Forum Discussion
Dataflow Wont Open for Editing
Hi IamTDR
If you keep the new dataflow name and entity names identical to the old ones, you won’t need to re-link all 100 reports they will continue to work as before.
What matters is:
- The workspace stays the same.
- The dataflow name is exactly the same as the original.
- All entity (table) names inside the dataflow match the originals.
Power BI reports reference the entity paths (Workspace >> Dataflow >> Entity). If these are unchanged, the reports will reconnect automatically after the dataflow is recreated and refreshed.
Hi IamTDR
Thanks for confirming the quick checks. Since the other dataflows open fine and this one fails instantly, it’s likely the definition for this specific dataflow is corrupted or contains a query step that’s no longer valid (e.g., deleted source, renamed column, removed gateway).
Next steps to recover:
- Export the definition JSON
- In the workspace >> Dataflow >> menu >>Settings >>Export JSON.
- If it won’t open there, use the Power BI REST API Get Dataflow Definition to pull it (requires Admin/Member rights).
- Inspect the M code
- Look for queries referencing a missing table, field, parameter, or disabled connector.
- Fix any invalid steps in a text editor.
- Recreate the dataflow
- Create a new Gen1 dataflow >> Import the corrected JSON or paste the queries manually.
- Save and refresh to confirm it works.
- If API/Export isn’t possible
- Try cloning the dataflow from Dataflow Settings >> Save As New (if available).
- If both fail, you’ll need to rebuild from a backup PBIX or original source scripts.
Recreating the Dataflow, would that require me to re-link all 100 PBI reports?
This is a huge ask where I would need to manually download each report and re-populate the flow.
Hi IamTDR
If you keep the new dataflow name and entity names identical to the old ones, you won’t need to re-link all 100 reports they will continue to work as before.
What matters is:
- The workspace stays the same.
- The dataflow name is exactly the same as the original.
- All entity (table) names inside the dataflow match the originals.
Power BI reports reference the entity paths (Workspace >> Dataflow >> Entity). If these are unchanged, the reports will reconnect automatically after the dataflow is recreated and refreshed.
Thanks good to know information. I can still open my Dataflow, it just doesn't open 100% of the time. More like 50/50. Yesterday, I copied my queries from my dataflow into PBI desktop and checked for any errors. Everything refreshed without issue, so I am sure its not query related.
I dont usually edit my dataflows often, so for now, since this dataflow refreshes at scheduled time, I will leave it alone.