PowerBi Projects with VS and Git via Azure repo, sync issue

[decarsul]

Hi all,

First of all, i have no idea where exactly to post this as it is has to many factors.

Since about 3 months, we're wanting to start doing versioning for our powerbi reports, so we're switching to powerbi projects.

To manage the versioning, we've create a repository in azure devops (tied to on-premesis git) and connect to the repository using visual studio code (latest stable).

This all works fine. However... when we are working in branches, or main, doesn't really matter, and do the push / pull / sync all seems to work fine for that branch. Untill we switch to a branch / main that has files with the same name (as you would expect), the files that are already present in the local directory rarely get updated with the actual file it should have.

So, if i am creating a new branch from main to work on a project. It will 'duplicate' whatever is in main. I start working on that via the local workspace, commit my changes and then push them back to the repository. The files in the repository on the branch have the latest version. Others in my team in that branch can also see this version. So syncing across workspaces works fine.

When i now switch back to main, it should give me the older version of the dashboard that i just editted in branch, right? Well... since it has the exact same name, when switching from the branch to main, it fails to update the local workspace with the old version, and i will now also have the new copy in main (almost like it's cached). The only way i have found around this, is by creating a new branch, completely empty the local workspace in that branch and sync that with the repository. So that when syncing it HAS to empty out the folder and pull in the files from the repo.

Does anyone else have this issue, and if so. Is there a solution? Cause this is hurting the adoption of powerbi projects in my team.

Edit--

Additional information:

- local workspace is on the local disk and not part of one-drive synchronisation.

- Git is on-premesis (not an admin)

- Azure Dev-Ops is on-premesis (not an admin)

[v-shamiliv]

Hi @decarsul 
Could you please let us know if you have submitted your idea in the ideas forum?
Thank you.

[decarsul]

It seems to work now, but didn't before.

[v-shamiliv]

Hi @decarsul 
When you open the link we provided, you will see the following:

You can suggest an idea in the idea forum. If you are stuck somewhere else, please share a screenshot so that we can assist you more efficiently.
Thank you.

[v-shamiliv]

Hi @decarsul 
I wanted to check if you had the opportunity to review the information provided. Please feel free to reach us if you have any further questions. If my response has addressed your query, please accept it as a solution and give a 'Kudos' so other members can easily find it.
Thank you.

[decarsul]

Sorry for the delayed response.

We've tried the suggestions mentioned above, none have worked.

Following this, we've been testing further and have noticed that the same issue doesn't occur when completely closing powerbi instances.

In turn this makes us believe that powerbi desktop itsself is the issue and not so much visual studio code or azure repo's / git integration.

Almost like powerbi doesn't clean its cache properly. Or rewrites its cache after switching to another branch.

And i believe this is a known issue.

[v-shamiliv · Accepted solution]

Hi @decarsul 
Thank you for sharing your insights regarding the visibility and limitations of powerbi, as well as the challenges in identifying issues. Your perspective highlights a significant gap that warrants further attention. Could you please formalize this feedback by outlining the specific challenges and potential impacts you mentioned? Feedback submitted through the Microsoft Fabric Ideas portal is often reviewed by the product teams and can lead to meaningful improvements.

I kindly request you to submit your ideas and feedback here Microsoft Fabric Ideas feedback submitted here is often reviewed by the product teams and can lead to meaningful improvement.

 
Thank You.

[decarsul]

Hi Shamiliv,

Following this link, i am getting walled. Appearantly i do not have the appropriate persmissions to post my idea / feedback there.

[decarsul]

Sorry, will be testing the solutions more the comming week, as i haven't been able to test due to ... circumstances

[v-shamiliv]

Hi @decarsul 
I hope this information is helpful. Please let me know if you have any further questions or if you'd like to discuss this further. If this answers your question, please Accept it as a solution and give it a 'Kudos' so others can find it easily.
Thank you.

[v-shamiliv]

Hi @decarsul 
We haven’t heard back since our last response and wanted to check if your query has been resolved. If not, please feel free to reach out for further assistance. If it has been resolved, kindly mark the helpful reply as the solution to make it easier for others to find. A kudos would also be greatly appreciated!
Thank you.

[v-shamiliv]

Hi @decarsul 
Thank you for your patience. From the steps outlined , please let us know if anything was helpful to you, so that we can convert it into a formal answer. If so, we would appreciate it if you could Accept it as a solution and drop a 'Kudos' so other members can find it more easily.
Thank you.

[v-shamiliv]

Hi @decarsul,

Thanks for the clarification! Since you mentioned you've been working on versioning for your Power BI reports for about 3 months, I initially assumed you were using  .pbix files. But now that I know you're working with Power BI Projects (.pbip files), the advice I gave for  .pbix files will need to be adjusted slightly.

In the steps I provided earlier, you can simply replace .pbix with  .pbip for your Power BI Projects. The core concepts still apply, but the file type is different.

I hope this helps! If you find this useful, feel free to give us Kudos or mark it as a solution so others can find it easily.

Thank you!

[v-shamiliv]

Hi @decarsul,

Thank you for reaching out to the Fabric Community Forum regarding the sync issues you're facing with Power BI projects in VS and Git via Azure Repo.

When switching between branches (e.g., from main to feature), you might notice that .pbix files in your local workspace don't update correctly. The files with the same name aren’t refreshed properly, causing Git to retain the latest version (as if it's cached), which can prevent you from getting the older version when switching back to the main branch.

Here are a few steps that might help resolve this:

• You can use the git clean command to remove any untracked files in your workspace. This will prevent changes from the previous branch from interfering with the new branch:

                      git clean -fd

• If files aren’t updating when switching branches, you can force Git to overwrite your local changes by using:

                      git checkout -- .

• If you have uncommitted changes, you can temporarily store them with git stash to avoid interference when switching branches:

                      git stash

• When you're ready to reapply your stashed changes, simply use:

                      git stash pop

• To minimize merge conflicts, make sure to regularly pull the latest changes from the main branch into your working branches.

• Since .pbix files are large binary files, it’s a good idea to add them to .gitignore to prevent Git from tracking them, which helps avoid merge conflicts and sync issues. You can add the following to your .gitignore file:

                      .pbix

• Consider using Azure DevOps pipelines to automate builds and deployments for your Power BI reports.

       I hope this helps! If it does, feel free to give us Kudos or mark it as a solution so others can find it easily.

       Thank you!

[decarsul]

Thanks for the reply. I will check out the options provided.

For my interest tho, what made you assume that we are using pbix files? i specifically stated we're transferring to power bi projects, or in other words pbip files?

[rajendraongole1]

Hi @decarsul - The problem arises because Git is not properly updating the files in your local workspace when you switch branches, especially when the file names remain identical. 

Power BI Desktop developer mode documentation - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

Azure Repos Git Documentation | Microsoft Learn

Use Source Control with your Power BI Report in Microsoft Fabric!

PROPER VERSION CONTROL in Power BI using Power BI Projects and GitHub // Beginners Guide to Power BI

Above quick reference documents and youtube links FYR:

Hope this helps.

[decarsul]

Thank you for your reply.

These links have not helped me however.

I know what it is, what it is supposed to do and how it is supposed to act.

Now i want to know what to do when it doesn't do what it is supposed to do.