Forum Discussion
Edit and preserve column headers in connected table
You need to distinguish between two scenarios
#1 Run a DAX query against a semantic model. For that you connect to "Power BI Semantic Model". You won't be able to change/remove the table names
#2 Import data from a SSAS cube ("Analysis Services Database"), by specifying the same DAX query. This will result in a Power Query connection where you can then add steps to remove the table names and do other manipulations.
Hi Anonymous,
My issue is not really resolved, but lbendlin helped clarify that his solutions is related to SSAS cube.
My issue is related to Power BI Semantic model connection (XMLA) , and from the article by Microsoft
Design refreshable reports in Excel with Power BI data - Power BI | Microsoft Learn
shows an example where you can change the column headers, and it should be preserved.
If anyone has a solution/clarification to this, it would be highly appreciated.
Best regards
Hi jokrra89,
Thanks for reaching out to the Microsoft fabric community forum.
Your issue of changing column headers in a table in Excel can occur due toi various reasons:
* If the Power BI dataset structure changes (columns getting renamed), Excel will overwrite the
customized headers during refresh. Make sure the column names in the Power BI dataset remain
unchanged. Try renaming the headers directly in Excel without deleting the original ones.
* Check the option to auto-format tables during refresh in Excel, which can overwrite your
customizations. Go to Data and then Queries & Connections then right-click the query and select
properties. Uncleck "Preserve column sort/filter/layout" and see if this changes the behavior.
Also try to uncheck it if its already checked and see if it behaves differently depending on the
version.
* Also check your PowerBI Dataset Refresh settings as certain refresh behaviors in Power BI Service
may start structural refreshes in Excel. To check this verify that the dataset isn’t sending metadata
updates that force Excel to reset headers if you are using Power BI datasets with incremental refresh.
If I misunderstand your needs or you still have problems on it, please feel free to let us know.
Best Regards,
Hammad.
Community Support Team
If this post helps then please mark it as a solution, so that other members find it more quickly.
Thank you.