Semantic model settings pane (Preview)

[kayu]

Author: Kay Unkroth - Principal Program Manager

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The semantic model settings experience has been refreshed. The redesigned settings pane, aligned with the modern Fabric look and feel is now available. 

Figure: The new semantic model settings pane, opened in context next to the workspace.

Why it matters

The settings page has served its purpose well, but it requires navigating away from whatever you were doing. The new settings pane keeps you in context—your workspace, items, and scroll position stay right where you left them. It opens instantly, with no page load and no navigation away from your model. When you’re done, select anywhere outside the pane to close it.

Equally important, the settings pane is designed for long lists of settings that fit poorly with long scrollable pages. Related sections are now grouped into collapsible regions, making navigation easier. The search feature also saves time.

If you can't find the refresh history instantly, type ‘re’ in the search box and pick View Refresh History. Simply bypass sensitivity labels, endorsements, gateway and cloud connections, credentials, M parameters, query caching, OneDrive sync, and more, and go straight to the setting you want. With more than 30 semantic model settings sections accumulated over time, search is essential.

Figure: Type in the search box to quickly find a setting—for example, 'View refresh history'.

Incremental improvements

Changes to familiar configuration experiences require adjustment, so the settings pane is rolling out gradually. Now, the settings pane is off by default and can only be displayed from the settings page. In a few months, it becomes the default. At that point, you can still switch back to the settings page. Over time, the classic settings page will be retired.

In parallel, settings sections are being consolidated. This work is already underway, refer to the Manage semantic model settings in the settings pane (Preview) documentation for a quick reference. More changes are planned for the scheduled refresh and data connections experiences.

Open the settings pane

During the initial preview, the settings pane is an opt-in experience, so you can adopt it on your own terms.

To open it:

1. Navigate to your semantic model's settings page.
2. Example: From the Settings option in your model's context menu.
3. At the top of the page, you can find an Open settings pane >> link, as in the following screenshot.

   

   Figure: The Open settings pane >> link at the top of the classic settings page.

4. The pane opens with all the familiar settings, organized into sections and tabs.
5. If you want to go back, select << Open settings page at the bottom of the navigation area in the settings pane.

As a reminder: To change the settings of a semantic model, you need to be the model owner or have Write permission. A few settings—including scheduled refresh and data source credentials — can only be configured by the semantic model owner.

 

Next steps

• Refer to the Manage semantic model settings in the settings pane documentation.
• Try the pane on one of your semantic models.
• Submit ideas on Fabric Ideas.
• Provide feedback in the comments section.
• Learn more about related topics: Configure scheduled refresh and Data refresh in Power BI.

[EricB_CAI]

Overall I like the look and feel of this.
However, as I work with new users configuring their first few semantic models, scheduling refreshes can be a hurdle. Now the Refresh section is above the Data access section which is backwards. After testing with a new model I can hit the big refresh button in the Refresh section and I don't get any error message when it fails because my credentials havent been authenticated. Please consider the relationship between your Refresh and Data access sections because this is a pain point for us Power BI admins out here.

[kayu]

Thanks for your kind words, Eric. And yes, data access should come first, then refresh. We need to find a way to arrange this better.

[mike_honey]

This seems a big improvement - the old pages had a "version 1.0" feel, 10 years old and it showed.

The Refresh > Next refresh in looks useful, but I'm getting some odd results there.  A semantic model that was scheduled to refresh a few minutes ago shows:
-1 Weeks -1 Days -1 Hours -5 Minutes

I expected to see perhaps just -5 Minutes, plus ideally an indication if the refresh is currently running.

I also see a Refresh button below Next refresh in, but I'm hesitant to hit it as I don't understand what it will do. Refresh the semantic model? Refresh that page? 

[mike_honey]

Unfortunately, the new pane appears to have inherited the faulty logic from the existing page around the refresh history. For a semantic model where the two prior refreshes failed, both show a warning message from an earlier refresh.

On the new Refresh tab, the new pane shows the date/time for the most recent failed run under Last successfully refreshed on. 

Neither shows that a refresh is currently underway, which is important info. We can only see that from the workspace page.

[kayu]

Hi Mike, our engineers are trying to repro this inhouse. If it's not too much to ask, would you be able to file a support request or email me directly so that we can reach out to you for additional details if necessary? 
But to your points, correct, we did not improve the underlying functionality yet. Right now, it is a lift and shift, with some UI consolidation where it seemed possible with light touches. Our underlying assumption is that we need to introduce the new UI gradually. Allow our customers enough time. And then, oh yes, data connections, refreshes, refresh history... it's going to get better, iteratively. 
And the Refresh button triggers an on-demand refresh of the semantic model. It's one of those little things that hopefully makes it easier for our model owners to validate on the spot that their models can access their data sources. We'll see how we can make this clearer in the UI.
Thank you for your feedback, Mike!