.pbix size

[MP_123]

hi,

i want to know what effects the size of the .pbix file

i know that the # rows (if data is imported) but what abput the query? the tabs? the visuals.

i feel like the size of the file is getting bigger no proportianly way.

thanks

[GilbertQ]

Hi @MP_123,

Some great tips from @Greg_Deckler and @Phil_Seamark, the other consideration I would also say is to make sure you change the column data types to ensure that they are the correct types, as well as being the most efficient. 

For example if you have a column with Dates, and the column data type is set to DateTime, rather change it to Date, as this will take up less space. The same can go for number values and as suggested before is the Text based values. 

Another tip to ensure that the .PBIX file is as small as possible is if you have any data in your Query Editor that is used for generating other queries but is NOT required in your Power BI Model is to disable the loading of this data. Here is a great blog post by Rezza Rad explaining this Performance Tip for Power BI; Enable Load Sucks Memory Up

[Greg_Deckler]

If you want to see what is taking up the space, copy your pbix file to a zip file. Then you can just open the zip up in file explorer and take a look at the file sizes. DataModel is the file that is your data model and you will see a Reports folder, etc.

[Phil_Seamark]

Obviously the amount of data you import will have an effect.  This will be the biggest driver.

PBI Desktop is a tabular cube which will compress the data, however this won't work well on fields that are highly unique (such as ID fields and DateTime fields that include Day/Hour/Min/Sec)

So have a look at the tables with the most rows and see what columns you can avoid brining into your model.

Often you can remove quite a few columns and still create SUM/COUNT/AVERAGE measures that satisfy your reporting needs.

Your model will be faster too.

[Phil_Seamark]

This is a very good video which is 100% releveant to building models in Power BI Desktop.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgzJPQ2-F5s