Create a BI table from a core table

When you add a BI table to a semantic model, DataPrism opens a popup titled New BI table. The popup shows a picker over the Lake and Warehouse tables the model can read from, so you can choose the source table for the new BI table.

Open the picker

1. Open the semantic model and go to its Diagram tab or its BI tables panel.
2. Click Add BI table. On the diagram you can also right-click the canvas and choose Add BI table; inside a relationship dialog, choose Add new bi table.
3. The popup titled New BI table opens on the picker, and keeps it until the table is created.

What the picker shows

The picker has two columns, Warehouse tables and Lake tables. Both list only deployed tables that the model's owner role can access. The info icon beside the search box reads: "Choose a deployed Lake or Warehouse table this model's owner role can access. Tables marked Added are already in this model."

• The Warehouse tables column groups its tables by table type (Sources) or by logical model (Models).
• The Lake tables column groups its tables by source type (Type) or by datasource (A-Z).
• A Warehouse row carries its table type icon; under Models it also shows the type as a label. A Lake row sits under the datasource group it comes from.
• Group headers show how many tables they hold. Click a header to open or close its group.

Search the list

Type in Search core tables.... The box is ready as soon as the picker opens, and the search matches any part of:

• the table's name, or a Lake table's full name,
• the table type,
• the datasource name or type,
• the table's logical models,
• a semantic model that already uses the table.

A clear button appears while the box holds text; screen readers announce it as Clear search. When nothing matches, the column reads No Warehouse tables match your search or No Lake tables match your search.

Pick a table

1. Click the table's row. It is selected in the list, and the Name field above the picker fills with the table's name.
2. Keep the name or change it.
3. Click Add BI table.

Pick several tables at once

• Click Select multiple (its tooltip reads Pick several tables at once) to switch the picker to tick mode. Every row gains a tick.
• A group header gains a tick that selects every table in the group, and the group opens so you can see what was ticked. Tables already in the model are skipped.
• Tick the tables you need, then continue to the naming step. For the full multi-table flow, including naming each table, see Semantic models and BI tables.

When the list is empty or fails

• While the tables load, the picker shows a loading placeholder labelled Loading.
• A column with nothing to list reads No Warehouse tables visible to this model's owner role or No Lake tables visible to this model's owner role. This means no deployed table meets the picker's conditions for the owner role. Deploy the table in the Lake or Warehouse, or give the owner role access to it, then reopen the picker.
• If the list cannot load, the column area shows the message from the server; when there is none, it reads An unknown error occurred.

Questions, answered

Which tables can I pick?

Only deployed Lake and Warehouse tables that the model's owner role can access. A table that is not deployed, or not visible to that role, is not listed.

What can I search for?

Any part of what you know about the table: its name or a Lake table's full name, its table type, its datasource, its logical models, or a semantic model that already uses it.

How are the tables grouped?

The Warehouse tables column groups by table type (Sources) or by logical model (Models). The Lake tables column groups by source type (Type) or by datasource (A-Z). While a search is active, every group opens; clearing the search brings back the groups you had open.

What does the Added chip mean?

The table is already a BI table in this model. You cannot pick it again: clicking it does nothing, and a group tick skips it.

What does Select multiple change?

It switches the picker into tick mode so you can pick several tables in one go. Each row gets a tick, and each group header gets a tick for the whole group. Naming the tables afterwards is covered in Semantic models and BI tables.

Why does the name field say "Select a core table first"?

The field waits for your pick and shows that placeholder until then. Pick a table and the field holds its name, ready to edit.

Why does a column say "No Warehouse tables visible to this model's owner role"?

The column has nothing to list: no deployed Warehouse tables are visible to the model's owner role. The Lake column has its own version of the message. Check the tables in the Lake or the Warehouse and the role's access in Roles and permissions, then reopen the picker.

What is a core table on this screen?

On this screen, core tables are the deployed Lake and Warehouse tables the model can read from. That is not the same thing as a model's core table, the BI table at the centre of its star schema; see Relationships and the core table.

What does "An unknown error occurred" mean in the picker?

The picker could not load the table list and the server gave no reason. Try again; if it keeps happening, tell your administrator.

What happens after I add the table?

The popup leaves the picker and shows the new BI table on its own tabs; its header takes the table's name.