You can set visual query limits in Power BI Desktop to control the amount of resources that a visual can use. This can be helpful to prevent resource-intensive visuals from slowing down the report or causing other problems.
When you load a report page or make changes to the fields in a visual, that visual sends a query to the data source of your report. Processing these queries requires both time and computer memory.
To prevent any single query from consuming too many resources, queries in published reports are subject to limits on the time a query can run (timeouts) and the amount of memory that query can use (memory limits). These limits may change based on where your data is hosted.
The following table displays the timeouts and memory limits applied for different capacities
| Capacity | Timeout | Memory limit |
|---|---|---|
| Shared | 225 seconds | 1,048,576 KB (1 GB) |
| Premium | 225 seconds | 10,485,760 KB (10 GB) |
| SQL Server Analysis Services | 600 seconds | 1,048,576 KB (1 GB) |
| Azure Analysis Services | 600 seconds | 10,485,760 KB (10 GB) |
If a visual sends a query that reaches one of the limits applied by the hosting capacity, that visual then displays an error.
To set visual query limits in Power BI Desktop, follow these steps:
Step-1: Open the report in Power BI Desktop.
Step-2: Click File > Options and settings > Options.
Step-3: In the left pane, select Current file.
Step-4: In the Report settings section, scroll down to the Query limit simulations section.
Note: By default, new reports have “auto (recommended)” selected. With auto limits, Power BI will do its best to identify where the model is hosted and apply those limits.
Set visual query limit Power BI
Step-5: In the Capacity dropdown list, select the capacity that you want to simulate.
- Auto (recommended)
- Shared capacity
- Premium capacity
- SQL Server Analysis Services
- Azure Analysis Services
- Custom limits
- No query limits
Step-6: If you choose to apply custom limits, enter specific timeout and memory limits in the input field. When you set your own limits, you can use “0” to indicate “no limits.”
Custom limit Power BI desktop
Step-7: Click OK.
Note: If you set visual query limits for a report that is already published, the changes will not be applied to the published report until you republish it.