Power Automate Refresh Button with PowerBI Report

[jr2314]

Hello,

I have a PowerBI paginated report that's dataset is coming from a PowerBI semantic model via Blank Query (M Code). I've provided a Power Automate button for users that can refresh the dataset (trigger the Blank Query to run the code that pulls information through the API). My question is, if mulitple users try to trigger the button at the same time will that cause an issue with the workspace refresh or the actual API call itself? I believe there would be about 10 people heavily relying on this paginated report that is distributed to other employees in the company daily for work assignments. I'm wondering if the chances of messing up the refresh with this button could be reduced by creating two seperate workspaces for the report and putting five people in one and five people in the other with access to the same report just in two different workspaces. Scheduled refreshes on this semantic model are no longer feasable because some of the information gets updated on the fly and waiting 15 to 20 mins for the next scheduled refresh is not productive. We also do not have SQL access so that is the only reason an API is being used. 

Thank you in advance,

Jon

[grazitti_sapna · Accepted solution]

Hi @jr2314,

yes, multiple users hitting your Power Automate button at the same time can cause issues—but splitting users across two workspaces is not the right fix and won’t reliably prevent it as the source remain the same.

To Fix this, you can create a control table in a shared capacity (Sharepoint etc.)

Isrefreshing = True/False

1. Then create a flow logic like if isrefreshing is true then throw a msg. to user to try after some time and if it's false then run the refresh after the refresh is finished set isrefreshing back to false.

2. instead of user to hit refresh again you can create a queue for the users, and again use above login but this time instead of throwing an error, they see a msg. that the request is in queue, as soon as the first task is over (isrefreshing = false) then the second task is performed

this will avoid cocurrent refreshed and overload on the datasource/API.

better performance

no refresh failures

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[V-yubandi-msft]

Hi @jr2314 ,

We haven’t received a response from your end yet. Please let us know whether the issue has been resolved or if you’re still facing any difficulties. Feel free to reach out if you need further assistance.

Thank you.

[V-yubandi-msft]

Hi @jr2314 ,

Thank you for your response. You're correct the flow resets the flag too early because it can't determine when the refresh is actually finished. To fix this, check the refresh status before sending the success message. You can use the Power BI REST API Get Refresh History after triggering the refresh. In Power Automate, add a loop with a short delay to repeatedly check until the status changes from InProgress to Completed or Failed. Once the refresh is complete, reset the flag and notify the user so the message reflects the true refresh status.

Hope this help....

[grazitti_sapna · Accepted solution]

Hi @jr2314,

yes, multiple users hitting your Power Automate button at the same time can cause issues—but splitting users across two workspaces is not the right fix and won’t reliably prevent it as the source remain the same.

To Fix this, you can create a control table in a shared capacity (Sharepoint etc.)

Isrefreshing = True/False

1. Then create a flow logic like if isrefreshing is true then throw a msg. to user to try after some time and if it's false then run the refresh after the refresh is finished set isrefreshing back to false.

2. instead of user to hit refresh again you can create a queue for the users, and again use above login but this time instead of throwing an error, they see a msg. that the request is in queue, as soon as the first task is over (isrefreshing = false) then the second task is performed

this will avoid cocurrent refreshed and overload on the datasource/API.

better performance

no refresh failures

🌟 I hope this solution helps you unlock your Power BI potential! If you found it helpful, click 'Mark as Solution' to guide others toward the answers they need.
💡 Love the effort? Drop the kudos! Your appreciation fuels community spirit and innovation.
🎖 As a proud SuperUser and Microsoft Partner, we’re here to empower your data journey and the Power BI Community at large.
🔗 Curious to explore more? [Discover here].
Let’s keep building smarter solutions together!

[jr2314]

@grazitti_sapna Thank you I've created a control table with a default status of false. This will seem to do the trick. My only issue is that this flow only triggers the dataset refresh and doesn't actually know when the refresh is complete. So it's basically running it, because the default is false it changes it to true, then refreshes the dataset, then changes it back to false. Then sends a teams message to the user saying it was successful, but when I look in PowerBI service the semantic model is still being refreshed. I guess I'm looking for a way to know the refresh was successful first before sending a message that it's been completed.

[grazitti_sapna · Accepted solution]

Hi @jr2314,

You can add wait for 30 seconds (Delay = 30 seconds) and to flag check Status = Completed OR Failed in between the flow and only move forward once you have any of these status and show user a message accordingly

[jr2314]

Thank you! I will look into this solution and come back