Unable to combine data error in Service with Web.Contents API Call on Dataflow result

[freidav1984]

Hi Folks,

I am facing the following issue in Power BI service, when I want to refresh my semantic model.

[Unable to combine data] Section1/........./Expanded items1 references other queries or steps, so it may not directly access a data source. Please rebuild this data combination.. The exception was raised by the IDataReader interface. Please review the error message and provider documentation for further information and corrective action.

The structure of my queries can be seen below in PBI Desktop.

• ExcelDF: List of companies containing each company's API key (The source of the dataflow is a local excel file. Gateway installed and set up correctly, runs and refreshes perfectly)
• fn_: A function which uses Web.Contents to call an API endpoint on each ExcelDF row
• Result query looks like below

let

    Source = ExcelDF,
    DatePeriodsAdded = Table.AddColumn(Source, "PeriodTable", each HaviPeriodusGeneralas),
    #"Expanded PeriodTable" = Table.ExpandTableColumn(DatePeriodsAdded, "PeriodTable", {"StartDate", "EndDate"}, {"StartDate", "EndDate"}),
    #"Change Type" = Table.TransformColumnTypes(#"Expanded PeriodTable",{{"StartDate", type text}, {"EndDate", type text}}),
    #"Invoked function" = Table.AddColumn(#"Change Type", "Query", each fn_LedgerFlow([APIKEY], [StartDate], [EndDate])),
    #"Expanded Query" = Table.ExpandRecordColumn(#"Invoked function", "Query", {"start", "end", "items"}, {"start", "end", "items"}),
    #"Expanded items" = Table.ExpandListColumn(#"Expanded Query", "items"),
    #"Expanded items1" = Table.ExpandRecordColumn(#"Expanded items", "items", {.....................................................})
in
    #"Expanded items1"

As you see, the result query runs based on the ExcelDF query's result, calling the API endpoint using the created function (fn_LedgerFlow). 

In power BI desktop it runs well, in service it fails. I ignored privacy level settings in the Power BI desktop, and in the service each data source privacy level is set to organizational.

Any advice, any workaround would be greatly appreciated.

Thx

David

[v-sshirivolu · Accepted solution]

Hi @freidav1984,
Thank you for reaching to the Fabric Community.
This error usually shows up in Power BI Service because it’s stricter about dynamic data sources than Desktop. When a query builds a Web.Contents URL based on another query, like pulling values from Excel - the service can see it as combining multiple sources and blocks the refresh. A good way around this is to use a static base URL with RelativePath or Query parameters instead of fully dynamic URLs, and make sure the privacy levels for both your Excel file and API match, ideally set to None or Organizational. You can also stage your Excel data separately or move your API logic into a Dataflow to break these cross-query dependencies.

Also, check that both your Excel source and API are registered on the same gateway and that credentials are consistent in Power BI Service. If this still doesn’t solve it, sharing a masked version of your query in the forum can help others troubleshoot, or you might need to submit a support ticket for a closer look. These steps usually fix most dynamic source refresh issues in Power BI Service.

[v-sshirivolu]

Hi @freidav1984 ,

I hope the information provided above assists you in resolving the issue. If you have any additional questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us. We are here to support you and will be happy to help with any further assistance you may need.

[v-sshirivolu]

Hi @freidav1984 ,

I hope the above details help you fix the issue. If you still have any questions or need more help, feel free to reach out. We’re always here to support you

[v-sshirivolu]

Hi @freidav1984 ,
I wanted to check if you had the opportunity to review the information provided. Please feel free to contact us if you have any further questions

[GilbertQ]

Hi @freidav1984 

Have you tried setting the privacy settings to None? 

But you can also do is have both of their connections going through the gateway as the gateway data source and see if that solves your issue.