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101Mathew's avatar
101Mathew
Advocate V
1 year ago
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Power BI Report Builder - Tabular model data source (Questions)

Hi all,   I've been using Power BI desktop, and AS tabular models for awhile now.   I've been asked to learn Power BI report builder - which I must say is not straightforward; I have the followin...
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V-yubandi-msft's avatar
V-yubandi-msft
Community Support
1 year ago

Hi 101Mathew ,

Thank you for your patience. I understand how frustrating it can be to navigate Power BI Report Builder, especially when you're accustomed to the more visual interface of Power BI Desktop. I appreciate you sharing the details and screenshots.

 

1. Correct  if a field is hidden in the tabular model, it won't appear in the Report Builder's field list.

2. The field ParameterCaptionIndented must match exactly what you're using in the Available Values tab otherwise, the default won't select all correctly.

Helpful References:

Create parameters for paginated reports in Power BI Report Builder - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

Report parameters in Power BI Report Builder - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

3. Yes, you can recreate hidden measures  within your dataset query using DAX. However, as you've noticed, using tools like DAX Formatter can unintentionally break parameter references. This happens because paginated reports use special syntax for parameters, such as @ParameterName, which must be preserved exactly for Report Builder to recognize and replace them correctly.

 

 

Thanks for your valuable context burakkaragoz .

 

Regards,

Yugandhar.

  • 101Mathew's avatar
    101Mathew
    Advocate V
    1 year ago

    Did the screenshots show any issues or not enough details to find the issues?

     

    1 - Sorry, your comment is making me doubt myself now - If I unhide the measure and fields I need in the AS tabular model - back to report builder - use those items in the report builder, then re-hide them in the AS model - Will those measure and fields still work for finished paginated report built in this way?

     

    2 - thank you for the links - I'll read those

    I do find it hard to accept that auto creation of parameters for the end report users (when using the query designer) , auto generates hidden datasets but then does not resolve this basic issue of needing to allow all to be the default selection.  I hope these links help me to understand and solve this issue.

     

    3 DAX formatter breaking parameters or other items in the code (which is auto generated from the query designer) odd, DAX formatter, will only put spaces and tabs in after the code items - is there more details on how to fix these types of issues?

    • V-yubandi-msft's avatar
      V-yubandi-msft
      Community Support
      1 year ago

      Hi 101Mathew ,

      You're right. If you temporarily unhide a field or measure in your AS tabular model, use it in Report Builder, and then re hide it, the report will still function as long as the query remains valid 

       

      This issue arises because tools like DAX Formatter don’t preserve Report Builder's parameter syntax. It might insert extra spaces or misplace the parameter reference, disrupting the query logic. This is particularly challenging because paginated reports use DAX with embedded parameter tokens, which must remain exactly as they are.

      Unfortunately, there is no official Microsoft documentation on this issue. However, some users have  facing similar challenges, indicating that it is a recognized limitation when working with paginated reports

       

      If you're using DAX Studio [as you mentioned], it's best to format only the logical parts of your expression.

       

      I Hope this helps...

      • 101Mathew's avatar
        101Mathew
        Advocate V
        1 year ago

        Thank you - 

         

        * Parameters used by end report users - When using the Query Designer, it auto creates a parameter and dataset for that parameter.  - Selecting All as the default within the query designer does not work

        I've had to go to the hidden dataset that is auto created and update it to fig 1: I used copilot to help as I did not understand the original query that was auto generated and how it hang together with the parameter:

        This was the code auto generated for it originally:

        EVALUATE SELECTCOLUMNS (ADDCOLUMNS (SUMMARIZECOLUMNS (ROLLUPADDISSUBTOTAL ('Income Account Exec'[AccountExec], "h0")), "ParameterLevel", if ([h0], 0, 1)), "ParameterCaption", SWITCH([ParameterLevel], 1, 'Income Account Exec'[AccountExec], "Blank()"), "ParameterValue", 'Income Account Exec'[AccountExec], "ParameterLevel", [ParameterLevel], "'Income Account Exec'[AccountExec]", 'Income Account Exec'[AccountExec]) order by 'Income Account Exec'[AccountExec], [ParameterLevel]

         

        I've found another issue, after auto generating the parameters (when click for end user use) and dataset (when using the query designer), if you change the filtered value to later on, this is (again in the query designer), this value does not update

         

        I do think it's vital - if there are auto created items by the App that it works out of the box - Also there should be details on how to adjust/format code; the auto created code is hard to read, (the main query is vastly worse then the auto code for the parameter)


        Fig 1