Composite models in Power BI — the Ultimate Guide

Do you need to combine the data from multiple different Direct Query data sources? Or, mix imported data with DirectQuery? The composite models feature in Power BI enables you to do exactly that!

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If you’re talking with Power BI professionals, you may hear them talking about two different Composite model features…Don’t be afraid and don’t be surprised:) Let me quickly draw the line between the two:

1. Composite models — this feature lets you combine data coming from two different DirectQuery sources, data coming from DirectQuery and Import mode, or any combination of these. This feature will be the main focus of this article
2. Composite models “Gen2” — “Gen2” is not an official name for this feature. You may also hear terms like Composite models v2, New Composite models, etc. However, the official name (at least at the moment of writing) is DirectQuery for Power BI datasets and Azure Analysis Services. This “version” of Composite models lets you connect to a published Power BI Dataset and use it in combination with other DirectQuery and/or Import mode data! As powerful as it looks, this feature is still in public preview, so we will not cover it in this article. If you’re interested to…