TMDL: refers to an object which cannot be found

[kwu123]

Hi all,

I generate TMDL scripts from PBI report A, and I paste the script to report B, I hope that I can create the same tables (with all its measures, etc)  in report B.

However, when I click APPLY or Preview, I got error message like this:

    Cannot resolve all the paths while de-serializing Model. Resolution Errors: Property 'Relationship' of object 'variation 'Variation' in column 'opportunity_close_date' in table '_Sales_vw_pb_exec_dash_sales_actuals'' refers to an object which cannot be found., Property 'DefaultHierarchy' of object 'variation 'Variation' in column 'opportunity_close_date' in table '_Sales_vw_pb_exec_dash_sales_actuals'' refers to an object which cannot be found..

I tested and I think the issue is caused by this TMDL script that generated from report A:

        column opportunity_close_date
            dataType: dateTime
            formatString: General Date
            lineageTag: cec1598f-cfc4-4228-9d6d-3bdb27c46410
            summarizeBy: none
            sourceColumn: opportunity_close_date

            variation Variation
                isDefault
                relationship: 23bae709-5a8e-43a6-b29e-f5010964bc0d
                defaultHierarchy: LocalDateTable_dcd2bcb4-dde2-4ff1-8088-c629e876a26a.'Date Hierarchy'

            annotation SummarizationSetBy = Automatic

If I removed this variation section from my TMDL script and apply again, then the whole TMDL script and work and the results looks almost good, only difference is that this [opportunity_close_date] column don't have default hierarchy in my new report:

variation Variation
                isDefault
                relationship: 23bae709-5a8e-43a6-b29e-f5010964bc0d
                defaultHierarchy: LocalDateTable_dcd2bcb4-dde2-4ff1-8088-c629e876a26a.'Date Hierarchy'

So the new version code section which runs good looks like:

		column opportunity_close_date
			dataType: dateTime
			formatString: General Date
			lineageTag: cec1598f-cfc4-4228-9d6d-3bdb27c46410
			summarizeBy: none
			sourceColumn: opportunity_close_date

			annotation SummarizationSetBy = Automatic

Btw, the column from source report A looks like:

And after I removed variation and apply changes in target report B, it looks like:

Not sure what happened, anyone could give me some ideas or point me to the related Power BI documents.

Thank you!

[burakkaragoz · Accepted solution]

Hi @kwu123 ,

Great troubleshooting on your end — you're absolutely right about the root cause.

The error you're seeing is due to the variation block referencing a relationship GUID that doesn't exist in the target report (Report B). These GUIDs are specific to the model where they were generated, so when you copy TMDL from one report to another, any hardcoded relationship or hierarchy references can break unless the exact same structure exists.

Here are a few options to handle this:

1. Remove the variation block
   As you did, removing the variation block avoids the error, but you lose the built-in date hierarchy. This is fine if you don’t need that hierarchy in Report B.

2. Recreate the relationship manually in Report B
   If you want to preserve the hierarchy, you can:

   • Recreate the same relationship in Report B (between _Sales_WP[opportunity_close_date] and your date table)
   • Then re-export the TMDL from Report B to get the correct relationship ID
   • Use that updated variation block in your script

3. Use a shared Date Table
   If both reports use the same Date table (e.g., a shared local date table or a custom one), you can standardize the relationship and avoid this issue in future migrations.

4. Reference Documentation
   Microsoft’s official TMDL docs are still evolving, but you can check this for more on variations and relationships:
   https://learn.microsoft.com/power-bi/transform-model/tmdl/

Let me know if you want help generating a clean variation block based on your current model.

If my response resolved your query, kindly mark it as the Accepted Solution to assist others. Additionally, I would be grateful for a 'Kudos' if you found my response helpful.

[kwu123]

Hi @burakkaragoz ,

Thanks for your reply!

The wired thing is the source report A don't have any other date table. 

Maybe this is due to that I disabled the 'Time Intelligence' feature, so there is no hiden date table in report B.