Forum Discussion
Salesforce objects live connections
Hello Team,
I'm trying to connect the salesforce live connection to the Power BI desktop. Below are the steps followed.
- Get data and select salesforce objects production.
- Logged in through my Salesforce login credentials.
I was able to get the data, But the data doesn't look live because 2024 data is not available through this connection.
Do we have any other way to get this live Salesforce data to power the BI desktop or is this the only method?
Thanks,
Samar
The SalesForce Objects connector only supports Import Mode. Neither Live connection nor Direct Query mode are supported.
If this is important to you please consider voting for an existing idea or raising a new one at https://ideas.fabric.microsoft.com/?forum=2d80fd4a-16cb-4189-896b-e0dac5e08b41
8 Replies
The SalesForce Objects connector only supports Import Mode. Neither Live connection nor Direct Query mode are supported.
If this is important to you please consider voting for an existing idea or raising a new one at https://ideas.fabric.microsoft.com/?forum=2d80fd4a-16cb-4189-896b-e0dac5e08b41
Hello,
I got the solution for this. Thank you so much for your information.
Thanks,
Samar
I would recommend to use Salesforce Reports connector instead of Salesforce object. It is a lot faster to load . It is really the most convenient way of extracting data into Power BI since all your needed columns are in one table there.
Salesforce Object connector also sometimes takes ages to load the data. I used to wait for hours for a preview of my tables to load in Power Query.
It only allows you to extract 2000 rows though. However, you can work around this limitation using third-party tools. Here is the approach that I would recommend: https://vidi-corp.com/connect-salesforce-reports-to-power-bi/
That sounds like a lot of effort, and would require you to actually have a field that could be used for the chunking. Our reports usually run in the millions of rows, so chunking these into 2K pieces will get old quickly.
We use UTF-8 CSV exports of the reports, placed on a SharePoint. No row limits, fast ingestion from Power BI.
If you need better real time, use Salesforce Reports as they were intended.
The field that can be used for chunking is "date_updated" or "date_created". It isn't really a problem.
With the approach that I described data would be extracted using Python and blended in Azure before being loaded into the database. As a result, Azure would do the heavy lifting and not Power BI. Even if you have 500 chunks, Azure can handle it. Of course Power BI on it's own can not.
Hi Shaiksamar2244 As a workaround, maybe you can try to test your connection with a 3rd party connector, which pulls data directly from the SF objects API. 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.
Hi Shaiksamar2244,
lbendlin is correct - the Salesforce Objects connector is Import-only, no Live/DirectQuery support, and that's true across all Salesforce-to-Power-BI connectors I'm aware of (the Salesforce APIs themselves aren't designed for the constant per-visual querying that DirectQuery needs).
So the realistic options for "fresher" data are import + frequent scheduled refresh. If you go that route and want refreshes to be fast and reliable (so "fresh" is more achievable), Power BI Connector for Salesforce on AppExchange is one alternative - still Import mode, but with server-side filtering so each refresh pulls only what changed:
Why it might fit:
- Server-side filtering keeps refreshes lightweight enough to schedule frequently
- No 2,000-row limit on reports
- Supports custom fields, custom objects, and joined reports
- 30-day free trial
- Setup docs: https://metricasoftware.com/docs/salesforce/
- Responsive support if you get stuck: https://metricasoftware.com/docs/salesforce/contact-support/
Happy to set up a quick demo if it'd help. Just reach out via the support link.
Cheers,
Metrica Team.
