The Data View provides visibility to the imported rows for each table as well as important metadata, such as the count of rows and the distinct values for columns. In the following screenshot, the Freight column of the Reseller Sales table has been selected in the Data View, as indicated by the table icon on the far left:

Metadata of the column and/or table selected is displayed at the bottom of the Data View window. For example, selecting the Freight column per the preceding image results in a status message noting 53,207 rows for the Reseller Sales table and 1,394 distinct values for the Freight column. If only the table name is selected from the fields list, only the count of rows imported to the table is displayed at the bottom.

DirectQuery datasets do not include Data View and thus common modeling features, such as setting the data format of columns and measures, can be accessed via the Modeling tab in the Report View. The dataset designer of a DirectQuery dataset would select the column or measure from the Fields list in the Report View and then access the relevant metadata property from the Modeling tab, such as Data Category and Sort by Column. The availability of Data View and its supporting metadata (for example, count of rows, discount count of values) is a modeling convenience of import mode datasets over DirectQuery datasets. In the absence of the Data View, DirectQuery modelers can use table report visuals on the Report View to sample or preview the values and formatting of columns and measures.