Visual Data Flow in Azure Data Factory provides a limited preview of data flows that allow users to visually design transformations on data. It features implicit staging of data in data lakes, explicit selection of data sources and transformations through a toolbox interface, and setting of properties for transformation steps and destination connectors. The preview is intended to get early feedback to help shape the future of Visual Data Flow.

1. Azure Data Factory
Visual Data Flow
Limited Preview December 2018

5. ADF Data Flow Workstream
Data Sources Staging Transformations Destination
Sort, Merge, Join,
Lookup …
• Explicit user action
• User places data
source(s) on design
surface, from toolbox
• Select explicit sources
• Implicit/Explicit
• Data Lake staging area
as default
• User does not need to
configure this manually
• Advanced feature to set
staging area options
• File Formats / Types
(Parquet, JSON, txt, CSV
…)
• Explicit user action
• User places
transformations on
design surface, from
toolbox
• User must set properties
for transformation steps
and step connectors
• Explicit user action
• User chooses destination
connector(s)
• User sets connector
property options

6. adfdataflowext@microsoft.com
http://aka.ms/dataflowpreview