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tommy_g's avatar
tommy_g
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4 years ago
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Linked Dataflows - no option to add linked entity to a Dataflow

I am attempting to link to a Power Platform Dataflow. I've done it previously but it no longer works.   According to the official documentation "A connection window for the selected data connection...
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  • mllopis's avatar
    mllopis
    4 years ago

    Hi folks,

     

    This is Miguel from the Power Query & Dataflows team at Microsoft.

     

    First of all, I wanted to apologize for the disruption and confusion that this issue has caused to all of you.

     

    Our long term plan (hopefully only a few weeks in the future), is to have a single "Dataflows" connector that can be used not only to import data from dataflows in other workspaces and environments, but also to create Linked/Computed Entities in Power BI Premium enviornments.

     

    Looks like the “Power BI Dataflows” connector was accidentally removed from the Power BI Dataflows UX a few days ago – We have an internal ongoing thread to deploy a fix this week, which will bring back to previous state (“Power BI Dataflows” connector to author Linked/Computed Entities, either via the Get Data UX or with the direct shortcut from the “Link to entities in other dataflows”).

     

    In the interim, modifying your M query scripts to leverage the PowerBI.Dataflows() function is the only workaround.

     

    I will share another update on this thread as soon as the fix is deployed to production later this week. Sorry again for the inconvenience that this change has caused.

     

    Thanks,
    M.

  • mllopis's avatar
    mllopis
    4 years ago

    Hi everyone,

     

    Wanted to share a quick update that a fix for this issue has been now fully deployed to Production - You should be able to access the "Power BI Dataflows" connector via the Get Data UX (and the "Link to entities in other dataflows" entry), and create your Linked/Computed Entities as usual.

     

    As mentioned in my previous post, in the future this will be reconciled and achieved via a single "Dataflows" connector, but we'll more broadly communicate that when available. Of course, any existing dataflow entities using the Power BI Dataflows connector will continue to work after this transition without any further action needed on your end.

     

    Thanks and have a great weekend!

    M.

andy_hornby's avatar
andy_hornby
Regular Visitor
4 years ago

Same problem - what's changed?!

  • tommy_g's avatar
    tommy_g
    Icon for Helper V rankHelper V
    4 years ago

    Here's how I fixed it, compared with other linked tables, adjusted Source and Entity and it works. I know the terminology keeps changing, sometime "Dataflow", sometimes "Power Platform Dataflow". Many of the earlier docs and videos make a big distinction regarding "Power BI Dataflow", which now appears to be "Analytical Data Flow" which is my requirement.

     

    Repro step #1, edit workflow using "Add linked tables" (dropdown list)


    let
    Source = PowerPlatform.Dataflows([]),
    Navigation = Source{[Id = "Workspaces"]}[Data],
    #"Navigation 1" = Navigation{[workspaceId = "c0017d20-52f5-4aa8-8cb1-95fe72712042"]}[Data],
    #"Navigation 2" = #"Navigation 1"{[dataflowId = "78c5b624-1861-47c9-907d-d801ddfac063"]}[Data],
    #"Navigation 3" = #"Navigation 2"{[entity = "Equipment Type", version = ""]}[Data]
    in
    #"Navigation 3"


    I edited the code to match my earlier linked tables, not sure what the impact is other than showing and behaving like a true linked table.

    let
    Source = PowerBI.Dataflows(),
    Workspace = Source{[workspaceId = "c0017d20-52f5-4aa8-8cb1-95fe72712042"]}[Data],
    Dataflow = Workspace{[dataflowId = "78c5b624-1861-47c9-907d-d801ddfac063"]}[Data],
    Entity = Dataflow{[entity = "Equipment Type"]}[Data]
    in
    Entity

    • tommy_g's avatar
      tommy_g
      Icon for Helper V rankHelper V
      4 years ago

      I have additional observations to report. It is entirely possible I'm on the wrong track thinking I need linked tables. My goal is simple: Ingest Dataflow --> ETL Dataflow --> Additional downstream dataflows.

      I thought linked tables would eliminate the need for refreshes at every step. However, re-reading documentation on Enhanced Compute Engine now leads me to think there is no need for linked tables for my particular application.

      Develop solutions with dataflows - Power BI | Microsoft Docs

      This may explain the difference between dataflow sources, I'm going in the wrong direction. Comments?

       

      To use this feature for existing solutions, you must be on a Premium or Premium Per User subscription. You might also need to make some changes to your dataflow as described in Using the enhanced compute engine. You must update any existing Power Query queries to use the new connector by replacing PowerBI.Dataflows in the Source section with PowerPlatform.Dataflows.