Power BI Weekly

Issue #81 - 20th October 2020

Only the one update for you this week, and that's that the On-premises data gateway October 2020 update is now available, including OAuth Support in DirectQuery mode, and a new Google BigQuery connector. Otherwise, the Power BI team has given us a short demo of the (relatively) new functionality of Dynamic M query parameters, and the last Power BI Dev Camp recording has also been shared, which covers Writing PowerShell scripts for Power BI. Elsewhere, Matt Allington has written a nice summary of What a Power BI Data Model is, a great overview for those coming to Power BI who are not accustomed to the concept of a data model, but also a great reminder of the key components of a data model for those that work with them more frequently.

🛠️ Data Prep

Chris Webb (@cwebb_bi) explains how to Build Scalable BI Solutions Using Power BI and Snowflake
Djordje Medakovic (@DjMedakovic) blogs about Power BI data sources including PDFs for Facebook Ads
Kreimir Ledinski describes Using M to dynamically change column names in PowerQuery
Ruth Pozuelo Martinez (@CurbalEN) describes how to Concatenate/ Merge columns with Power Query, the right way.
On the RADACAD YouTube channel, Reza Rad (@Rad_Reza) explains How to Change Joining Types in Power BI and Power Query
The Power BI team (@MSPowerBI) talks about Dynamic M query parameters
Matthew Peterson (@mattpetersonbi) shares a DEMO: How to Set Up Parameters for Power BI Reports
Pat Mahoney (@HoosierBi) describes how to calculate Due Date From Working Days
Warren Dean (@DataTaleAU) lists the Top 5 Tips for Power BI without coding
Mark Walter (@markwaltercpa) writes Excel to Power BI (Part 1) and Excel to Power BI (Part 2)

🧩 Data Modeling

Matt Allington (@ExceleratorBI) writes What is a Power BI Data Model?
On the SQLBI blog, Alberto Ferrari (@FerrariAlberto) discusses Set functions in DAX: UNION, INTERSECT, and EXCEPT
On the Towards Data Science blog, Nikola Ilic (@DataMozart) talks about Handling BLANK in Power BI
Gilbert Quevauvilliers (@GilbertQue) talks about Calculation Groups with Disconnected Tables in Power BI/AAS
Ruth Pozuelo Martinez (@CurbalEN) shares DAX Fridays Battle #188: FILTER vs CALCULATETABLE - Avoid using FILTER as a filter argument
Also on the Towards Data Science blog, Peter Hui writes about a Power BI Modelling Error and writes about a Simple Time calculation in Power BI
Paul Turley (@paul_turley) talks about Doing Power BI the Right Way: 7. Validating data model results – Part 2
On the RADACAD YouTube channel, Reza Rad (@Rad_Reza) describes Creating a Table in Power BI Using DAX Table Constructor
Phil Seamark (@PhilSeamark) describes Use VS Code to create Power BI External Tool
Also on the SQLBI blog, Marco Russo (@marcorus) shares a video about External Tools for Power BI – London Power BI User Group
Sam McKay (@_EnterpriseDNA) shares Power BI & DAX Master Class - Fundamentals of DAX, Power BI & DAX Master Class - DAX Formula Combinations and Power BI & DAX Master Class - Advanced Analytics w/Power BI
Jarret Moore describes implementing Dynamic Date Range Slicer Using A Period Table For Your Power BI Report
Marcus Wegener (@PowerBIler) writes Mit DAX, das Kundenalter zum Zeitpunkt des Kaufes ermitteln [German]
On LaDataWeb, Ignacio Barrau (@ignacho_07) writes Atajos clave para codear en DAX [Spanish]
Reid Havens (@HavensBI) talks about Managing Columns to Reduce Model Bloat

📊 Report Authoring and Interactivity

Prathy Kamasani (@pkamasani) writes about the Power BI Slicer – Slicer properties to make it look sleeker
On the Power BI Community blog, Pragati describes how to Display Custom Message in the Visual Until a Selection is Made in the Slicer
Patrick Leblanc (@GuyInACube) describes how to LEVEL UP Power BI Conditional Drill with Paginated reports!
Marcus Wegener (@PowerBIler) shares Hey Peter! Berichtsübergreifender Drillthrough in Power BI [German]
On the Enterprise DNA blog, Sam McKay (@_EnterpriseDNA) discusses Visualization Options In Power BI, talks about Power BI Color Themes For Uniform Visualizations, describes Utilizing Custom Visuals For Power BI and shares some Best Practices For Data Visualization In Power BI
On the Visual BI blog, Preethi Ravindran talks about the Decomposition tree in Microsoft Power BI
On the Tessellation Tech blog, Elizabeth Dinevski (@EMDinevski) blogs about What-if Analysis in Power BI
Dhruvin Shah (@DhruvinShah16) writes about Smart Narrative Visual as a Tooltip in Power BI
On the MSSQLTips site, Scott Murray discusses the Power BI New Mobile Development Features
On the Towards Data Science blog, Shawn Shi discusses Data Science—Building a Network Graph using Microsoft Power BI for SQL Relational Data

🚀 Deployment, Security and Operations

On the Power BI blog, Arthi Ramasubramanian Iyer (@ArthiRamasubra1) highlights that the On-premises data gateway October 2020 update is now available
Martin Schoombee (@MartinSchoombee) discusses Automating Power BI deployments: Update report parameters
Shabnam Watson (@ShbWatson) describes how to Use PowerShell to download all your Power BI reports from a workspace
On the Forsight BI blog, Ahmed Oyelowo (@AhmedOyelowo) provides an Intro to Row Level Security
Ted Pattison (@TedPattison) shares Power BI Dev Camp: Writing PowerShell scripts for Power BI
On the Power BI Community blog, Srishti Sharma writes about when Memory/CPU is utilized for Paginated Report even though you do not have a Paginated Report and writes Unable to connect to IBM DB2 from PBI Desktop

🌐 General

Adam Saxton (@GuyInACube) describes how to Bring Power BI to your every day Microsoft Teams usage
Adam Saxton and Patrick Leblanc (@GuyInACube) shares the REPLAY Power BI tips from the Pros – LIVE w/ SQLBI (Oct 17, 2020)
Ruth Pozuelo Martinez (@CurbalEN) describes Power BI vs Excel: When you should use each tool
Lars Schreiber (@SchreiberLars) talks with Carsten Bange and Stefan Sexl about the powerBImap at BARC (English)
On the Power BI community blog, Ted Pattison (@TedPattison) highlights the Power BI Dev Camp- Learn About Embedding Reports with Power BI JavaScript API + Session 3 info (Thursday 29 October, 2020)
On the MSSQLTips site, Ray Barley describes how to Monitor SQL Server Agent Job Activity with Power BI
On the Power GI blog, David Bachrach shares some New York City Hate Crimes and Personnel Demographics Reports
Avi Singh (@powerbipro) talks about 5 Steps to Master Power BI: Are You Missing a Step
Matthew Roche (@SQLAllFather) writes about Data Culture: Experts and Expertise
,, Sohil Bhatia writes about Real Time Data Streaming in Power BI with Azure