about the relationship and data type in power bi

Nanthakumar S 30

in power bi is this true, always ensure that both of the columns that you are using to participate in a relationship are sharing the same data type. Your model will never work if you try to build a relationship between two columns, where one column has a text data type and another column has an integer data type.

this statement is in optimize model performance - reduce relationship cardinality learning module

and in check your knowledge section,
Which of the following statements about relationships in Power BI Desktop is true?

1.Relationships can only be created between columns that contain the same data type.

2.Relationships can only be created between tables that contain the same number of rows.

3.Relationships can be created between tables that contain different types of data.

for this question the answer is 3.Relationships can be created between tables that contain different types of data.

which one is correct.

Smaran Thoomu 20,295 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2023-09-13T18:42:23.22+00:00

Hi @Anonymous
Just checking in to see if the below answer provided by @Nandan Hegde helped.

If this answers your query, do click Accept Answer and Yes for was this answer helpful. And, if you have any further query do let us know.
Susan Ford 0 Reputation points

2024-01-22T14:04:12.9+00:00

It seems to me that the answer by @Nandan Hegde (which is also what I thought to be true) contradicts the Check My Knowledge section that @Nanthakumar S asked about. I've just googled it and come here because https://learn.microsoft.com/en-gb/training/modules/optimize-model-power-bi/7-check says the following:
Andrea García Pérez 0 Reputation points

2024-01-29T15:33:31.84+00:00

Hi!
Seeing your answer I have the same problem.
I think the two options can be ok. Maybe, the first option could be relationships between tables with columns that contain the same data types of data.
Nandan Hegde 34,171 Reputation points MVP

2024-01-29T15:41:58.1133333+00:00

hey @Andrea Garcia Perez , I have edited the answer and #3 is correct
Ram Prakash Patel 0 Reputation points

2024-05-17T22:53:51.3933333+00:00

1.Relationships can only be created between columns that contain the same data type.

Accepted answer

Nandan Hegde 34,171 Reputation points MVP

2023-09-12T05:44:24.6033333+00:00

Hey,

<<old answer>> #1 is true.

#3 is true <<edited answer>>

Basically based on the statement, Date and Text are different data types within powerbi and we can create relationship between 2 columns of text and date type respectively.

So Relationships can be created between tables that contain different types of data. For any more queries on Powerbi, please post on :

https://community.fabric.microsoft.com/t5/Microsoft-Power-BI-Community/ct-p/powerbi
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2 people found this answer helpful.
Smaran Thoomu 20,295 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2023-09-15T12:25:55.1566667+00:00

@Anonymous Following up to see if the above answer was helpful. If this answers your query, do click Accept Answer and Yes for was this answer helpful. And, if you have any further query do let us know.

Nanthakumar S 30 Reputation points

2023-09-15T14:57:27.1533333+00:00

Yes right, but the answer given by microsoft for this question in check your knowledge section is 3 that is why i asked this question. And thanks for your time.

Cem Akyuz 5 Reputation points

2023-10-14T19:30:12.4766667+00:00

Relationships can only be created between columns that contain the same data type.

"Incorrect. This is not true as relationships can be created between columns that contain different data types in Power BI Desktop." I am confused by this statement since as far as I know columns must have the same data type for a relationship.

Osman Le Grand 5 Reputation points

2024-01-26T09:24:32.88+00:00

Still not clear for me. The answer is still there.

I wonder if they mean a column of integer and Date that can allow relationship establishment.

Mohammad Mustafa 0 Reputation points

2024-06-28T07:42:01.1133333+00:00

I am more confused now. Is it 1 or 3?
And do we really care about the data types in the table? I thought it's the two columns we are going to form a relationship for only matter.
And statement 3 sounds too general to me, of course it is true. I can't see two tables having the same exact data types anyway, it sounds ridiculous to me, someone who is still learning PBI (I might be incorrect).
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Daniela Tiparu 0 Reputation points

2025-02-10T16:24:14.89+00:00

I think the explanation for which answer no 1 is false is not correct. How is it true that relationships can be created between columns that contain different data types in Power BI Desktop? I believe both answer 1 and answer 3 are correct.
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