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Master Dataflows in Power BI

VideoBy Jessica JollySource: Circle: Dataflows in Power BI📅 4/21/2026👁️ 1

Key Topics Covered:

  • What are Data Flows? - Containers that capture and store the output from Power Query Editor transformations in JSON format, enabling reusable data preparation processes
  • Power Query Editor in the Service - Demonstrated the web-based Power Query Editor with enhanced features compared to desktop version, including diagram view, schema view, and timing metrics
  • Elimination of Duplicate Work - How data flows solve the problem of multiple team members recreating the same transformations, providing centralized, reusable data preparation
  • Flexibility and Reuse - Data flows can be used in Power BI Desktop files, Power BI service, linked to other data flows, and imported across workspaces
  • Gen 1 vs Gen 2 Data Flows - Comparison between traditional data flows and Fabric-enabled Gen 2 data flows with enhanced storage options and enterprise features
  • Hands-on Demonstration - Live creation of data flows using Northwind sample data, showing the complete process from data connection to transformation
  • Advanced Features - Query folding visualization, export templates for workspace sharing, and integration capabilities
  • Enterprise Considerations - Git integration and deployment pipelines available in Gen 2 for large organizations and team collaboration
  • Licensing Requirements - Power BI Pro license minimum required; data flows only work in workspaces (not "My Workspace")

Target Audience: Power BI users looking to improve data transformation efficiency and implement centralized data preparation processes in their organizations.

What is Query Folding?

  • Definition: Query folding is when Power Query pushes transformations (filters, aggregations, joins, etc.) back to the data source instead of processing them locally.
  • Why it matters:
    • Performance: Only the reduced/filtered data travels over the network.
    • Scalability: Heavy lifting is done by the database/server, not Power BI’s engine.
    • Incremental refresh: Requires query folding to work efficiently — otherwise the whole dataset reloads each time.