Transitioning a Power BI Project from Static Files to Auto-Updated Data Source

[_Ester_]

Hello all!

I’ve created a report in Power BI using two CSV files as the data source to track customer purchases from an e-commerce platform.

Recently, I figured out how to directly connect to the e-commerce platform (Shopify) via API, so that the data can update automatically.
However, I noticed that the columns in the new tables have different headers compared to the original CSV files, which causes an issue with the existing DAX formulas, as they won’t match the new column names.

Given the complexity of the project and the number of DAX formulas involved, I’m wondering what the most efficient way is to transition from the current project (based on static CSV files) to the new project connected directly to the e-commerce platform, avoiding unnecessary steps.

The two main options I’m considering are:

1. Create a new project with the new data source and manually update all the DAX formulas with the new column names.
2. Import the new data source into the existing project and rename the new columns to match the old ones, so the DAX formulas will continue to work without changes.
   
   Which approach would you recommend to minimize the workload and reduce the risk of errors? 
   Is there a way to do it right?

Thanks a lot!

[SamWiseOwl · Accepted solution]

Hi @_Ester_ 

My lazy brain wants to choose option 2. Create the new connection and then copy all the M steps into the Advanced editor of the new connection. The issue is if the names change again you'd need to go through the process again. I think it will be a combination of this to do the M transfer and then some of option 1 to change the DAX measures.

However option 1 can be done easier than you might think. Or at least updating all the measures doesn't need to be so awful.

I need to update all these measure:

In the DAX queries view

Click on your measure and choose Define all measures in this model

Use Ctrl + H to open the find and replace. Enter the old name and new one:

Finally click on Update model with changes:

All your measures should now work 🙂

[_Ester_]

Thanks @SamWiseOwl! 
I had never tried this Power BI feature before and I didn't know it could be so useful!