Export Duration Data Type Overview

Owned by Kateryna Bukhtiiarova ADMIN (Unlicensed)
Last updated: Jan 24, 2024 by Liliia Ostrovska
3 min read

Starting from Power BI Connector version 1.5.19 new option “Duration in seconds” was added as a setting for data source.

The option appears only when added table contains at least one field of Duration type, unchecked by default:

Also, the option appears automatically for data sources created from Report or from Template or from Database View, only if they contain Duration type fields. Below is an example of data source created from report:

In case, the added table does not contain Duration type fields, but one or more Referenced fields of this type are added - an option will appear too:

What data format to choose for export

  1. By default, when Duration fields are added and no “Duration in seconds” or “Use display value” are turn on, data will be exported in Edm.Duration format:

NOTE: please take into account that PBI represents Edm.duration in its own way, so the original view is different from what you can see on the Preview dialog:

  1. When “Duration in seconds” is turned, data will be exported in Decimal format (seconds):

  1. When “Use display value” is turned on, data will be exported in Edm.String:

NOTE: please take into account that String format for Display value can be also seen in the backend part:

Restriction

It is impossible to apply both “Duration in seconds” and “Use display value” at once. They are mutually exclusive options. It means, that in case if “Duration in seconds” is turned on “Use display value” is turned off: