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smdaly218's avatar
smdaly218
New Member
9 years ago
Solved

Direct query refresh dashboard automatically instead of manually refreshing

I have connected to an Oracle DB using Direct Query which solved my refresh issue. However I am using this dashboard to show real time data updates for the Service Desk. If I manually refresh the dat...
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  • smdaly218's avatar
    smdaly218
    9 years ago

    I did not delve into streaming as yet due to the extensions you mentioned worked for me. I was able to add a Refresh extension in Chrome and have it refresh every 5 minutes. This is a good interval for me and using F11, provides a "decent" experience. I will continue to evolve my skills with streaming when time allows. 

     

    Thanks for the solution!

DMiradakis's avatar
DMiradakis
Advocate II
3 years ago

Although this is 6 years after the fact, I wanted to chime in here:

 

Import Mode

There is nothing native to Power BI that force visuals to autoupdate themselves autonomously/without user interaction when the report's dataset is Import Mode. Even Automatic Page Refresh does not work with Import Mode, period.

 

Direct Query

Direct Query also does not achieve this natively. DQ can update visuals, but that only happens when users interact with report visuals, for example, clicking, applying a slicer, cross-filtering, etc.

So this won't work for your use case either.

 

Automatic Page Refresh

Automatic Page Refresh was designed to accomplish this, and it works well, but be forewarned of a few limitations:

  • APR does NOT work with Import Mode, regardless of licensing, period.
  • For Power BI Pro users, APR only works up to every 30 minutes max - that may not be nearly realtime enough for many people.
  • There is no concept of a slideshow or tab rotation in APR.

 

Streaming dataset

Streaming datasets can force visuals to autoupdate, but they are extremely limited in what they offer - you don't get DAX, Power Query, or Power BI Desktop when you make a Streaming dataset. All you get is a really limited dashboard (not a report, a dashboard), and you can only build extremely simple visuals with it.

 

My App: Displagent

I made a custom Power BI app called Displagent to handle these use cases better than all of the other alternatives. My app can actually force visuals to autoupdate themselves even if you are using Import Mode. No other app in the ecosystem can do this. Also, if you are using Direct Query, Displagent can do refreshes up to every 15 seconds.

It also has extremely advanced slideshow capabilities that you won't find elsewhere in the Power BI ecosystem.