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

The Power BI DataViz World Championships are on! With four chances to enter, you could win a spot in the LIVE Grand Finale in Las Vegas. Show off your skills.

Reply
Anonymous
Not applicable

OLE DB or ODBC error: [DataFormat.Error] External table is not in the expected format

I'm having a hard time successfully connecting my folder in SharePoint to power Bi... It was working perfectly fine until a few days ago. Every time I refresh, I get an error "OLE DB or ODBC error: [DataSource.Error] SharePoint: Request failed" and "OLE DB or ODBC error: [DataFormat.Error] External table is not in the expected format"

 

Please help, I can't figure out why this's happening... I checked the transformation status of the tables or files and some are marked as "Error" but the file doesn't have any error so I'm not sure how to fix this problem. Has anyone experienced this problem?

2 REPLIES 2
v-alq-msft
Community Support
Community Support

Hi, @Anonymous 

 

I'd like to suggest you check the related steps Table.TransformColumnTypes in The Advanced Editor. Please check if the data type in the step matches the values in the corresponding column.

 

Best Regards

Allan

 

If this post helps, then please consider Accept it as the solution to help the other members find it more quickly.

AnkitKukreja
Super User
Super User

Hi @Anonymous 

 

This is generally due to change in data format. Like in your data few days ago date format would be different and now something else or maybe date field has (na, - or some special characters) . Similarly, this could be possible if the number or text field has text or a number in that column or vice-versa.

As the error states, your column which you would have gone through (change type) and is in correct format, now has some another format of data which is giving you this error.

 

Please check columns of your files in sharepoint which are giving errors in PQ.

 

Thanks,

Ankit

For Power BI trainings or support dm or reach out to me on LinkedIn.
If my response has successfully addressed your question or concern, I kindly request that you mark this post as resolved. Additionally, if you found my assistance helpful, a thumbs-up would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Ankit Kukreja
www.linkedin.com/in/ankit-kukreja1904
https://topmate.io/ankit_kukreja

Helpful resources

Announcements
Las Vegas 2025

Join us at the Microsoft Fabric Community Conference

March 31 - April 2, 2025, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Use code MSCUST for a $150 discount!

FebPBI_Carousel

Power BI Monthly Update - February 2025

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

Feb2025 NL Carousel

Fabric Community Update - February 2025

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

Top Solution Authors