{"id":4178,"date":"2023-01-27T10:45:08","date_gmt":"2023-01-27T10:45:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biconnector.com\/blog\/?p=4178"},"modified":"2023-05-18T05:39:26","modified_gmt":"2023-05-18T05:39:26","slug":"how-to-configure-incremental-refresh-in-power-bi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.biconnector.com\/blog\/how-to-configure-incremental-refresh-in-power-bi\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Configure Incremental Refresh in Power BI?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
In today’s digital landscape, online systems generate a large amount of data. When working in a team, it is common for the data to be updated frequently, say weekly, or daily, or even hourly. Loading the entire dataset from such data sources into a business intelligence tool like Power BI every day (or at regular intervals) to meet reporting requirements is time-consuming and inefficient. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Incremental refresh refers to the process of updating data only by loading new or changed data. This means that whenever new data is added to the data source, the incremental refresh feature fetches only the newly added data without reloading the entire dataset from the data source.
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The Incremental refresh feature saves time and makes the process more efficient by only loading new data rather than the entire dataset. This ensures that the data remains up-to-date while minimizing the use of resources and making the data update process seamless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Incremental refresh is an essential component of any data system that handles large amounts of data, as it helps to improve efficiency and performance. Following are some key reasons why incremental refresh is important:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Incremental refresh allows you to update only the new or modified data in a database, significantly reducing the time required to load new data. This improves the overall refresh time and ensures that the data is up-to-date as quickly as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Incremental refresh ensures that fewer resources are used to process new data which can help reduce the costs associated with data management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Incremental refresh enables the system to handle increasing amounts of data more efficiently, making it highly scalable and suitable for long-term use. With the ability to only process new or updated data, the system can continue to function smoothly even as the volume of data grows, making it a smart and sustainable solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before configuring incremental refresh in Power BI, it\u2019s crucial to have a good understanding of query folding concept. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Query folding in Power BI refers to the process of converting a Power Query query into a single query statement for both retrieving and transforming the data. Through query folding, Power BI shifts the process of loading and transforming data from the Power Query to the underlying data source, which optimizes its performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Data sources that support query folding can be configured for incremental refresh in Power BI, while for those that do not, a scheduled refresh is the only way to go. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, most databases such as Access and SQL databases support query folding and can be configured for incremental refresh in Power BI, while Excel, which does not support query folding, is best suited for a scheduled refresh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
PowerBI allows for the integration of various data sources, and while the configuration process for incremental refresh may vary slightly depending on the source, the overall steps remain consistent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As an example, we will demonstrate how to set up incremental refresh using a Microsoft Access database, however, the process can be applied to any data source that supports incremental refresh. The following are the steps to configure incremental refresh in Power BI:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before setting up incremental refresh in Power BI, it is important to first establish a connection with a data source. In this tutorial, we will use a Microsoft Access database as an example. To follow along, please click here<\/a> to download the sample database.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once the database is downloaded, open Power BI, navigate to the Get Data<\/strong> button, and select Access Database<\/strong> as the source.<\/p>\n\n\n\n