Skip to main content
cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Join us for an expert-led overview of the tools and concepts you'll need to become a Certified Power BI Data Analyst and pass exam PL-300. Register now.

Reply
Mixednuts
Helper III
Helper III

Inconsistent translation of SQL Server UniqueIdentifier data type.

I have noticed in PowerQuery there is a difference in how the GUID is returned between DirectQuery and Import. This would cause problems for linking I would have thought.

 

Both methods convert the UniqueIdentifier datatype in SQLServer to Text in Power BI

 

However when the same table is queried via Direct Query the GUID is returned surrounded by braces {}, eg. {8B8B9F7B-21A8-4C87-02DA-08D74D01C96B}.

 

When Import is used the GUID is returned without braces, eg 8B8B9F7B-21A8-4C87-02DA-08D74D01C96B

 

I also noticed that while in the original source the GUID alpha characters are in upper case (which is consistent when retrieved via Direct Query), when Imported, they are all reduced to lower case, eg. b830bed8-3e01-4525-02ce-08d74d01c96b

 

Any idea why....?

3 REPLIES 3
pedrocrmventura
Regular Visitor

Hi @Mixednuts , v-frfei-msft

I had the exact same issue and I was able to solve it by adding a Step to transform that column data ("RequestId") to a GUID type:

= Table.TransformColumnTypes(#"Changed Type with Locale",{{"RequestId", Guid.Type}})

 

After adding this step, in Edit Relationship you can see that the columns are now of the same type, check image below :

 

pedrocrmventura_0-1715850769427.png


You can check for more info on this on: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powerquery-m/guid-from

 

 

v-frfei-msft
Community Support
Community Support

Hi @Mixednuts ,

 

Kindly disable the option to check again.

222.PNG

 

Community Support Team _ Frank
If this post helps, then please consider Accept it as the solution to help the others find it more quickly.

Hi Frank,

 

Thanks for responding.

 

After unsetting the type detection, PowerQuery showed the values in both the Import and Direct Query tables with consistent formats in the data preview, ie. no braces and all lower case.

 

However, after a full refresh back in the model, Direct Query tables are still showing GUIDs with braces and in capitals while Import tables are showing the same GUIDs without braces and in lower case.

 

Both tables (Import and DirectQuery) are sourced from the same Azure SQL Server table using basically the same SQL script with different date filtering.

 

regards,

John

 

Helpful resources

Announcements
Join our Fabric User Panel

Join our Fabric User Panel

This is your chance to engage directly with the engineering team behind Fabric and Power BI. Share your experiences and shape the future.

June 2025 Power BI Update Carousel

Power BI Monthly Update - June 2025

Check out the June 2025 Power BI update to learn about new features.

June 2025 community update carousel

Fabric Community Update - June 2025

Find out what's new and trending in the Fabric community.