Forum Discussion

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

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...
Need Help
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.