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MKPartner
Helper I
Helper I

Fill down problem

Hello, 

 

I have three columns (3,4 and 5 from below screen) which I'd like to fill down but it seems after clicking "Fill down" option that data are the same. Can someone explain me why ? 

 

MKPartner_0-1718618130584.png

 

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION
johnbasha33
Super User
Super User

@MKPartner 

Potential Reasons and Solutions

  1. Non-Blank Cells: Ensure that the cells you are trying to fill down into are truly blank. If they contain spaces, null values, or any other character, the fill down function might not work as expected.

    Solution: Check and clean your data to ensure that the cells are truly empty.

  2. Data Types: Ensure that the data types of the columns are appropriate for the fill down operation. Mixing data types (e.g., text and numbers) can sometimes cause unexpected behavior.

    Solution: Convert all the data in the column to a consistent data type before applying the fill down operation.

  3. Order of Operations: Make sure that you are applying the fill down operation in the correct sequence of your transformations. If there are transformations that change the structure or order of your data after the fill down operation, it might affect the results.

    Solution: Apply the fill down operation after any sorting or filtering steps that might change the row order.

  4. Missing Data at Different Levels: If your data is hierarchical, ensure that you are not missing data at multiple levels. For instance, if you have grouped data and the fill down is applied only within groups, missing data at a higher group level might not be filled correctly.

    Solution: Ensure data is filled down at all hierarchical levels if needed.

    Did I answer your question? Mark my post as a solution! Appreciate your Kudos !!

View solution in original post

2 REPLIES 2
mamal
Frequent Visitor

I have the same issue with a following scenario:

- I am doing transformations on a Sharepoint file within dataflow on Power BI Service

- on Service side, data seems to fill down correctly, as below (different colors indicating different values filled down)

mamal_0-1718631510243.png

- upon saving, refresh and loading to report, I can see all Category_Source values filled with the first (red) value only.

As I assumed it might be connected to how the table is sorted upon refresh, I have added additional steps where I create an index column at the beginning of transformations and then sort by Index before continuing with fill down. However, this does not fix it either.

Also, the comments above suggest to double check if the cells are blank, but the official documentation says about null values: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-query/fill-values-column - can you confirm which way is correct?

Also, would love to hear about possible reasons for the issue I described.

johnbasha33
Super User
Super User

@MKPartner 

Potential Reasons and Solutions

  1. Non-Blank Cells: Ensure that the cells you are trying to fill down into are truly blank. If they contain spaces, null values, or any other character, the fill down function might not work as expected.

    Solution: Check and clean your data to ensure that the cells are truly empty.

  2. Data Types: Ensure that the data types of the columns are appropriate for the fill down operation. Mixing data types (e.g., text and numbers) can sometimes cause unexpected behavior.

    Solution: Convert all the data in the column to a consistent data type before applying the fill down operation.

  3. Order of Operations: Make sure that you are applying the fill down operation in the correct sequence of your transformations. If there are transformations that change the structure or order of your data after the fill down operation, it might affect the results.

    Solution: Apply the fill down operation after any sorting or filtering steps that might change the row order.

  4. Missing Data at Different Levels: If your data is hierarchical, ensure that you are not missing data at multiple levels. For instance, if you have grouped data and the fill down is applied only within groups, missing data at a higher group level might not be filled correctly.

    Solution: Ensure data is filled down at all hierarchical levels if needed.

    Did I answer your question? Mark my post as a solution! Appreciate your Kudos !!

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