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rajulshah
Super User
Super User

Incremental Refresh Understanding

Hello,

 

Incremental Refresh is very interesting and useful for reports which use historical data.

These are the few things I understand about Incremental Refresh:

  • Once we have configured incremental refresh in Power BI Report and publish it to Power BI Service, we cannot download the file.
  • If there is some change in data model, I need to change in Report file, do full-refresh in Power BI Desktop and then re-publish it to Power BI Service. There is no other way to tackle it.

Please guide whether my understanding is correct or not. Also, tell if there's anything else to keep in my mind regarding incremental refresh.

 

Thanks.

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION

Hi @rajulshah ,

 

>>But whenever there is change in the data modelling, we need to go back to Power BI Desktop

 

If the change in data modelling don't change the structure of data model and the definition of Incremental Refresh, for example, just change some fields' values but not add data source, create column or measure, you needn't go back to Power BI Desktop : do the necessary changes, do full refresh and then re-publish the file. Unless you need to change the definition of Incremental Refresh again .

 

Otherwise, you just need to click refresh button in dataset or configure schedule refresh in Power BI Service. If the way getting your data is Directquery mode ( Incremental Refresh is not supported for the connect live mode) , you need to considerate if it is gotten from on premise data source(such as SQL Server Database) or cloud data source (such as Azure SQL Server Database).If it is the on premise data source, you need to install the Gateway and configure it . See:On-premises data gateway ,Manage your data source - SQL Server .

 

dataset refresh.pngscedule refresh.png

 

 

 

Best Regards,

Amy

 

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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5 REPLIES 5
v-xicai
Community Support
Community Support

Hi  @rajulshah ,

 

Does that make sense? If so, kindly mark my answer as a solution to help others having the similar issue and close the case. If not, let me know and I'll try to help you further.

 

Best regards

Amy

Hello @v-xicai ,

 

I still have confusion, that if there are modelling changes, for eg: I need to add a calculated column, I have to download the report, make changes, do full refresh and then re-publish the report.

Will this be the process that I have to carry if there are modelling changes?

v-xicai
Community Support
Community Support

Hi @rajulshah ,

 

First of all, Incremental Refresh is supported only for workspaces on Premium capacities. Refresh policies are defined in Power BI Desktop, and they are applied by refresh operations in the service.

 

If you're able to download the PBIX file containing an incremental-refresh policy from the Power BI service, it cannot be opened in Power BI Desktop. While this may be supported in the future, keep in mind these datasets can grow to be so large that they are impractical to download and open on a typical desktop computer.

 

You needn't go back to Power BI Desktop to change and do full-refresh. In Power BI Service, you can do refresh operation to implement Incremental Refresh. The first refresh may take longer to import the historical data. Subsequent refreshes can be much quicker because they use incremental refresh.

 

You can learn more:https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/service-premium-incremental-refresh.

 

Best Regards,

Amy

 

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

Hello @v-xicai ,

 

Thanks for the response.

 

But whenever there is change in the data modelling, we need to go back to Power BI Desktop : do the necessary changes, do full refresh and then re-publish the file. Does it make sense?

 

 

Hi @rajulshah ,

 

>>But whenever there is change in the data modelling, we need to go back to Power BI Desktop

 

If the change in data modelling don't change the structure of data model and the definition of Incremental Refresh, for example, just change some fields' values but not add data source, create column or measure, you needn't go back to Power BI Desktop : do the necessary changes, do full refresh and then re-publish the file. Unless you need to change the definition of Incremental Refresh again .

 

Otherwise, you just need to click refresh button in dataset or configure schedule refresh in Power BI Service. If the way getting your data is Directquery mode ( Incremental Refresh is not supported for the connect live mode) , you need to considerate if it is gotten from on premise data source(such as SQL Server Database) or cloud data source (such as Azure SQL Server Database).If it is the on premise data source, you need to install the Gateway and configure it . See:On-premises data gateway ,Manage your data source - SQL Server .

 

dataset refresh.pngscedule refresh.png

 

 

 

Best Regards,

Amy

 

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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