In this video, Amelia Roberts from Pragmatic Works shares some small but impactful tips for working in Power BI. From Power Query to Power BI Desktop and the Power BI Service, these tweaks will help you improve your report-building process and enhance data management. These practical techniques are ideal for both beginners and experienced users looking to optimize their Power BI workflows.
Power Query Editor: Improving Step Organization and Efficiency
Amelia starts with Power Query Editor, demonstrating how to make small changes that improve step organization and speed up data transformations:
- Step Properties: You can add descriptions to applied steps to document what changes were made and why. This is especially helpful when multiple users are collaborating on a report.
- Query Folding: Ensure that transformations are processed at the database level for faster performance. Use the "View Native Query" option to check if query folding is taking place.
- Handling Limited Rows: Power Query limits data preview to the top 1,000 rows, but you can filter beyond this by using number filters or switching column profiling to the entire dataset.
Power BI Desktop: Enhancing Data Visuals and Report Organization
Amelia then transitions to Power BI Desktop, offering tips to enhance visuals and streamline report development:
- Data Labels: Add data labels to charts to improve readability and accessibility. Customize their appearance to make your visuals more informative.
- Custom Formatting: Access the model view to apply custom formatting to columns, which improves consistency in how data is displayed across reports.
- Measure Tables: Organize your measures by creating a dedicated table for them. This makes it easier to manage and locate measures as you build more complex reports.
Power BI Service: Managing Alerts and Data Refreshes
Amelia finishes the video with tips for using the Power BI Service:
- Setting Alerts: Create alerts for key metrics in cards or gauge visuals. This is particularly useful for tracking when you hit targets, such as profit goals, and receiving notifications via email or Teams.
- Related Content: Use the "See Related Content" option to easily view the data sources your report is connected to and check the last data refresh time. You can also manually refresh or schedule data updates from this menu.
Conclusion
These small but impactful tweaks in Power BI can help streamline your report-building process, improve data performance, and make your visuals more informative. Amelia’s practical tips offer quick solutions for Power BI users of all experience levels.
Don't forget to check out the Pragmatic Works' on-demand learning platform for more insightful content and training sessions on Power BI and other Microsoft applications. Be sure to subscribe to the Pragmatic Works YouTube channel to stay up-to-date on the latest tips and tricks.