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Anonymous
Not applicable

Parameters and report creation

Hi team,

 

Having some issues with parameters on the power BI online app. 

I am trying to create a bunch of reports for our clients so I'm assuming the end destination is the online app.

 

I have created a Power BI template with pre-existing visualisations, graphs etc which apply to all clients. Only thing that needs to change is the dataset used which are all stored in SQL server.  There is a parameter in this template called 'client name' which allows me to change the client dataset as each is stored seperately within SQL server. This works flawlessly on the desktop version however...

 

I have uploaded the template as a dataset to the power BI web app as the end goal is to schedule data refreshes each month or so.

Two issues here:

 

When I create a new report using the dataset the template is completely absent and I'm greeted with a blank sheet. 

When I change the client dataset via parameter name change online, it doesnt update and the dataset in this new report stays the same.

 

Ultimately I want to be able to create reports for each client using the template structure and their respective data.

 

Kind regards.

 

 

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION
mahoneypat
Employee
Employee

You cannot pass parameters to update a published dataset. Two approaches you can consider.

1. Make a table of all your customers, do a function to get the data from each database, and append them all together. Use the Customer Name column as a slicer or filter on the published report to get only a customer's data.

2. (Recommended) Connect to the server using Power BI Report Builder and make a parameter in Customer name to be used in the data source query. You can create the report as a paginated report, which will give you more IMO flexibility (for example, set up subscriptions for each client automatically).

Actually, there is a third option to get an update similar to a parameter where you could store the customer name in an Excel table (or in a SharePoint list, etc.) and perform a query to get that value and use it in the database query. You can then create a flow that, when activated (when that Excel file is updated or manually), triggers the dataset refresh (make sure it doesn't exceed the refresh limit), getting the desired customer name and data from a single customer (but the published report would have data only for the latest client at any time).

Best regards

Pat





Did I answer your question? Mark my post as a solution! Kudos are also appreciated!

To learn more about Power BI, follow me on Twitter or subscribe on YouTube.


@mahoneypa HoosierBI on YouTube


View solution in original post

1 REPLY 1
mahoneypat
Employee
Employee

You cannot pass parameters to update a published dataset. Two approaches you can consider.

1. Make a table of all your customers, do a function to get the data from each database, and append them all together. Use the Customer Name column as a slicer or filter on the published report to get only a customer's data.

2. (Recommended) Connect to the server using Power BI Report Builder and make a parameter in Customer name to be used in the data source query. You can create the report as a paginated report, which will give you more IMO flexibility (for example, set up subscriptions for each client automatically).

Actually, there is a third option to get an update similar to a parameter where you could store the customer name in an Excel table (or in a SharePoint list, etc.) and perform a query to get that value and use it in the database query. You can then create a flow that, when activated (when that Excel file is updated or manually), triggers the dataset refresh (make sure it doesn't exceed the refresh limit), getting the desired customer name and data from a single customer (but the published report would have data only for the latest client at any time).

Best regards

Pat





Did I answer your question? Mark my post as a solution! Kudos are also appreciated!

To learn more about Power BI, follow me on Twitter or subscribe on YouTube.


@mahoneypa HoosierBI on YouTube


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