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Category: Power BI

Getting Power BI Dataset Information without Takeover

Published 2021-10-19 by Kevin Feasel

Marc Lelijveld just wants to peek at some Power BI Dataset details:

We have all been in a situation where you want to get more insights in the specific settings for a published dataset. But when this dataset is owned and published by someone else, you have to take-over the dataset first to get all the details available. In this blog, I will elaborate on what is available to you in the service and share some code snippets that help you to explore other dataset settings like refresh schedules and configured parameter values.

Read on to see what kinds of details Marc means, as well as a way to do it without taking ownership of the Dataset.

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Organizing a Power BI Workspace: The Checklist

Published 2021-10-15 by Kevin Feasel

Melissa Coates has a plan:

How to organize workspaces in Power BI is one of those topics that comes up a lot. On one hand, it’s really easy to quickly create a workspace and keep moving. At the same time, it’s also really useful to have a strategy for how you scope your workspaces so they don’t get out of hand over time.

In this post & video we’re going to cover 4 sets of criteria to consider when planning for workspaces in the Power BI Service.

Click through for the video, as well as a post with the details.

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Star Schemas versus Header-Detail Tables in Power BI

Published 2021-10-12 by Kevin Feasel

Marco Russo and Alberto Ferrari lay out another proof that the star schema is the right schema for Power BI:

We already shown in a previous article (Power BI – Star schema or single table – SQLBI) how the star schema proves to be the best option when compared with a single table model. Single-table models are the evil: do not be tempted by them, choose a star schema.

In this article, I want to show you an example in the opposite direction. A single table model denormalizes everything in one table, and we already learned that it is bad. But what if we keep a more normalized structure, as it often happens in header/detail models (like orders and order lines)? Is a header/detail model better than a star schema? The quick answer is: “No. Nope. No way. Not at all. Are you kidding me? No.”. Nonetheless, this might be just our personal opinion. The goal of the article is to provide you with some numbers and considerations to prove the previous statement.

Read on and you make the call.

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Power BI Storage Modes and Aggregations

Published 2021-10-11 by Kevin Feasel

Phil Seamark dives into storage modes in Power BI:

How to choose the correct storage mode for Power BI Tables.

This article aims to help explain the different storage modes available when designing an aggregation strategy for a Power BI Report. What each storage mode is and when you would use it. Picking the correct storage mode for each table in your model can significantly affect overall performance.

Click through for the tl;dr version, but stay for the whole thing.

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Using the Power BI REST API for DAX Queries

Published 2021-10-08 by Kevin Feasel

Gilbert Quevauvilliers writes some Powershell:

In this blog post I am going to show you how to use PowerShell to run a DAX query from my dataset, and then store the results in a CSV file.

I will also include the PowerShell code!

I really liked the awesome blog post by Kay on the Power BI Team which you can find here: Announcing the public preview of Power BI REST API support for DAX Queries

Read on to see what prep work you need to do, as well as the scripts needed to pull this off.

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Adding Columns to a Published Data Model with TMSL

Published 2021-10-05 by Kevin Feasel

Kristyna Hughes wants to update an existing schema:

Goal of this demo: Update a Power BI model schema by adding a column to the data model without opening a PBIX file and ensure the scheduled refresh still works.

Why would this be useful? Updating the schema in the desktop tool requires an entire refresh of the data model which can take a while if your model is large. Also, app developers could systematically add new elements to existing data models using a formulaic XMLA script through SSMS, saving your report designers time when new fields need to be added.

Read on for limitations, as well as the process.

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Implementing LAG() and LEAD() in Power Query

Published 2021-10-04 by Kevin Feasel

Nick Edwards wants to perform a lag on data in Power Query:

I’m sure you’ve all heard of windowing functions in SQL Server? But what if you need to replicate these windowing functions in Power Query?

Here I have a sample CarSales.csv dataset of car sales per brand, per year, per month and the number of units sold. I will use this dataset to demonstrate how we can replicate the windowing LAG function in Power Query.

Click through to see the process.

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Switching Connections from AAS to Power BI

Published 2021-09-30 by Kevin Feasel

Marc Lelijveld wants to swap a connection from using Azure Analysis Services to Power BI Premium:

Having the context of an Azure Analysis Services dataset that is migrated to Power BI Premium, you might have to rebind many reports. Especially if this dataset is positioned as being a managed dataset that is also used for self-service purposes and has many related reports.

In this blog I will elaborate on how you can easily rebind all these reports to the new Power BI dataset, without downloading all reports and manual rebinding.

It’s not a trivial operation, but it is a lot easier than updating each entry individually.

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