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Anonymous
Not applicable

Auto import and auto format data from a text file

Hi,

 

I have a log table in a SQL database that keeps only the latest 7 days. I want to store all the data in PBI model, so I can check further than 7 days.

 

I auto-generate a text file from a SQL table using the following command:

 

sqlcmd -U xxxxxxx -P xxxxxxxxx -S Server -d DBase-W -s ; -k -Q "SELECT * FROM Table" >> "C:\Log.txt"

 

When using the file as source I need to do some "tunning" to get the format correctly (promote headers, change date type, remove duplicates, filter out some rows, etc.) but as soon the file is updated using the command above, it seems to me you have to manually repeat all those steps again?

Does anybody can help me automating the data format (like a macro) so I can leave it unattended?

 

Thank you in advance.

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION

Hi Javi,

 

Yes, all the steps will be applied if your file only has new data without any other changes like new names, new structure.

 

Best Regards,

Dale

Community Support Team _ Dale
If this post helps, then please consider Accept it as the solution to help the other members find it more quickly.

View solution in original post

3 REPLIES 3
v-jiascu-msft
Employee
Employee

Hi @Anonymous,

 

Did you try the Refresh button? If there are no changes on the structure and names of the file "log.txt", you can refresh to get the latest data.

Screen_Capture_1_18_2018_15_25_14

 

Best Regards,

Dale

Community Support Team _ Dale
If this post helps, then please consider Accept it as the solution to help the other members find it more quickly.
Anonymous
Not applicable

Hi @v-jiascu-msft,

 

Thank you for your reply. I'm aware of the refresh button and I might not explained myself properly. 

 

I want to be able to schedule (every 20 minutes) the data refresh and also apply the steps (data tuning, cleaning, etc) that I did in PBI Desktop, but without having to open it or request any "human interaction".

 

Using the "Schedule Refresh" I get the first part: refreshing the data. What I'm not certain is: Will the steps I made in the Query Editor be applied to the newest data too?

 

Regards,

Javi

Hi Javi,

 

Yes, all the steps will be applied if your file only has new data without any other changes like new names, new structure.

 

Best Regards,

Dale

Community Support Team _ Dale
If this post helps, then please consider Accept it as the solution to help the other members find it more quickly.

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