What is this (Blank) and Blank in the filter (slicer)

[Bilhan_Bel]

Recently, I have swappaed the datasource from database scripts to dataflow and currently my scripts are in the dataflow so it's basically the same thing but other teammates will have access to those scripts. Anyway I'm seeing this when a column is used as a filter or as a slicer and I don't know where this comes from and what's the solution? 

the only difference is when I click (Blank) all records are gone if it's in the table view, and when I click Blank (second one--empty) I see the values which matches with the column that is blank indeed.


Before, I was only filtering out (basic filtering - is not blank) but this is something else.

[v-hashadapu]

Hi @Bilhan_Bel , hope you are doing great. May we know if your issue is solved or if you are still experiencing difficulties. Please share the details as it will help the community, especially others with similar issues.

[Bilhan_Bel]

@v-hashadapu thank you for reaching out. I suspect there was an issue in ETL. We are still working on it. It's not my responsibility but when it's resolved I will adjust the status of this ticket. Thanks!

[v-hashadapu]

Hi @Bilhan_Bel , Thanks for the update. We hope it gets resolved soon. Please do share the details, when it gets resolved.

Thank you.

[v-hashadapu · Accepted solution]

Hi @Bilhan_Bel , Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Community Forum.

As @hnguy71  correctly said, what happened was that after you switched from database scripts to a dataflow, some values in your assumption_reference column that were previously true NULLs are now coming through as empty strings "". Power BI displays both NULL and "" as Blank in slicers and filters, which is why you’re seeing two separate blank entries,  one for actual nulls and one for empty text values.

You should standardize the column in your dataflow or Power Query by replacing all empty strings with null. That way, Power BI will treat them consistently and you’ll only see a single Blank option in your filters and slicers.

[Shahid12523]

Blank) = actual NULL value.
Blank = text value "Blank" in your data.

Fix: In Power Query, replace empty text/"Blank" with null to standardize.

[Ritaf1983]

Hi @Bilhan_Bel 

It looks like the blank values you're seeing in the slicer are caused by a mismatch between the source table and a related table.

For example, imagine you have a "Salesperson" table that only includes active salespeople. If this table is related to an "Orders" table, and there are orders associated with salespeople who no longer exist in the "Salesperson" table (e.g., they were removed or deactivated), Power BI won't be able to find a match for those orders. As a result, it will show (Blank) in  slicers / filters where there's no corresponding value in the dimension table.

To fix this, you need to perform data quality checks to make sure every “pot has its lid” — meaning every fact table value has a matching key in the dimension table.
For more detailed explanations please relate tp the linked short video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23qemkDqMVY

If this post helps, then please consider Accepting it as the solution to help the other members find it more quickly.

[Bilhan_Bel]

@Ritaf1983 @Greg_Deckler 

Yes I know what Blank is... My question is there are two filterable options in the screenshot I shared.
First (Blank) is I know there are values doesn't have correspanded values and that's expected. No quesitions on that.

the second that there is no text in there but when I hover it, it says (Blank) as well. I'm trying to understand where this weird double (blank) is coming from?

and when I add this column to the page as a filter you can filter both different blank options.
if first one is blank, what is the second blank?

That's my question

[hnguy71]

@Bilhan_Bel 

Your second blank is an empty string in your assumption_reference column. You may want to do an ETL to replace blank ("") 

[Greg_Deckler]

@Bilhan_Bel Well, without seeing your data it's difficult to answer but I would suspect that one blank is caused by actual blanks or non-printing character in your table data for that column and the other is the auto-blank from mismatched relationship data between two columns. But, that's purely a guess. And I can't seem to replicate it at all.

[Greg_Deckler]

@Bilhan_Bel This means that you have unmatched values between your two related tables.