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Create table app by connecting to a semantic model

This article describes how to create a table app by connecting the PowerTable sheet to a semantic model. You can save the data table, along with any changes or updates, to your preferred destination database. You can also write back subsequent changes to the same database table.

Important

This feature is in preview.

Note

You can also create a table by uploading data from an Excel or CSV file. For more information, see Create a table app with PowerTable sheets. To connect an existing database table to a PowerTable sheet and create a table app, see Connect to a database.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure that you have the following prerequisites in place:

Create a PowerTable sheet

  1. In your plan, select New PowerTable Sheet or select the PowerTable icon on the landing page. Enter a name for the sheet and select Create.

    Screenshot of a new PowerTable sheet.

  2. Select Create a New App to create your app. You can also select Explore PowerTable to experience a sample PowerTable app.

    Screenshot of the Create a New App button.

  3. Select a Connection: Choose a Fabric SQL connection if available. If there are no connections, create one by selecting Create Connection.

    Screenshot of selecting the SQL connection.

  4. Database Name: Select the destination Fabric SQL database to store the table data. Select Add.

    Screenshot of selecting the database.

  5. Select Connect.

    Screenshot of selecting connect to connect to the database.

Create a table

  1. Select New Table.

  2. Choose the database schema.

  3. Enter a Table Name.

  4. Choose Connect To Semantic Model in Import Data.

  5. Select your Connection and the required Semantic Model.

  6. Select Next.

    Screenshot of connecting to semantic model.

    Note

    Capacity workspaces with Pro licenses are not supported. Make sure to select a workspace of premium capacity.

Map data

  1. Map and assign your data to the table by selecting the required fields and corresponding values.

    Screenshot of assigning fields and values.

  2. Set the primary key fields by selecting the three dots and selecting primary keys.

    Screenshot of setting primary keys.

  3. If needed, you can use filters to include only specific field values from the table.

    Screenshot of using filters.

  4. Select Next.

    Screenshot of configured semantic model for the new table.

Configure table

PowerTable sheets automatically detect column properties and rename any unsupported column names to match the supported format. You can review and modify them as needed.

Screenshot of table configuration window after configuring the fields.

  1. Review the detected column settings.
  2. If the primary key isn't selected, select the appropriate column as the primary key.
  3. Configure columns as required:
    • Mark fields as Mandatory if they must contain values.
    • Set fields with distinct values as Unique Key to allow unique values.
    • Set a column as an Identity Column when you need PowerTable to generate unique, sequential values automatically. Only numeric columns and primary key columns can be configured as identity columns.
  4. Modify column properties, including:
    • Length
    • Data type
    • Input type
    • Display name
  5. Enter default values for columns, if required.
  6. Optionally, select Add Column to create additional columns.
  7. To create a composite primary key, select Unique Combination, and then select two or more columns to define a unique combination key.

Note

In this step, you can enable Slowly Changing Dimensions (SCDs) by turning the toggle. For a table, this is a one-time configuration that you can't modify later.

Finish

Select Finish.

The table app is created successfully in PowerTable with the configured columns and values. Select Save to save your table.

Screenshot of saving the new table app.

Next steps

Configure access control and automated workflows and approvals for your new app.

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