's book goes into detail about this (along with many many other great things, so I'd recommend picking his book up no matter what). but you can take a look at this post from his blog and see if it helps at least get you in the correct direction

    https://datachant.com/2018/10/26/finding-mismatched-headers-and-creating-a-conversion-table-bonus-exercise-chapter-4-powerquery-book-2/

  • ReportMaster's avatar
    ReportMaster
    Post Partisan
    2 years ago

    Hi Daves902 were you able to find a solution? As a workaround, maybe you can try to test your connection with a 3rd party connector. I've tried windsor.ai, supermetrics and funnel.io. I stayed with windsor because it is much cheaper so just to let you know other options. In case you wonder, to make the connection first search for the Salesforce connector in the data sources list:

     

     

    After that, just grant access to your Salesforce account using your credentials, then on preview and destination page you will see a preview of your Salesforce fields:

     

     

    There just select the fields you need. It is also compatible with custom fields and custom objects, so you'll be able to export them through windsor.  Finally, just select PBI as your data destination and finally just copy and paste the url on PBI --> Get Data --> Web --> Paste the url. 

     

  • metrica's avatar
    metrica
    Post Prodigy
    1 month ago

    Hi Daves902 

     

    I would handle this in Power Query, not only by renaming columns in the Power BI data model.

     

    When Salesforce labels change, Power Query steps may still reference the old column names, such as Changed Type, Renamed Columns, Removed Columns, Reordered Columns, or custom steps. That is why refresh can fail even if Salesforce shows the updated labels correctly.

     

    A safer pattern is:

    1. Apply a source-to-stable-name mapping early in Power Query, before Changed Type.

    2. Use stable column names in the model, measures, and visuals.

    3. Review any Power Query steps that reference column names directly.

    4. Use MissingField.Ignore or MissingField.UseNull carefully during schema transitions.

    If possible, avoid depending on changing Salesforce UI labels as the long-term contract.

     

    Power BI Connector for Salesforce by Metrica Software can help create a more controlled Salesforce source:
    https://appexchange.salesforce.com/appxListingDetail?listingId=31526f0e-abd8-4cb5-bd1a-3bd56b5c0577

     

    It lets you select Salesforce objects and fields, view API names and field types, apply filters, preview the output, and connect Power BI to a prepared source.

     

    This will not automatically fix an existing model after labels changed, but it can help create a more stable Salesforce-to-Power BI structure going forward.

     

    Cheers,
    Metrica Team