Add a prefix to a field in Microsoft Power BI via Power Query
Adding a prefix to a field in the Microsoft Power BI Power Query is a simple process that can be accomplished quickly. Highlight the column in Power Query. Choose Transform from the menu bar. Select Format from the ribbon. Choose “Add Prefix” from the pop-up menu. Enter what you want the prefix to be. Be astonished and how easy it is. Watch this <… Continue Reading Belinda Allen’s Article on their blog Add a prefix to a...
Microsoft Power BI Story Telling with PowerPoint
Power BI, Microsoft’s business analytics and data visualization tool, has been a game changer for businesses looking to make data-driven decisions. And with the release of Power BI in March 2023, Microsoft is making it even easier to tell compelling stories with data. The new release will make story telling in Power Point generally available, allowing users to seamlessly integrate their Power… Continue Reading Belinda...
Parameters for Excel File Path in Microsoft Power BI
When I am working on, building and/or designing my Microsoft Power BI reports, I go back and forth between my desktop PC and my notebook. If my data source is a local file, like an Excel file, it can be tricky. Tricky, that is, if you do not use parameters for the file path. I use this feature now, EVERY time I work with local data. Saves me oodles of time and frustration! Check it… Continue Reading Belinda Allen’s...
Microsoft Dynamics Business Central as a Data Type in Excel via Power BI
While hosting yesterday’s Power Platform Mix it up with New View Strategies, Microsoft Senior Program Manager Blazej Kotelko talked about using Microsoft Dynamics Business Central Data, specifically a dataset in Microsoft Power BI as a source for Data Types in Excel. Several of us hung out yesterday and tried to do it. We thought we missed something because it wasn’t working. Today… Continue Reading Belinda Allen’s...
Show Value for the Last Date in Microsoft Power BI
Another Tiny Tip! Recently I was asked how to only show the data for the last date in a Microsoft Power BI dataset. I immediately said “DAX”, but ended up with some complexity that was not necessary. After some rounds with DAX and M, my “aha” moment occurred. Actually, it was more my “inner data modeler” saying “Belinda…. Get With It!” Filters… Filters is all… Continue Reading Belinda Allen’s...
More Matrix (visual) formatting in Microsoft Power BI
The Microsoft Power BI Matrix visual has more features waiting to be unlocked with formatting. In this Tiny tip, I will show you some of my preferred formatting options. Specifically, I will show: Changing the Text sizeChanging the alignment of a columnConditional formatting for a column of valuesChanging the values to display as rows rather than columns. The last feature can be a… Continue Reading Belinda...
Using Small Multiples in Microsoft Power BI
Microsoft Power BI has a cool feature in Preview, that allows you to split a single visual into multiple visuals based on a filter. In this video, I take Sales by Customer Class (Group/Category), create small multiples based on the class, and make the axis a class for Items sold. This feature works on several of the “out of the box” visuals. In the attached video, I will use a… Continue Reading Belinda Allen’s...
Matrix (visual) totals and subtotals in Microsoft Power BI
In this Tiny Tip, Belinda will uncover the secrets on getting only the (sub)totals that you want to see, using the Microsoft Power BI Matrix visual. The most important thing to note is that the Grand Total is a Sub-total. This means if you turn off the Sub-Totals, the grand totals disappear as well. The Grand Totals will only always stay visible on the visual if you have the Stepped… Continue Reading Belinda Allen’s...
Using an Inserted Shape as a Navigation option in Microsoft Power BI
In this Tiny Tip, Belinda will show you how to use a new feature to do something cool, using Microsoft Power BI. In this report, there is a page that is Sales by category, with a slicer that displays countries. There is a similar page, that displays a table with sales line details. The slicer on the detail page is sync’d with the first page. Belinda will Insert > Shape, selecting… Continue Reading Belinda...
Copy Value/Table from Microsoft Power BI Report
Do you ever wish you could copy a value or a table in a Microsoft Power BI Report? Well, you can! Watch Belinda show you just how simple it is! < div class=”wp-block-embed__wrapper”> <div… Continue Reading Belinda Allen’s Article on their blog Copy Value/Table from Microsoft Power BI Report Do you ever wish you could copy a value or a table in a Microsoft Power BI Report? Well, you can! Watch Belinda...
Organizing Data with Folders in Microsoft Power BI
Sometimes a query in Microsoft Power BI will have so many fields that it is cumbersome. In this Tiny Tip, I will show you how to use folders to organize the query, making it easier to find the fields. < div class=”wp-block-embed__wrapper”> <div… Continue Reading Belinda Allen’s Article on their blog https://bibelinda.com/2021/04/19/organizing-data-with-folders-in-microsoft-power-bi/ Blog Syndicated with...
Removing Duplicate Records in the Microsoft Power BI Query Editor
In this Tiny Tip, I will show you how to remove and check for duplicate records in the Microsoft Power BI Query Editor. In my example, I am pulling customer information from a Sales table. Hopefully, I am invoicing (or selling to) customers more than one time. Check out this tiny video on how I verify my data (aka repeat business). < div class=”wp-block-embed__wrapper”> <div… Continue Reading...
Referencing a Query in the Microsoft Power BI Query Editor
In this Tiny Tip, I will show you how to break up a big flat query in the Microsoft Power BI Query Editor using Reference. This will prevent you from having to import the same data into your data model multiple times. < div class=”wp-block-embed__wrapper”> <div… Continue Reading Belinda Allen’s Article on their blog...
Creating a Template Page for Consistency in Microsoft Power BI
One of the first things I do when I start creating a Microsoft Power BI report is create a template page, which I call Blank. When creating a (new) page, I just duplicate the template/blank page and start building. This helps provide a consistent look for all my pages. < figcaption>By Ms Belinda… Continue Reading Belinda Allen’s Article on their blog Creating a Template Page for Consistency in Microsoft Power BI One...
Importing data from a CSV Download into Microsoft Power BI
What if your Microsoft Power BI report needs to access data from a website, but the only option is a CSV download? In this tiny tip, Belinda will show you how to make a CSV download act like an API. < div class=”wp-block-embed__wrapper”> <div… Continue Reading Belinda Allen’s Article on their blog Importing data from a CSV Download into Microsoft Power BI What if your Microsoft Power BI report needs to...
More SEC Football data modeling in Microsoft Power BI Query Editor
In this tiny tip, I show you more Data Modeling I performed on my US College (American) Football South Eastern Conference (SEC) Microsoft Power BI Report. I show how I incorporate parameters with my data and I create a custom title for my report. < div class=”wp-block-embed__wrapper”> <div… Continue Reading Belinda Allen’s Article on their blog More SEC Football data modeling in Microsoft Power BI Query...
Creating a Custom Table in the Microsoft Power BI Query Editor
As I continue building a Microsoft Power BI report that will display the stats for the US College (American) Football South Eastern Conference (SEC); I will show you how I created a custom static table of the 14 teams in the SEC. < div class=”wp-block-embed__wrapper”> <div… Continue Reading Belinda Allen’s Article on their blog Creating a Custom Table in the Microsoft Power BI Query Editor As I continue...
Displaying Images in the Data using Microsoft Power BI
I am building a Microsoft Power BI report that will display the stats for the US College (American) Football South Eastern Conference (SEC). In this video, I will show you have I get team logos from my dataset to display. < div class=”wp-block-embed__wrapper”> <div… Continue Reading Belinda Allen’s Article on their blog Displaying Images in the Data using Microsoft Power BI I am building a Microsoft...
There’s Power Apps in my Microsoft Teams
Today, on the first day of the 2020 Virtual Microsoft Ignite, Project Oakdale was highlighted. What is Project Oakdale. It is like the old Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup commercial…. “There is a Power App in my Teams” or There’s Teams on my Power App.” Whichever way you say it, it ROCKS! In this video, I will show you the creation of a Power App, using a table that I’ll create in… Continue Reading...
Creating Data Parameters with Suggested Values in Microsoft Power BI
I have shown you already how to create parameters with SQL Server data in Microsoft Power BI. This time, I am going to show how to use a suggested list, so rather than manually entering data, I can select my parameter from a dropdown list. By the way, if you are a US College (American) football fan, you will be excited about the report that is being built! < div class=”wp-block-embed__wrapper”> <div… Continue...
Creating data source parameters for SQL Server in Microsoft Power BI
If you want to model data against a development SQL Server environment and deploy against a production SQL Server, in Microsoft Power BI, this video is for you. In this Tiny tip, I will show you how to create a Parameter, edit your data source, export, and import your work.
Using Microsoft Power BI Q&A to ask about a specific field in a column
Yesterday I had the pleasure of hanging out with the Microsoft Modern Excel and Power BI user Group. We were talking about Q&A and discovered, together, a method of asking about data based on the value of a specific column. While using the Q&A feature of Microsoft Power BI, I have done things like “Show me the revenue where the state is MN” but I had asked in this method. We were… Continue Reading Belinda...
Renaming and Hiding Fields in Microsoft Power BI
Microsoft Power BI allows for the hiding of fields in Report Mode. In this Tiny Tip video, I will show you how hiding fields affect Q&A and DAX. Today’s DAX Expression: Customer and Class = Customers[Customer Name] & ” ” & Customers[Customer Class] <div… Continue Reading Belinda Allen’s Article on their blog Renaming and Hiding Fields in Microsoft Power BI Microsoft Power BI allows for the...
Using DAX with Conditional Formatting in Microsoft Power BI
OK, I have this table visual in my Microsoft Power BI Report and I want to highlight a row if a column value is “Yes” but do nothing to the background if the value is “No”. In this Tiny Tip video, I will show you how to achieve this very thing. Today’s DAX Expression: Hold Background Color = VAR _HoldColor = SELECTEDVALUE(Customers[Hold]) RETURN IF(_HoldColor = “Yes”, “#A0D1FF”) <div… Continue Reading...
Setting Geographic Data Categories in Microsoft Power BI Q&A
Ever use a map visual in Microsoft Power BI, but the locations are not correct? In this Tiny Tip I will show you how to categorize geographic fields. For example, we will take the city field and define it as a City. If you were trying to display information for the city of New York, Texas, you would not want it to display as the state of New York. <div… Continue Reading Belinda Allen’s Article on their blog Setting...
Using Q&A to assist in User Adoption of Microsoft Power BI
User adoption of any application is a “Hard road to Hoe”. Sorry, the southerner in me breaks out every now and then. In this Tiny Tip video, I’ll show you how to make a Microsoft Power BI report page, that will help end users have control over what they see. <div… Continue Reading Belinda Allen’s Article on their blog Using Q&A to assist in User Adoption of Microsoft Power BI User adoption of any...
Creating Suggested Questions in Microsoft Power BI Q&A
If you have ever used the Microsoft Power BI Q&A visual, you know it creates “Suggested Questions” for you based on your dataset. In this Tiny tip, I’ll show you have to create your own list of suggested questions, ones that are relevant to you and your users! <div… Continue Reading Belinda Allen’s Article on their blog Creating Suggested Questions in Microsoft Power BI Q&A If you have ever used the Microsoft...
Using Synonyms in Microsoft Power BI Q&A
The Q&A is a super cool visual in Microsoft Power BI. In this Tiny Tip I will show you how to add synonyms to your data fields so Q&A can recognize different terms that end users may enter. For example, what if you call your customers “Guests” or “Clients”? If you do, this tip is for you! <div… Continue Reading Belinda Allen’s Article on their blog Using Synonyms in Microsoft Power BI Q&A The Q&A is...
Using a DAX function as a Report Title in Microsoft Power BI
Using the Card Visual as a Report Title and a value can save you space on a Microsoft Power BI Report. In this Tiny Tip I will show you how to make a DAX measure become text for a Report Title. Because it is a visual, it will even be interactive with the remainder of the report! <div… Continue Reading Belinda Allen’s Article on their blog Using a DAX function as a Report Title in Microsoft Power BI Using the Card...
Changing Interactions between visuals in Microsoft Power BI
The ability of visuals to interact with each other in Microsoft Power BI is probably one of the most powerful tools for letting your data talk to you, rather than reading the data. However, sometimes you might need or want to control how the interactions work. In this Tiny Tip, I will show you how to make changes to your report so interactions filter rather than highlight, or simply just… Continue Reading Belinda Allen’s...
Turning Off Auto-Size Column Width in Microsoft Power BI
Thanks, Fred Kaffenberger, for sharing your tip with me for the Matrix visual in Microsoft Power BI. Check out this video to see Fred’s suggestion on manually controlling the width of columns. It’s simple and cool! <div… Continue Reading Belinda Allen’s Article on their blog Turning Off Auto-Size Column Width in Microsoft Power BI Thanks, Fred Kaffenberger, for sharing your tip with me for the Matrix visual in...
Changing the Report Background in Microsoft Power BI
by @MsBelindaAllen Changing the background of a report in Microsoft Power BI can, and will, change the user’s experience. In this Tiny Tip I will show you how to make every visual stand out a little more, by just changing the background. <div… Continue Reading Belinda Allen’s Article on their blog Changing the Report Background in Microsoft Power BI Changing the background of a report in Microsoft...
Formatting the Matrix Visual Microsoft Power BI
I love using PivotTables in Microsoft Excel. When I use them, I always change them to Tabular and remove Subtotals to make them easier to read. The Matrix visual in Microsoft Power BI is like the Excel PivotTable. In this Tiny Tip video, I will show you how to make it tabular and remove subtotals. by @MsBelindaAllen <div… Continue Reading Belinda Allen’s Article on their blog Formatting the Matrix Visual Microsoft...
Adding the Last Refresh Date in Microsoft Power BI (Tiny Tip)
by @MsBelindaAllen In this TINY Video, I will add the last date and time the data in Microsoft Power BI was refreshed. Old data is bad data! This is an easy way to make sure you are looking at a good data! <div… Continue Reading Belinda Allen’s Article on their blog Adding the Last Refresh Date in Microsoft Power BI (Tiny Tip) In this TINY Video, I will add the last date and time the data in Microsoft Power BI...
Adding multiple Trend Lines in Microsoft Power BI (Tiny Tip)
by @MsBelindaAllen In this TINY Video, I will add a trend line to my clustered column chart visual in Microsoft Power BI. Since my visual has 3 columns in each cluster (Legend), I want to have 3 separate trend lines so I can compare the trends of each value in the legend using the same x and y axis. This 2-minute video shows how to do this! <div… Continue Reading Belinda Allen’s Article on their blog Adding multiple...
Underlying data in Microsoft Power BI Visuals
Some visuals provide the report consumer with the ability to “Drill Down” to the underlying data, i.e. the individual records or rows in the dataset in Microsoft Power BI. In this video, I’ll show you this very feature in a Clustered Column Chart. <div… Continue Reading Belinda Allen’s Article on their blog Underlying data in Microsoft Power BI Visuals Some visuals provide the report consumer with the ability to...
DAX 101 – Wrap up in Microsoft Power BI
In this (DAX 101) Video series, I’ve created DAX (Data Analysis eXpression) Columns and Measures. In this final video in DAX 101, I’ll put some of the work together to create some new visuals. DAX can be used in Microsoft Power BI, Microsoft PowerPivot, and MDX. It’s a relatively easy way to model your data. Today’s DAX Expressions: Net Margin = SUM(‘Sales Line Items'[Gross… Continue Reading Belinda Allen’s Article...
Using DAX Measures across multiple Queries in Microsoft Power BI
In this Video, I’ll create a DAX (Data Analysis eXpression) Measure. This measure creates the Salesperson Commission amount. To achieve this, I’ll have to multiply two fields together that reside in different queries. DAX can be used in Microsoft Power BI, Microsoft PowerPivot, and MDX. It’s a relatively easy way to model your data. Today’s DAX Expression: Commission :=… Continue Reading Belinda Allen’s Article...
Using DAX Measures that Counts the number of Invoices in Microsoft Power BI
In this Video, I’ll create a DAX (Data Analysis eXpression) Measure. This measure will be used to count the number of Invoices. The same measure will show the number of invoices for each Customer and the numbers of invoices for which each item appears. DAX can be used in Microsoft Power BI, Microsoft PowerPivot, and MDX. It’s a relatively easy way to model your data. Today’s DAX… Continue Reading Belinda Allen’s Article...
Making Tooltips easier to read in Microsoft Power BI
In this video, I’ll show you how to format Tooltips in a Microsoft Power BI visual to make them easier on the eyes. The default of white letters on a black background can be difficult to read. This 2-minute video will show you simple changes that make tooltips more powerful!
Using DAX Measures that calculate by row rather than a summary, in Microsoft Power BI
In this Video, I’ll create a DAX (Data Analysis eXpression) Measure. This measure will be used to calculate the total sales price. Check out this video to see how to create a measure that performs “Aggregation with Iteration”; which is a fancy way of saying DAX needs to calculate the total sales price for each row, then sum it together. Look at the two examples below and… Continue Reading Belinda Allen’s Article...
Creating a Conditional Title with DAX in Microsoft Power BI
In this Video, I’ll use DAX to make a visual Title be conditional based on a selection in a filter, using Microsoft Power BI.
Tips on using the Matrix Visual in Microsoft Power BI
In this Video, I’ll show you some tips on using the Microsoft Power BI visual. I’ll build a GL Account Summary Matrix by month.
Using Divide in a DAX Measures in Microsoft Power BI
In this Video, I’ll create a DAX (Data Analysis eXpression) function (Divide) to alter a Measure. DAX can be used in Microsoft Power BI, Microsoft PowerPivot, and MDX. It’s a relatively easy way to model your data. Today’s DAX Expression: Gross Margin % := DIVIDE(SUM(‘Sales Line Items'[Gross Margin]), SUM(‘Sales Line Items'[Total Sales]), 0)
Treemap Bar Chart in Microsoft Power BI
In this video, I’ll use a new custom visual called the Treemap Bar Chart. It’s like the baby of the Clustered Column Visual and the Treemap Visual. This was created by MAQ Software. https://maqsoftware.com/
Line Chart Formatting in Microsoft Power BI
In this video, I demonstrate formatting the Microsoft Power BI Line Chart visual.
Creating DAX Measures in Microsoft Power BI
In this Video, I’ll create a DAX (Data Analysis eXpression) function to create a Measure. DAX can be used in Microsoft Power BI, Microsoft PowerPivot, and MDX. It’s a relatively easy way to model your data. Today’s DAX Expression: Gross Margin % := SUM(‘Sales Line Items'[Gross Margin]) / SUM(‘Sales Line Items'[Total Sales])
Adding the Fields to a Visual’s Tooltips in Microsoft Power BI
In this Video, I’ll show you how to add fields to the additional information, called “Tooltips”, in a Microsoft Power BI visual.
Adding the Q&A Visual in Microsoft Power BI
In this Video, I’ll add a Q&A Visual to my Microsoft Power BI Desktop Report. This visual uses Microsoft Bing “Natural Query Language” technology. This is just a fancy way to say, you ask it a question, and you’ll get an answer back in the form of a visual.
Creating DAX Columns in Microsoft Power BI
In this Video, I’ll create a DAX (Data Analysis eXpression) function to create a column. DAX can be used in Microsoft Power BI, Microsoft PowerPivot, and MDX. It’s a relatively easy way to model your data. Today’s DAX Expression: Gross Margin = ‘Sales Line Items'[Total Sales] – ‘Sales Line Items'[Total Costs]