DataSource.Error: exceeded 100000 distinct who/what's

Anonymous,

Could you please use Power BI Desktop  to connect to salesforce objects and check if you get same error?

In addition, the issue is related to the permission of your saleforce account, I would recommend you post the question in Salesforce forum to get dedicated support.

Regards,
Lydia

Hi, were you able to find a solution? As a workaround, maybe you can try to test your connection with a 3rd party connector. I've tried windsor.ai, supermetrics, and funnel.io. I stayed with Windsor because it is much cheaper so just to let you know about other options. In case you wonder, to make the connection first search for the Salesforce connector in the data sources list:

After that, just grant access to your Salesforce account using your credentials, then on preview and destination page you will see a preview of your Salesforce fields:

There just select the fields you need. It is also compatible with custom fields and custom objects, so you'll be able to export them through windsor.  Finally, just select PBI as your data destination and finally just copy and paste the url on PBI --> Get Data --> Web --> Paste the url. 

For those still wondering, the Salesforce.Data built-in connector in Power Query folds queries, so you can include a filter in your query, which allows you to at least see what columns etc. are available. You can refine the filter after.

Here is what worked for me: 

let

Source = Salesforce.Data(

"https://login.salesforce.com/",

[

ApiVersion = 48,

CreateNavigationProperties=true

]

), 

Table = Source{[Name="Task"]}[Data],

Filtered = Table.SelectRows(

Table,

each [CreatedDate] >= #datetime(2026, 6, 1, 0, 0, 0)

) 

in 

Filtered

This is a Salesforce Activity query limit, not a Power BI row limit. It can occur when a user without View All Data queries Tasks or Events containing more than 100,000 distinct related Who or What records.

Apply an early date filter to reduce the Task dataset. Also ask the Salesforce admin to verify whether the integration user has View All Data, although this broad permission should only be granted after a security review.

Power BI Connector for Salesforce by Metrica Software can help narrow the extraction with selected fields, filters, and SOQL: https://appexchange.salesforce.com/appxListingDetail?listingId=31526f0e-abd8-4cb5-bd1a-3bd56b5c0577

It will not bypass Salesforce limits or permissions, but it can help reduce the query before the data reaches Power BI.