Relinking sources

You can relink a data module source to a different source. After a successful relink, global calculations and relationships in the data module remain valid.

Here are some scenarios in which relinking a source can be useful:

You build and test a data module against a test source. When the data module is ready, you relink the source to the intended production source.
The current source in your data module is invalid, and you must use a new, valid source.
You want to relink your data module from one data server to another data server, or from one schema to another schema.
Relink between different types of data servers is supported, as well as between schemas and catalogs within data servers.

Tip: Data server sources can be organized into schemas, catalogs, both, or none.

About this task

The relinked (target) source must be of the same type as the original source. A data server can be relinked only to a data server, an uploaded file to an uploaded file, and so on.

In addition to the matching source types, the following conditions must be met:

All columns from the original source must exist in the target source, and the columns Identifier properties (case-sensitive) and data types must match.
For example, file A with columns ColA and ColB can be relinked to file B with columns ColA and ColB. Relinking to file B with columns colA and colB would not work.

The data types of the matching columns must be compatible for the data module calculations and relationships to remain valid. For example, if the column data type in the original source is date, the column data type in the target source must also be date, and not string or timestamp.
For data servers, packages, and data modules, all tables from the original source must exist in the target source, and the tables Identifier properties (case-insensitive) must match. If a matching table can't be found based on these criteria, the system also considers the table labels and matching columns identifiers (case-sensitive) when trying to find the right match.
If a duplicate match is found in the target source, the last table in the list is used for the match.
Extra columns and tables can exist in the target source.
When relinking to a source that contains a table with extra columns, you can add the extra columns to the table in the data module by dragging the table from the Sources pane to the Data module pane.
The source names, such as file and package names or data server connection names, do not need to match.

Tip: Columns and tables matching is done by comparing their Identifier property. The column or table Identifier value can be, but not always is, the same as the column or table name (Label). You can view the Identifier value in the column or table Properties pane, Advanced section.

Procedure

From Team content or My content, open your data module.
In the Sources pane, find the source that you want to relink.
From the source context menu , select Relink.
Select the source type that matches the original source type. If the original source is a data server, select a data server. If it's an uploaded file, select a file, and so on.
Click Done.

If the relink was successful, a confirmation message is displayed.

If the relink finished with errors, a message is displayed that suggests opening the validation view where the relink issues are listed. Resolve the issues, and save the data module. You can also save the data module with unresolved issues.

Important: The validation process does not detect incompatible data types on columns. If there are columns with incompatible data types in your sources, and all other relink conditions are met, the successful relink message is displayed. This type of data issues must be reconciled in the sources.

Results

After you successfully relink a source in a data module, reports and dashboards that are based on this data module can start using the new source without any involvement from report authors.