Advantages of Changing the column data type in Power Query vs in the Report

[akhaliq7]

I am currently doing column data type changes in Power Query however the problem I get is changing a decimal to an integer breaks query folding, now what would other report authors recommend? 

The column data type can be changed in the Power BI desktop report interface. Is this a better place to make the data type change and what disadvantages does this bring over Power Query?

[v-xiandat-msft · Accepted solution]

Hi @akhaliq7 ,

If you make a data type change in the Power BI Desktop Reporting interface, it does not break query folding, but it causes the data to be loaded into memory before the transformation is applied. This can cause performance issues when working with large datasets.

In summary, it is best to make data type changes in Power Query to ensure optimal query folding and performance. However, if you are working with small datasets, making changes in the Power BI desktop reporting interface should not cause any significant performance issues.

Best Regards,

Xianda Tang

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