Need help understanding direct query and mixed mode behaviors

[Anonymous]

Hello,

I recently had a request to make a real-time report in Power BI (the report data should update each time the report is opened), and after some research I found out that this type of behaviour can be achieved by having the report in direct query mode.

So, I made a test report : 

Model

Test Model

Design:

Test Design

Then, I published it :

Workspace

Test Workspace

Settings

Test Settings

(The 1 hour refresh frequency has been set by default when published)

After that I started playing with the report in Power BI service, opened it, changed date values of the slicer, compared last refresh timestamp after each interaction etc...

Finally, my observation is that the report data never update (apart from the every hour refresh by default, or when i manually refresh the dataset).

Did I misunderstand what I had read from the Power BI documentation about Direct Query ?

Or did I miss something in the settings ?

In parallel I started working on the real report (cause I was stuck on the test report and didn't want to lose time) and created my model from only tables and views in Direct Query mode, but after I had started creating measures or calculated tables in Dax , the report switched to Mixed mode (newly created measures and calculated tables are in import mode by default).

Then, after I published a version in Power BI service, I noticed I can set scheduled refresh for this report, but I don't want this, I want it to behave like a Real-Time report... instead it behaves exactly like my test report but with a scheduled refresh every half hour.

What's the difference between the test report 1 hour refresh frequency and the scheduled refresh of my mixed mode report ?

Why can't I achieve my goal of having a real-time report in neither of the two modes ?

I would be very grateful if someone can provide explanations or advices cause I really didn't find my answers on internet...😢

[Anonymous]

Hello @v-janeyg-msft ,

I was confused about the several types and modes of refresh (Direct Query, Mixed, Tiles, etc...) but thanks to your answer it is now much clearer for me 🙂. 

Thank you !

[v-janeyg-msft · Accepted solution]

Hi, @Anonymous 

When you use the direct query mode, you can see that the schedule refresh of the report published on the service only contains tile refresh. It's a refresh of dashboard not report. Because when you use dq mode, whether you open the report or have interactive behavior in the report, it will cause a refresh, so you don't need to set a schedule refresh. 

Reference:Using DirectQuery in Power BI - Power BI | Microsoft Docs

When you use mix mode, the data source in the DQ part of the report published in the service is still the same as before, and there is no need to configure refresh. The schedule refresh you see is for the import part, and the two do not conflict. 

Therefore, as long as you configure the data source in the gateway, the direct query mode part does not require you to configure schedule refresh and will refresh at any time. You only need to configure the data schedule refresh in the import part.

Reference: Data refresh in Power BI - Power BI | Microsoft Docs

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Best Regards,
Community Support Team _ Janey