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SamPowerBIUser
Regular Visitor

Cannot Overwrite Existing Report

We are getting data refresh issues on a PowerBI report due to some empty columns in the source (Excel file hosted on SharePoint). After File > Download this file and choosing the "copy with live connection" option, I was able to refresh the data without issue. Really weird how the scheduled refresh didn't work but refreshing in Desktop gave no error...

 

mssuxlol_0-1737036016512.png

 

After attempting to republish this dashboard, I'm getting a "Couldn't publish to Power BI" error message

mssuxlol_1-1737036096972.png

 

There is no option to overwrite. After doing some research online I can't find anyone with the same issue. For context, I am not the owner of this report, but am a Workspace Admin. 

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated, I'm quite new to PBI so it could be something obvious.

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION

Hi @SamPowerBIUser,

 

To remove empty columns and ensuring that the latest version of the data is reflected in power bi, follow below steps:

 

  • We can remove the empty columns in the power bi desktop, open Power BI Desktop and go to Transform Data, identify the empty columns and manually remove empty columns using the Remove Columns option.
  • Clear credentials by File > Options and Settings > Data Source Settings, and also clear the cache. Refresh the data after clearing the cache to ensure the latest version of the excel file is loaded.
  • Check if the excel file on share point is correctly updated, if changes are not reflecting in power bi desktop, remove and re-add the data source.
  • Rename the report before republishing it to avoid overwrite conflicts.

 

By following these steps, you can effectively clean up the data and ensure the latest data is reflected properly.

 

If this post helps, then please consider Accepting as solution to help the other members find it more quickly, don't forget to give a "Kudos" – I’d truly appreciate it! 

 

Thanks and regards,

Anjan Kumar Chippa

View solution in original post

6 REPLIES 6
v-achippa
Community Support
Community Support

Hi @SamPowerBIUser,

Thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Fabric Community.

 

This issue likely arises from a combination of power bi's handling of data source connections, permissions, and publishing conflicts. Please follow below solutions:

 

  • Empty columns can cause issues when power bi tries to map metadata. Remove or fill the empty columns in your excel file to avoid schema mismatches during the scheduled refresh. Ensure that the scheduled refresh settings in power bi service match the credentials and permissions for the share point source.
  • Ensure that you have the necessary permissions to overwrite reports in the workspace. Check and confirm that you have "Build" permissions on the dataset if you are trying to overwrite. If not, contact the owner of the report or a power bi service administrator to grant you the required permissions.
  • Refresh the report in Power BI Desktop and verify if the issue persists. If resolved, proceed to republish the report.
  • Save your power bi report (.pbix) with a slightly different name and try publishing again. This avoids the name conflict issue.
  • If renaming the file doesn’t work, publish the report to a different workspace where you have full control. Then, share the report or link it to the existing workspace.

 

If this post helps, then please consider Accepting as solution to help the other members find it more quickly, don't forget to give a "Kudos" – I’d truly appreciate it! 

 

Thanks and regards,

Anjan Kumar Chippa

Hey @v-achippa, how would one remove empty columns from the semantic model? It looks like the excel sheet which is the source for this model changed, and refreshing from desktop doesn't seem to reflect the latest version of the data

Hi @SamPowerBIUser,

 

To remove empty columns and ensuring that the latest version of the data is reflected in power bi, follow below steps:

 

  • We can remove the empty columns in the power bi desktop, open Power BI Desktop and go to Transform Data, identify the empty columns and manually remove empty columns using the Remove Columns option.
  • Clear credentials by File > Options and Settings > Data Source Settings, and also clear the cache. Refresh the data after clearing the cache to ensure the latest version of the excel file is loaded.
  • Check if the excel file on share point is correctly updated, if changes are not reflecting in power bi desktop, remove and re-add the data source.
  • Rename the report before republishing it to avoid overwrite conflicts.

 

By following these steps, you can effectively clean up the data and ensure the latest data is reflected properly.

 

If this post helps, then please consider Accepting as solution to help the other members find it more quickly, don't forget to give a "Kudos" – I’d truly appreciate it! 

 

Thanks and regards,

Anjan Kumar Chippa

Hi @SamPowerBIUser,

 

Thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Fabric Community.

 

As we haven’t heard back from you, we wanted to kindly follow up to check if the solution I have provided for the issue worked? or let us know if you need any further assistance?
If my response addressed, please mark it as Accept as solution and click Yes if you found it helpful.

 

Regards,

Anjan Kumar Chippa

Hi Anjan, thank you so much for taking the time to put this together. I think you correctly guessed that empty columns could be related to the issue, and will let you know soon!

 

Thanks again, and best regards

Hi @SamPowerBIUser,

 

We wanted to kindly follow up to check if the issue has been resolved


If my response addressed, please mark it as Accept as solution to help the other members of the community find it more quickly. Don't forget to give a "Kudos" – I’d truly appreciate it! 

 

Regards,

Anjan Kumar Chippa

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