PowerBI data import - blanks being autopopulated

[CamiloG]

In an SQL database, a column (EXTENSION) has blanks, however, when the data is imported into PowerBI, some blanks get filled with the data of the previous cell.

SQL 

PowerBI 

However, in the row view, I can see the field (EXTENSION) is empty

How can I avoid PowerBI to autofill the values when the field is blank?

[ImkeF]

Hi @CamiloG ,
I have never seen anything like that happening before.
Please check the M-code that has been generated automatically in the editor to see if any steps have been created there that do this fill-down. Then delete them.

[CamiloG]

Nothing unusual was added, however, I just added a new column based on the one showing the errors. I check for blanks and make them spaces in a new column. Somehow, the new column does show the correct format.

    TABPHONE_Table1 = Table.AddColumn(TABPHONE_Table,"EXT",
        each if [EXTENSION] = "" then " " else [EXTENSION]),
    #"Removed Columns" = Table.RemoveColumns(TABPHONE_Table1,{"EXTENSION"})

I still would like to know where the error is coming from, as there is the potential on having more tables with similar issues.

[Anonymous]

Just a thought, Blanks and nulls are not the same even though they may look the same in SQL in your query window, "depending". They are handled completely differently in SQL and PBI. Not sure if this is your issue but it's worth looking into.

[Anonymous]

I have found that, in general, null is a much better choice than BLANK. It will still show as an empty data point in your report and is much more likely to be handled correctly. That being said, it is very important to understand the differences.