Power BI dataflow automatically transform null text value into empty

[HShi]

We have created a linked entity in the dataflow; however, in the linked entity, all the null values (i.e. null) in the text fields have been automatically transformed into empty (""). We didn't notice this transformation for fields with other data types.

Further testing shows that the dataflow automatically treats null text values as empty. 

See below example: 

Example 1: Power BI dataflow autom-detects null text values as empty

Example 2: Original dataflow vs linked entity

[v-cazheng-msft]

Hi @HShi,

From the first screenshot from you, we can see that Power BI treats these values as Generic data type but not Text data type when retrieving data from the original dataflow. The data types from the original are not kept in the downstream dataflow. If you change its data type to Date munually, you shoud see the empty rows displayed as null values again.

Best Regards,

Community Support Team _ Caiyun

[HShi]

Hi @v-cazheng-msft ,

My concern is not related to the Date data type but the Text data type in the Power BI Service dataflow. In my first example in the Text column, row 5 shows empty instead of null. This same behavior is observed in my example 2. In the original dataflow, row 5 of the text column is null, but in the linked entity, it is showing empty again.