on
RE:
I often have a dataflow with entirely gateway sources, and, as well as the "final" output queries of the dataflow (which must be marked as "Loaded"), want to materialise intermediate tables for efficiency (especially when using Enhanced Compute Engine, as downstream queries are then sometimes folded back as SQL)This results in the error message "On-Prem execution not supported for entity" because technically these intermediate tables now count as cloud sources.However, tables in dataflows CAN be accessed by the gateway . That is precisely what happens if you add a linked dataflow but opt to load Via Gateway.It would be VERY helpful if internal "output" entities in the same dataflow could also be accessed via the gateway in this way.
RE:
Not being able to set the data type in the main edit box is definitely a frustration every time I create a custom column. Having a drop down or combo box to select common types would be a help - adding it in the formula bar afterwards is kind of fiddly, and I don't always remember the exact syntax for the type names. I hadn't considered the ability to set the step name as well, but it makes a lot of sense. Setting custom step names is important - when I come back to a report later I'm not going to remember exactly what a step is doing, so I try to keep up with naming and commenting my steps. Having the step name available in the box when creating it would be a good reminder to keep up with it. It's easy to blast through creating a bunch of steps, and then find next time you open the query that none of them have useful names. Having the step name in front of you when creating it would be a nudge to do it at the time. The step name box could even have a combo dropdown with suggested names: for example, if you created a column and named it "Total", the step name would default to "Added column" as now, but it would also offer "Added Total", "Added column: Total" etc. as options. Personally, I prefer to use ➕ in my step names when adding a column as it is both clearly visible which steps add a column, and also makes the text more easily scannable as you're only reading the actual column name. As I write this, I got done just yesterday working through a workbook I'd created a while back - there was a lot of step renaming to do. Despite my best efforts to keep things clean, things slip. If the type and step name options were right there, I think the misses would be a lot lower.