Desktop Refresh Error: Query "references other queries or steps ... "

[Anonymous]

On nearly every report I have in Power BI Desktop, I refresh the data and get this error message on random tables/queries in my dataset. To 'fix' it, I have to open the Power Query Editor, refresh all previews in there, then close the editor and refresh the data in the report view again - and everything refreshes no problem. So, it's not actually an issue with my queries at all - it just seems to be a bug in PBI Desktop.

[057Sophie]

Clearing the cache seems to help one time.

Then I have to go again via power query/ update all and then I can update again in desktop

[Anonymous]

In my experience, you don't actually have to refresh the previews, per se (i.e., by clicking the Refresh Preview button). You just need to open Power Query and click on each offending query until the loading dots disappear. Still annoying, but slightly less slow.

[057Sophie]

Yes you're right but by selecting "update all" in power query, I don't need to go to every query until the loading dots disappear. same with the question mark on every query, I soon as they're gone I can update my report from the desktop app, and update all helps to make the question marks disappear

[C4YNelis]

For what it's worth, I'd like to give you an update from what I have noticed to hopefully save some of you some time:

I already seem to be able to refresh my report in Power BI Desktop as soon as I have clicked the table mentioned in the error in the power query editor. There seems to be no need to wait until the editor has finished refreshing. It seems to take a little bit longer to start (and when it mentions two different tables in the error, like I have in one of my reports, you seem to need to click them both), but it does start then. There seems to be no need to wait for all the errors / questionmarks to disappear first.

I have tried this on two different reports that always need to be refreshed first in the power query editor (the editor can take up hours sometimes - I know, I might be able to speed this up with a debugging flag), before being able to run a regular refresh in power bi desktop, so for me this is a huge timesaver.

Maybe unrelated, but I'm just wondering if any of you also suffer the issues below (I occasionally have these in the same reports that I have the refreshing problems with):

- in the query editor a specific query (and consequently all depending queries) sometimes just refuses to give me any results of query steps anymore, the window just stays blank. These can be simple queries, that would normally have shown their data within a few seconds. While other queries (unrelated to this one) will still show their data, this one query just won't, until I close and reopen the query editor (or maybe after a ludicrous amount of waiting, but I haven't had the patience nor time to wait that long).

- "Apply changes" blocks with some queries stuck on "waiting for other query" and other queries with "Evaluating" (until I click cancel and then apply changes again). After that it always works the second time.

Both these issues feel very related to the problem above, but then again, they might be a coincidence.

Cheers,

Niels

[057Sophie]

I switched to the February release but I still need to open and go to my power query, before I can update my report in the desktop

[057Sophie]

Good morning,

I got the march update yesterday and it seems that the update/refresh is now working without opening power query first.

Is it the same for you??

[Anonymous]

No, still broken in March 2023 for me.

[057Sophie]

So

Yesterday someone gave me another advice and since I haven't opened my power query anymore,

sorry it is the french client but I changed this option and 2 days without opening power query so far

[Anonymous]

Yeah, it definitely makes sense that that would be a decent workaround. The only problem with that approach is that the Power BI service doesn't allow you to ignore privacy level checks, so if you add a data source with a different privacy level, once you publish it, it won't be able to refresh automatically and you won't know that until the refresh fails. Obviously, if you're careful, then that's a non-issue.

For what it's worth, I opened a ticket with Microsoft on this, so we'll see if we can get a real resolution.

[057Sophie]

Thank you I will take your remark into consideration.

I am anyway struggling with my organisation workspace to have any kind of automated or schedule refresh.

So I was already used to do it manually via desktop.