Renaming table and fields in Power Bi Dataset without causing any problem

[jflandry]

Hello,
I have a Power BI dataset built on the concept of a star schema that draws its source from a series of SQL Server views. Initially, I named them all Dim_Calendar, Dim_Company, Dim_Client, Fact_Transactions….in order to differentiate the different types of data.
Subsequently, I have already created a series of Power BI reports from this dataset and also provided some users with access to this dataset for their use in creating pivot tables in Excel.

However, users have asked me to change the naming of tables and fields to have names more representative of their business. I am ready to make this change but I have the impression when changing the names of tables and fields in the dataset, there may be a problem when refreshing their reports.

Is it correct? And if so, do you have a technique to solve this problem?

I did some research but I can't find the exact article or forums that give me the exact answer without reading the full thread.

Note :  Users only use once a day refresh in Excel to refresh the Power BI dataset. It is not a live connection.

Thank you

[v-yalanwu-msft]

Hi, @jflandry ;

I don't quite understand what you mean, is the column name of the data set changed? I don't seem to have that option.

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

[jflandry]

Hello, if you go to the Schema section of the dataset, and you right click on the field on a table, you can rename there.

Actually, I'm doing a field refactoring from my SQL Server source so I decided to get around the problem of having to rename fields in my dataset. After the refresh, the field names are automatically updated.

Now it remains to be seen what behavior the dataset will have on connections in Microsoft Excel.

[jflandry]

Ok, that seems to be correct on my end too. However I believe it is different for the columns of the dataset

[v-yalanwu-msft · Accepted solution]

Hi, @jflandry ;

Based on my test, when we change the dataset tables name in PowerBI desktop, the visual will not be affected, then we can re-publish it to PowerBI Service.

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