Linked Data Flow not showing records of an Appended data flow

[bretholm]

I have an issue that I will try and explain. I have three data flows of the same fact table that contain one for current year, prior year and 2 years ago. They all refresh and show the data correctly. I then created a linked data flow and brought those three different data flows in and then created a new append query and saved that as a new data flow. Data is showing for the append query.

I then tried to create a new link data flow so I can then apply transformations and grouping to it. When I am at the Get Data/Choose data window and I select the appended data flow, it doesn't show any records. Now I can select the original three data flows that are linked into that appended data flow and each one does show data even though the appended data flow doesn't show data but when you are in the appended data flow it does show data that it appended the three data flows. I have refreshed it but still not showing records.

The odd thing is that I have done this correctly with other data flows and shows data in the appended data flow.  I have also recreated the original data flows and linked data flows in a different workspace but still get the same results. These are Gen 1 data flows using Premuim edition.

Any help would be appreciated.

[v-kpoloju-msft · Accepted solution]

Hi @bretholm,
Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft fabric community forum. Thank you @lbendlin, for your input on this issue.
After reviewing the details you provided, I have identified few workarounds that may help resolve the issue. Please follow these steps:

Since Gen1 dataflows do not support linking a dataflow that references other linked dataflows, please consider the following approach: Instead of linking the appended dataflow into a new dataflow, directly append the three original dataflows in the final transformation dataflow. This approach will structure the dataflows as: Original Dataflows → Final Transformation Dataflow (Appending & Transforming). This avoids the issue of referencing linked dataflows within another linked dataflow.

First, refresh the original dataflows (Current Year, Prior Year, 2 Years Ago). Then, refresh the appended dataflow followed by the new linked dataflow. Instead of using a linked dataflow, consider importing tables from the appended dataflow into the new transformation dataflow.

If there are transformations in the appended dataflow, simplify them. Open the Query Editor and verify if transformations (like Append) support query folding (Right-click on a step → View Native Query). If query folding is broken, try removing some steps and test again.

Since Gen1 Dataflows do not allow a linked dataflow to reference another linked dataflow, the optimal approach is to modify the dataflow architecture by skipping the appended dataflow as an intermediate step and directly appending and transforming the original three dataflows in the final dataflow.

Kindly refer to the below documentation links for more information:
Link tables between dataflows - Power Query | Microsoft Learn
Query folding guidance in Power BI Desktop - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

I hope this could resolve your issue, if you need any further assistance, feel free to reach out. If this post helps, then please give us ‘Kudos’ and consider Accept it as a solution to help the other members find it more quickly.

Thank you for using Microsoft Community Forum.

[v-kpoloju-msft · Accepted solution]

Hi @bretholm,
Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft fabric community forum. Thank you @lbendlin, for your input on this issue.
After reviewing the details you provided, I have identified few workarounds that may help resolve the issue. Please follow these steps:

Since Gen1 dataflows do not support linking a dataflow that references other linked dataflows, please consider the following approach: Instead of linking the appended dataflow into a new dataflow, directly append the three original dataflows in the final transformation dataflow. This approach will structure the dataflows as: Original Dataflows → Final Transformation Dataflow (Appending & Transforming). This avoids the issue of referencing linked dataflows within another linked dataflow.

First, refresh the original dataflows (Current Year, Prior Year, 2 Years Ago). Then, refresh the appended dataflow followed by the new linked dataflow. Instead of using a linked dataflow, consider importing tables from the appended dataflow into the new transformation dataflow.

If there are transformations in the appended dataflow, simplify them. Open the Query Editor and verify if transformations (like Append) support query folding (Right-click on a step → View Native Query). If query folding is broken, try removing some steps and test again.

Since Gen1 Dataflows do not allow a linked dataflow to reference another linked dataflow, the optimal approach is to modify the dataflow architecture by skipping the appended dataflow as an intermediate step and directly appending and transforming the original three dataflows in the final dataflow.

Kindly refer to the below documentation links for more information:
Link tables between dataflows - Power Query | Microsoft Learn
Query folding guidance in Power BI Desktop - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

I hope this could resolve your issue, if you need any further assistance, feel free to reach out. If this post helps, then please give us ‘Kudos’ and consider Accept it as a solution to help the other members find it more quickly.

Thank you for using Microsoft Community Forum.

[bretholm · Accepted solution]

This did solve my issue in learning the limitations of Gen 1 linking. Thank you

[lbendlin]

What made you choose this setup with multiple dataflows, rather than loading the data directly into the semantic model?