Model changes not updated in downstream model

[snraedsoeia]

Hello,

I have a semantic model (let's call it M1) in import mode that gets several tables from a lakehouse and contains various measures. Dependent on this, I have a second model (M2) created by using M1 as source, adding measures and also - this is crucial - by adding a simple table via DAX (i.e. a calculated table). Based on M2 exists a report which is not really relevant for this issue, as far as I can tell.

So, M1 and M2 are both published to the Power BI service in the same workspace. They are shown in lineage view correctly as dependent like M1 => M2. Now, I have modified several and added some measures to M1 (by downloading, modifying and re-publishing it). I fail to get all of these changes updated in M2. If I just refresh the model, nothing changes. If I download M2 and re-select M1 as data source, an error appears: "Expected ModelingEngine to block any changes with MashupDocument impact when there are pending changes" Furthermore, the new measures do appear, but the changes to the pre-existing ones fail to manifest. Or, more specifically, it seems like the DAX formulas change correctly, but the measure names don't. The measures in question in M2 have been renamed from M1 to M2.

Can anyone clarify what's going on? Is the measure renaming from M1 to M2 the issue? Can I fix it now in retrospect? Thanks in advance!

[v-hashadapu · Accepted solution]

Hi @snraedsoeia , thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Fabric Community Forum.

The renaming of measures in M2 is the core issue. Renaming measures creates ambiguity for Power BI’s dependency tracking. When M1 is updated, the measure lineage in M2 doesn’t reconcile properly, as Power BI uses internal IDs to manage dependencies, and renaming disrupts this. The Error: "Expected ModelingEngine to block any changes with MashupDocument impact" suggests a conflict or pending changes in the underlying dataset that prevents a clean refresh or re-selection of M1 as a data source.

Please consider below:

1. In M2, identify the renamed measures that were sourced from M1. Revert the measure names in M2 to match those in M1. Refresh M2 to ensure the changes propagate correctly. After this, you can create aliases or display names for the measures in reports instead of directly renaming them in the model.
2. Download the updated M1 model and republish it. Create a fresh M2 model by selecting the updated M1 as its source. Re-add any calculated tables or additional measures specific to M2. This ensures a clean lineage and resolves dependency issues but requires manual effort.

If this helps, please consider marking it 'Accept as Solution' so others with similar queries may find it more easily. If not, please share the details.
Thank you.

[snraedsoeia]

Thank you very much, I did not find this in the documentation. It seems a bit ill advised that it is possible to change the names in dependent models in the first place, in my opinion.