Incremental refresh for Direct Query

[Anonymous]

Is Incremental refresh only for import mode ? Can i configure it for direct query ?

Is incremental refresh available in Pro version also ?

[v-robertq-msft]

Hi, @Anonymous 

Have selimovd’s helped you to understand the reason why there’s no need to set Incremental refresh for Direct Query? Because his reply has perfectly explained this.

If so, would you like to mark his reply as a solution so that others can learn from it too?

Thanks in advance!

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More info about Incremental refresh for datasets

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Community Support Team _Robert Qin

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

[Sumanth_23]

hi @Anonymous - As mentioned by @selimovd incremental refresh is only applicable for datasets which are setup in import mode and data would be updated for any further refreshes based on your setup of incremental refresh in the data model. 

Direct query is connected live to the data source and any changes in the data source will automatically reflect on all your visuals 

Please find below Microsoft documentation on the same: 

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/connect-data/desktop-use-directquery

Here are the differences between selecting Import and DirectQuery:

• Import: The selected tables and columns are imported into Power BI Desktop. As you create or interact with a visualization, Power BI Desktop uses the imported data. To see underlying data changes since the initial import or the most recent refresh, you must refresh the data, which imports the full dataset again.

• DirectQuery: No data is imported or copied into Power BI Desktop. For relational sources, the selected tables and columns appear in the Fields list. For multi-dimensional sources like SAP Business Warehouse, the dimensions and measures of the selected cube appear in the Fields list. As you create or interact with a visualization, Power BI Desktop queries the underlying data source, so you’re always viewing current data.

Do vote/mark this post as a solution and provide kudos 👍 if it helped you with your question. This would also help others on the community who may have similar questions. Thanks!

[selimovd · Accepted solution]

Hey @Anonymous ,

incremental refresh means that only parts of the Power BI data model are going to be refreshed. For example only the last month will be refreshed on a daily basis and the data from the last 5 years will be kept in the data model.

If you use direct query in a table, no data is going to be imported. Every time you click something or create a visual or table, a query will be sent to your data source.

For direct query tables no data will be imported, what also means there cannot be an incremental refresh, as the data source is queried anyway, with every action in the report.

Does that make sense?

If you need any help please let me know.

If I answered your question I would be happy if you could mark my post as a solution ✔️ and give it a thumbs up 👍

Best regards

Denis

Blog: WhatTheFact.bi

Follow me: twitter.com/DenSelimovic