PowerBI.tips

Building Reports

Browse the latest posts tagged in this category.

Oct 3, 2021

Business Ops Update: Bugfix

**UPDATE**: All downloads for business ops has moved to github releases page dedicated to this project here: [https://github.com/MikeCarlo/BusinessOps...

Dec 22, 2020

Phil Seamark on Aggregation Tables

I was having a candid conversation with Phil Seamark from DAX.tips about Aggregation Tables. During that conversation, I was aski...

Nov 18, 2020

Power BI Field Finder V2

The Power BI Field Finder created by Stephanie Bruno was just updated. In this recent update the HTML viewer has been updated since the old custom vis...

Oct 29, 2020

Milwaukee Brew City PUG – Oct 2020

The Milwaukee Crew is back at it again with the October 2020 Power BI User Group (PUG). This month we have the amazing Gil Raviv talk to us about Powe...

Oct 26, 2020

HTML Content Custom Visual

Daniel Marsh-Patrick is a custom visual developer who recently released the HTML Content, a custom visual. This month we go over this visual in detail...

Oct 22, 2020

Customize the Default Dataset

In the October 2020 release of Power BI desktop you have the ability to load a dataset from the splash page. For this tutorial we dig in on how Micros...

Sep 29, 2020

MVPs React September 2020

This month we got the Power BI desktop update a little bit later because it was released during the 2020 Ignite conference. Here's our MVPs React recap.

Sep 29, 2020

Designing a Great Power BI Report

What does it take to design and create a great looking report in Power BI? Do you have a clear understanding of what tools and techniques you should u...

Aug 7, 2020

Monkey Tools are AWESOME

The Monkey Tools add-in for excel is really amazing. As a developer for Power BI for many years I’ve learn a ton of tips and tricks while working with...

Jul 15, 2020

DAX Studio 2.11 Released

If you haven’t heard about DAX Studio, well now you have. DAX studio is an essential tool for Power BI developers. It enables you to explore and tune...

Jun 3, 2020

Model Performance in DAX Studio

Understand more about your model then you thought possible! This is part two in our series on DAX Studio. If you missed part one be sure to check out...

May 25, 2020

Create Custom Mapbox Styles

If you’ve played around with MapBox in Power BI – you’ll know that it has loads of great features to create really rich and beautiful maps, including...

May 19, 2020

Drill Down Maps in Power BI with MapBox

If you’ve played around with MapBox in Power BI – you’ll know that it has loads of great features to create really rich and beautiful maps! One featur...

May 14, 2020

Introduction to DAX Studio

Darren Gosbell & Marco Russo join PowerBI.Tips in a 4 part series on how and why to use DAX Studio! They show us why **DAX Studio is the ultimate tool...

May 12, 2020

Create 3D Maps in Power BI with MapBox

If you’ve played around with MapBox in Power BI – you’ll know that it has loads of great features to create really rich and beautiful maps! And one of...

May 6, 2020

Using Lasso with New Shortcuts

The April 2020 Power BI desktop release is an amazing release. This month the Power BI team has released a new lasso feature to enable users to select...

Apr 16, 2020

Get to know ALM Toolkit

The ALM Toolkit is an excellent tool for aiding users with Tabular Model management. Christian Wade has been generous enough to provide us with a deta...

Apr 7, 2020

MapBox 101 for Power BI

Maps are a fantastic way to communicate spatial data – and lucky for us Power BI has loads of awesome mapping visuals to choose from. However, the Map...

Apr 2, 2020

Tabular Editor Rocks!

Tabular Editor is an incredible Tool that enables users to manipulate a Tabular model at lighting speeds.  Daniel Otykier is the creator of the Tabula...

Mar 23, 2020

Milwaukee Brew City PUG – Feb 2020

The Milwaukee Brew City PUG for February had tons of rich demo content. Steve Campbell delivered quite a session for an hour and a half. We were able...

Mar 4, 2020

Keeping it Versatile

I was recently working on some new ideas for a Scrim when I stumbled upon something interesting. A scrim is pretty specific in its layout, and this on...

Feb 17, 2020

Adding Contextual Help for End Users

As a report author it is important that you build the necessary context for your end users. The main areas most often needing context either relate to...

Feb 12, 2020

Mind Blown

This report is just over the top amazing cool! Check out the work done by the Microsoft team to make this incredible report. It is called the Microsof...

Feb 10, 2020

Power Query API Considerations

This article is the second part in a series on API calls. It will look at some best practices and considerations when using API calls in Power Query....

Jan 14, 2020

KPIs in Power BI

KPIs are a key visualization type used to convey high level metrics to the end users. They provide an at-a-glance metric that allows business users to...

Dec 23, 2019

Introducing Scrims

PowerBI.tips is excited to announce our new tool to help you build the best looking reports, Scrims. We’ve...

Dec 21, 2019

Scrims Instructions

Thanks for your interest in our product Scrims. For more details on what is a scrim click this link to Learn More. **Download** a scrim from the prod...

Dec 6, 2019

More Visuals Mo Problems

In some recent conversations the notion of minimizing the number of required visuals came up as a topic. While I know from talking with the Microsoft...

Nov 20, 2019

Scale a Visual

For each visual in Power BI Desktop there is a button called Focus Mode. This feature highlights a single visual. While this can be helpful, it does r...

Nov 5, 2019

Stacked Bar Chart

For this week we are building a stacked bar chart on https://Charts.PowerBI.Tips. While you can build this type of char...

Oct 30, 2019

Act like the business, Think like I.T.

This month at our Power BI User group in Milwaukee Seth and myself walk through some of the basics of Power BI. We digest how can we leverage Power BI...

Oct 23, 2019

Make PBIDS Files

In October of 2019 Power BI released a new file type, PBIDS. The Power BI Desktop Source (PBIDS) file is a JSON object file that aids users connecting...

Oct 8, 2019

Filled Donut Chart, Yumm..

We are starting today off with a fun chart. We will be making a filled donut chart. Typically, I don’t use donut charts but in this case I think we ha...

Sep 30, 2019

Custom Sort Order Within a DAX Measure

This post will answer how to sort a measure that returns text values to a custom order, without affecting other columns. It will utilize the DAX funct...

Sep 26, 2019

Grouping with Style

# Grouping with Style The release of grouping visuals was an extremely welcomed feature. As one who builds lots of reports grouping elements together...

Sep 11, 2019

Dual Y-Axis Line Chart

Ever need two different scales on the Y-Axis of a line chart? If so, then this tutorial is for you. Learn how to create a dual y-axis line chart.

Aug 30, 2019

New Layout – One

This layout continues to deliver fantastic visual guides to make your reports look top notch. This layout utilizes buttons for navigation without lock...

Aug 8, 2019

Dynamic Visuals using Buttons

Sometimes, we want the users to see different metrics, but do not want to take up too much space on our page. The scenario we are going to walk throug...

Jul 18, 2019

Icons upon Icons

I am just bursting with excitement!! This month the amazing Power BI team has yet again come out with a great new feature, Icon sets. In addition to t...

Jul 11, 2019

The Dynamic Time Matrix

Time and time again when I begin talking with Excel users and ask to see what current reports they are using, they usually show me a table with a mixe...

Jul 3, 2019

Quick Access Toolbar for the Win

I’m a lazy engineer.  Let me qualify my statement.  In lazy I mean I like to find the path of least resistance, the shortest distance between two poin...

May 1, 2019

New Layout – Square One

“Square One” utilizes the color theme as a background component that adds a pop of accent color only. This gives you the end user the maximum flexibil...

Mar 21, 2019

New Layout - Smooth Operator

Hey everyone! We're excited to release our latest layout 'Smooth Operator'. Download it now and give your reports a fresh look.

Dec 4, 2018

Respect Layers

If you are like me and you like making your reports look extra good with different visual elements you’ve probably come across the issue before where...

Jul 9, 2018

Center the X-Axis on a Line Chart

Sometimes when your working on a line chart you want the x-axis to stay centered on a chart. This tutorial will walk you through how to create an X-Ax...

Jun 20, 2018

Segmented Filtering with Slicers

This weeks tutorial focuses on the need to control groups of visuals independently.  This recently came up in a project where I needed to adjust all t...

Jun 6, 2018

Data Table Filters

Hands down best feature this year to date, Data Table Filtering!  In the June 2018 Power BI Desktop Microsoft released the ability for you to navigate...

May 17, 2018

Apply a Filter to a Slicer

Often when working with a Power BI report you will add a slicer that has a “Blank” item in the selection criteria.  From a usability standpoint you mi...

Apr 18, 2018

Introducing Lingo

Update: This tool has been deprecated as of 2024-11-27. You can now find this as a downloadable HTML file on GitHub.

Feb 26, 2018

Power BI Connections: Live Connection

Of all the connection types, I’ve always gravitated towards this one. I imagine it is because I come from the database developer side of things. I’m a...

Jan 31, 2018

Adding Data Types Within Query Editor

If you have spent any time working in Power BI, your very first step is to, wait for it… Get Data.  Using Get Data will start loading your data into t...

Jan 19, 2018

New Layout – Splash o Red

First off, let me say WOW!  The announcement of Layouts was well received by the Power BI Community.  Thank you so much for the positive feedback.  So...

Jan 16, 2018

Introducing Layouts

PowerBI.tips is extremely happy to be part of, and contribute to, the Power BI Community. We’re constantly trying to think of new and interesting ways...

Jan 15, 2018

Move Visuals Between Reports

There are cases when working with Power BI files, that you would want to transfer a visual from one report to another report.  While this feature is n...

Dec 20, 2017

Start of Month DAX Calendar

While on a recent project I needed to build a variation of the DAX date table with start-of-month dates. Here's how to create one.

Nov 24, 2017

Custom Usage Metrics Reporting

One of the really cool features contained within the PowerBI.com service is the ability to monitor how often your dashboard or report is being viewed....

Nov 16, 2017

Power BI Connections: Import

Power BI’s default connection type is Import. In fact, if you have never dealt with a data source that handles multiple loading methods, you may never...

Nov 14, 2017

Fixing the Truncating Bar Chart

The more you work with Power BI Desktop it is more than likely you will find some tool limitations that impact your overall design pursuits.  As I hav...

Nov 1, 2017

Creating A DAX Calendar

There are many cases when you will need to create a date table within Power BI desktop.  This could be as simple as creating a master date table or mo...

Oct 16, 2017

Power BI Connection Types

Get Data – Power BI Connection Types: An Introduction to understanding Import, Direct Query, and Live connections.

Jul 25, 2017

Ranking Values with Measures

In many reports we produce we often need a method to score or rank data.  For example, we may need to list the sales totals for the sales team and ran...

Jul 5, 2017

Use Multiple Connections Between Tables

For those of you who work in supply chain management this tutorial will be right up your alley.  In my previous job position I had a lot of interactio...

Jul 3, 2017

UseRelationship DAX Tutorial – Curbal

Here is another great tutorial from Curbal.  This tutorial teaches you how to use the DAX function UserRelationship.  This is important when your deal...

May 5, 2017

Using Variables within DAX

Every so often you find a hidden gem, something so valuable, just hiding there in plain sight.  Recently, I found out that I LOVE the using Variables...

Apr 6, 2017

SUM & SUMX Tutorial – Curbal

Learn how to use SUM() and SUMX() with this great video from Curbal. As you become more familiar with PowerBI you will increase your understanding of...

Apr 5, 2017

Dynamic Filters in PowerBI

This video talks about how to create custom links that apply report level filters.  This is super cool and provides a ton of wide flexibility when bui...

Mar 21, 2017

Using Parameters to Enable Sharing

This week I had a number of team members tell me how difficult it was to share a PBIX file and the corresponding data between team members.  The depar...

Feb 28, 2017

Power BI Embedded Dashboard

For a while now I have been longing to spend more time learning all the ins and out of Power BI embedded.  From the line of work that I do, I can see...

Feb 21, 2017

Get Your OData Here

For those of you who are following my tutorials, you are most likely to understand that each tutorial comes with it’s own data source.  This has been...

Feb 16, 2017

Improved Matrix Headers

Power BI has been an continually evolving tool over the last year.  The Matrix visual is powerful and mimics much of the functionality of a Pivot Tabl...

Dec 23, 2016

Santa Loves Power BI and R

This past week I was talking with the big guy up north, jolly old fella, and the discussion came up about his toy production levels.  Santa was compla...

Nov 16, 2016

Grouping and Improved Date Slicer

In the October update of PowerBI Desktop we were given a number of really useful features, ranging from a new Date Slicer, Grid lines, Grouping, Binni...

Oct 17, 2016

Pareto Charting in PowerBI

Build a Pareto chart in Power BI using DAX measures for cumulative totals and percentages. Identify which products comprise the majority of your sales.

Oct 10, 2016

Map with Data Labels in R

Create a US map in Power BI with state labels and year-over-year change indicators using R and ggplot2. Color-coded labels show positive and negative trends.

Oct 4, 2016

Fixing Measure Madness

Organize your Power BI data model by creating a dedicated measures table. Group all your DAX measures in one place for cleaner, more maintainable reports.

Sep 30, 2016

Using Advanced Mapping in ArcGIS Preview

Explore the ArcGIS Maps visual in Power BI with heat maps, reference layers, and advanced selection tools. Add demographic overlays like household income.

Sep 27, 2016

HexBin Plot using R

Create beautiful hexagonal bin plots in Power BI using R and ggplot2. Visualize data density with heat map style honeycomb patterns.

Sep 15, 2016

Using R Visuals in Power BI

Get started with R visuals in Power BI Desktop. Install Microsoft R Open, configure Power BI, and create your first correlation plot using the corrplot package.

Sep 1, 2016

Loading Excel Files from SharePoint

Learn how to connect Power BI Desktop to SharePoint document libraries and load Excel files. Enable scheduled data refreshes with SharePoint O365.

Aug 31, 2016

Building Date Table from Scratch

Create a custom dynamic date table in Power BI Query Editor using M language. Build week-based selectors that automatically update when refreshed.

Aug 30, 2016

Make Calendars Using DAX – Curbal

Learn how to create custom calendars in Power BI using DAX with Calendar() and CalendarAuto() functions. Video tutorial from Ruth Pozuelo at Curbal.

Aug 10, 2016

Load Multiple Excel (xls or xlsx) Files

Learn how to load multiple Excel files from a folder into Power BI using a custom function. Combine workbooks with multiple sheets into a single query.

Aug 4, 2016

Using Variables for File Locations

Learn how to create a variable query in Power BI to manage file locations. When you move files, update one query instead of changing every source path.

Jun 16, 2016

Loading Data From Folder

Learn how to automatically load only the most recent file from a folder in Power BI. Perfect for automated reports that receive daily data files.

May 19, 2016

Query Editor – Editing M Code

Learn how to copy and paste queries to and from the Query Editor using the Advanced Editor. Master the M language to share and model your Power BI data.

May 7, 2016

Measures – Calculating a Sum

Learn how to create measures in Power BI to calculate totals using the SUM function in DAX. Watch how totals dynamically change as you select different data points.

May 2, 2016

Measures – Calculating % Change

Learn how to create percent change calculations in Power BI using DAX measures with practical examples using real-world automotive production data.

Apr 20, 2016

From Wikipedia to a Colorful Map

Learn how to pull data directly from Wikipedia into Power BI and create a beautiful filled map showing US population growth by state.

Apr 14, 2016

Map it, Map it Real Good

Learn how to create impressive map visualizations in Power BI Desktop using latitude and longitude data with this step-by-step mapping tutorial.

Apr 13, 2016

Manually Enter Data

Learn how to manually enter data directly into Power BI Desktop to create small tables for your visualizations without needing external files.

Apr 1, 2016

Import CSV file to Power BI

Learn how to import CSV files into Power BI Desktop, create tables and charts, and copy visuals to build compelling data visualizations.

Mar 29, 2016

Import an Excel file into PowerBI

Learn how to load data from Excel into Power BI Desktop with this simple step-by-step tutorial covering the Get Data function and basic visualizations.