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Djilali's avatar
Djilali
Regular Visitor
3 months ago
Solved

Issue when creating Power BI alert with Salesforce data source

Hello,

I tried to set up an alert in Power BI, but it seems to be related to the Salesforce data source, as notifications are not working specifically for tables using this source.

 

We followed these steps:

1. Select the button "Define an alert"

2. Select a row in the table.

3. Choose the condition When a new row appears.

 

 

4. Enter an email address and enable the Outlook notification.

5. Click Apply.

 

 

However, when clicking Apply, the following error message appears:

“An error occurred while updating your alert. Check your network connection or try refreshing the page and try again.”:

 

 

The data source used is Salesforce in Import mode.

The Power BI model includes joins between multiple tables, all using the following Salesforce data source:

Salesforce.Data("https://login.salesforce.com/", [ApiVersion=48])


Is there an alternative solution or a specific setup required to make it work?

 

Thank you,

 

Best regards;

Djilali

Need Help
  • v-aatheeque's avatar
    v-aatheeque
    2 months ago

    Hi Djilali 

    Thank you for the update and for sharing your findings.

    Based on your testing, it appears the behavior is related to the number of columns included in the table rather than any specific field or dataset. Since creating a dedicated table for alerts has allowed the alerts to be configured successfully, this seems to be an effective workaround for the current limitation.

    If this solution meets your requirements, please let us know and we can consider the issue resolved.

7 Replies

  • v-aatheeque's avatar
    v-aatheeque
    Community Support
    3 months ago

    Hi Djilali 
    Thanks for reaching out to Microsoft Fabric Community Forum.

    Thank you for sharing the detailed information and the troubleshooting steps already performed.

    Based on the behavior observed, the issue appears to be related to the Salesforce-based semantic model configuration. The error occurs specifically while applying the “When a new row appears” alert on tables built from Salesforce Import-mode data containing multiple joined tables.

    Since the issue is reproducible during alert configuration itself, the following additional validations are recommended:

    • Test the alert using a very simple table visual built from a single Salesforce object/table without relationships or calculated fields.
    • Validate whether the issue reproduces with a non-Salesforce datasource in the same workspace.
    • Check if the issue occurs across different workspaces/capacities and for multiple users.
    • Review whether unsupported field types, calculated columns, or composite model behaviors are involved in the selected visual.
    • Try creating the alert using another browser/InPrivate session.
    • v-aatheeque's avatar
      v-aatheeque
      Community Support
      3 months ago

      Hi Djilali 

      Have you had a chance to look through the responses shared earlier? If anything is still unclear, we’ll be happy to provide additional support.

      • v-aatheeque's avatar
        v-aatheeque
        Community Support
        2 months ago

        Hi Djilali 

        We wanted to follow up to check if you’ve had an opportunity to review the previous responses. If you require further assistance, please don’t hesitate to let us know.

         
  • Djilali's avatar
    Djilali
    Regular Visitor
    3 months ago

    Hi, I haven't worked on the report myself and my collegue is off, we'll try each points and get back to you next week as soon as we have everything.

    Have a good day.

     

    Best regards,

    Djilali.

  • metrica's avatar
    metrica
    Post Prodigy
    1 month ago

    Hi Djilali ,

     

    Your workaround makes sense. If the alert starts failing only when the table gets wider, I would keep the alert logic separate from the full reporting table.

     

    For Salesforce-based alerts, I would create a small “alert table” with only the fields needed for the trigger, for example:

    • Record ID

    • Created Date or Last Modified Date

    • Status or alert condition

    • Owner or team, if needed

    • One numeric or categorical value used by the alert

    Then use the larger joined table only for reporting and drill-through. This keeps the alert visual much simpler and easier for Power BI to evaluate.

     

    A practical way to structure this is to prepare a dedicated Salesforce dataset before it reaches Power BI.

    Power BI Connector for Salesforce by Metrica Software can help with that:
    https://appexchange.salesforce.com/appxListingDetail?listingId=31526f0e-abd8-4cb5-bd1a-3bd56b5c0577

    With the connector, you can create a Salesforce data source, select only the objects and fields needed for the alert, apply filters, preview the output, and then connect Power BI to that smaller prepared source. SOQL mode is also available if the alert logic needs more control.

     

    This will not remove Power BI’s own alert limitations, but it can make the Salesforce dataset much cleaner and easier to use for alert-specific visuals.

     

    There is a 30-day free trial, clear documentation, and support here:

    https://metricasoftware.com/docs/salesforce/
    https://metricasoftware.com/docs/salesforce/contact-support/

     

    Happy to show how we would model a lightweight Salesforce alert dataset for this scenario.

     

    Cheers,
    Metrica Team