Republic of Rwanda

Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources

Standard Operating Procedures for the management of

the Post-Harvest Infrastructures information through the
Power BI Dashboard

DECEMBER 1, 2021
TECAN - EU
KIGALI - RWANDA
 Dashboard SOP & Power BI User Guide by TECAN - EU

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents

1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 3
2 Purpose ............................................................................................................................. 5
3 Features ............................................................................................................................ 5
3.1 Post Harvest Dashboard Features ................................................................................... 6
3.2 Roles and Responsibilities............................................................................................ 12
4 Functionalities .................................................................................................................. 12
4.1 Audience................................................................................................................... 12
4.2 Prerequisites ............................................................................................................. 12
4.3 Installation Steps........................................................................................................ 13
4.4 Architecture .............................................................................................................. 16
4.5 Supported Data Sources .............................................................................................. 17
4.6 Comparison with Other BI Tools ................................................................................... 27
4.6.1 Power BI vs Tableau............................................................................................. 27
4.6.2 Power BI vs SSRS ................................................................................................. 28
4.7 Data Modeling ........................................................................................................... 29
4.7.1 Using Data Modeling and Navigation...................................................................... 29
4.7.2 Creating Calculated Columns................................................................................. 35
4.7.3 Creating Calculated Tables.................................................................................... 37
4.7.4 Managing Time-Based Data .................................................................................. 39
4.8 Dashboard Options..................................................................................................... 40
4.8.1 Power BI Dashboard ............................................................................................ 40
4.8.2 Creating Dashboards............................................................................................ 41
4.8.3 Working with Power BI Dashboard......................................................................... 43
4.9 Visualization Options .................................................................................................. 47
4.9.1 Creating Simple Visualizations ............................................................................... 47
4.9.2 Creating Map Visualizations .................................................................................. 48
4.9.3 Using Combination Charts .................................................................................... 50
4.9.4 Using Tables ....................................................................................................... 51
4.9.5 Modify Colors in Charts ........................................................................................ 53
4.9.6 Adding Shapes, Images and Text box...................................................................... 56
4.9.7 Styling Reports.................................................................................................... 58

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4.9.8 Duplicating Reports ............................................................................................. 60

4.10 Excel Integration ........................................................................................................ 60
4.10.1 Using Excel Data.................................................................................................. 60
4.10.2 Importing xls Files ............................................................................................... 61
4.11 Sharing Power BI Dashboards....................................................................................... 62
4.11.1 Using Power BI Desktop for Report Sharing ............................................................. 62
4.11.2 Printing Power BI Dashboards ............................................................................... 64
4.11.3 Export Options.................................................................................................... 65
4.11.4 Publishing Report to Web ..................................................................................... 65
4.11.5 Deleting an Embed Code ...................................................................................... 68
4.11.6 Using Content Pack.............................................................................................. 69
4.11.7 Editing Content Pack............................................................................................ 71
4.12 DAX Basics in Power BI ................................................................................................ 72
4.12.1 DAX Introduction................................................................................................. 72
4.12.2 DAX Functions .................................................................................................... 73
4.13 Administration Role.................................................................................................... 76
4.14 Purchasing ................................................................................................................ 76
4.15 REST API ................................................................................................................... 78
4.16 Security .................................................................................................................... 79

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1 Introduction
This manual on Standards Operating Procedures seeks to shed some lights on the use of the
post-harvest infrastructures dashboard as a tool for data management for improved
information system, monitoring the post-harvest infrastructures, and decision- making. This tool
is tested with a recent baseline survey conducted by MINAGRI and TECAN on the status of the
post-harvest facilities in the agriculture sector on 31 December 2020.

In the same time, the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources is updating the Post-harvest
management strategy for the Agriculture Sector. This policy action was undertaken in June 2020
in collaboration with the EU – funded Technical Assistance (TECAN), WFP and FAO. A Steering
Committee (SC) has been established to provide the overall guidance and monitor the strategy
development process to support the process of strategy design, a baseline survey was
conducted by MINAGRI from June to December 2020 with the support of, TECAN, RAB, and WFP.

The aim of the baseline assessment was to provide field-based evidence on the status of post-
harvest infrastructures, and usage, as well as issues of already available PH facilities, to update
the 2011 post-harvest strategy. In addition to the 2011 strategy, which covered only a part of
agriculture commodities, while the current one covers both agriculture and livestock.

In line with its intervention of capacity development and skills transfer, TECAN has designed a
dashboard to set, monitor and update the baseline of the Post-Harvest infrastructures and their
use.

A dashboard is a business intelligence tool used to manage all the business information from a
single point of access. It helps managers and employees to keep track of the Key Performance
Indicators (KPIs) and relevant metrics. It helps to highlight specific information from the
underlying reports and datasets. The tool also comes handy to end-users for information
tracking, monitoring, answering questions, testing and more in order to make data-driven
business decisions.

In the recent years, dashboards have been used and implemented by many different industries,
from healthcare, HR, marketing, sales, logistics, or IT, all of which have experienced the
importance of dashboard implementation as a way to reduce cost and increase the
productiveness of their respective business. It doesn’t matter from which business you’re
coming from or how big your institution is, you always want effective results and clear actions
to be taken after an issue is discovered.

Dashboard use raw data from different sources, spreadsheets and databases to create tables,
line charts, bar charts and gauges in a central dashboard that users can look at and immediately
understand the key metrics they are looking for. Data dashboards simplify reporting by allowing
users to communicate information at any time without hours of preparation and analyzing.

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Behind the scenes, a dashboard connects to your files, attachments, services and API’s, but on
the surface displays all this data in the form of tables, line charts, bar charts and gauges.

A data dashboard is the most efficient way to track multiple data sources because it provides a
central location for businesses to monitor and analyze performance. Real-time monitoring
reduces the hours of analyzing and long line of communication that previously challenged
businesses.

There are 3 main types of dashboards, strategic, operational, and analytical.

A strategic dashboard is a reporting tool for monitoring the long-term strategy with the help of
critical success factors. They’re usually complex in their creation, provide a wide impact to a
business, and are mainly used by senior-level management. They track performance metrics
against enterprise-wide strategic goals. As a result, these dashboards tend to summarize
performance over set time frames: past month, quarter, or year. When the strategic dashboard
is properly developed, designed, and implemented, it can effectively reduce the amount of time
needed to accomplish a specific business key performance indicator, while reducing operational
costs. These dashboards can provide senior teams a clear picture of strategic issues, and
therefore, grant them the opportunity to accomplish a specific course of action.

An operational dashboard is one of the types of dashboards used for monitoring and managing
operations that have a shorter time horizon. Since they focus on tracking operational processes,
they’re usually administrated by lower levels of management. This often leads to more direct
action, then further analysis. Because of this, operational dashboards often are more detailed
than strategic dashboards. They can also provide operational reports with a more detailed view
of specific data sets.

An analytical dashboard is a type of dashboard that contains a vast amount of data created and
used by analysts to provide support to executives. They supply a business with a comprehensive
overview of data, with middle management being a crucial part of its usage . They are often
useful when complex categorized information is massive and broad, and need visualization to
perform a clear analysis of generated data.

The analytical dashboard can also be found at the intersection of the strategic and operational
dashboard. They consist of different modules that can bring a positive effect on the performance
of a business if used correctly.

The Post-harvest dashboard is a strategic dashboard which presents the main KPIs. Further
development of the dashboard functionalities is foreseen according to the needs that might be
raised by decision-makers and end-users.

The present Standards Operating Procedures describes the proposed overall procedures of the
dashboard functions, roles and responsibilities of administrators and end -users. The data are
reported by Province, District and sector level and key contributing institutions (public and
private sector). It proposes ways to interface the dashboard with other existing systems (Data
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Warehouse) but focuses only on the way to display and report on the baseline and the display
of main KPIs and relevant metrics.

This SOP is structured in three main parts: Purpose, Features and Functionalities

2 Purpose
The purpose of the SOP is to ensure that compliance standards are met and that it is clear who
is accountable for certain data and activities in the data recording and validation process. The
setting of clear procedures and responsibilities will contribute to increased quality and reliability
of data.
The dashboard is established to support the provision of accurate and timely information on the
status and performance of the Post-Harvest Infrastructures in Agriculture and Livestock with
regards to the implementation of the Strategic Plan for the Transformation of the Agriculture in
Rwanda (PSTA 4).
Dashboard visualizations allow data to be represented in different ways, leading to insights into
data relationships that may not be easily seen. Power BI allows users to create and adjust
visualizations based on their own needs as they look at data from different data sources (Excel
file or DHIS2). Users will be able to look at data from different perspectives and find insights into
data relationships that help them make better informed decisions.

3 Features
The Dashboard is built on Power Business Intelligence open source platform of Microsoft
Company, which makes it sustainable and flexible. There is no need for programming as the
system can be configured by the system administrator (indicators, users, data en try forms,
reports etc.). However, the maintenance and configuration require in-depth knowledge of the
Power BI software. The system is web-based
Power BI is a Data Visualization and Business Intelligence tool that converts data from different
data sources to interactive dashboards and BI reports. Power BI suite provides multiple
software, connector, and services - Power BI desktop, Power BI service based on SaaS, and
mobile Power BI apps available for different platforms. These set of services are used by
business users to consume data and build BI reports.
Power BI is also a business analytics service that delivers insights to enable fast, informed
decisions; Transform data into stunning visuals and share them with colleagues on any device,
Visually explore and analyze data—on-premises and in the cloud—all in one view, Collaborate
on and share customized dashboards and interactive reports and Scale across your organization
with built-in governance and security.

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3.1 Post Harvest Dashboard Features

A data dashboard is an information management tool that visually tracks, analyzes and displays key
performance indicators (KPI), metrics and key data points to monitor the health of a business,
department or specific process. They are customizable to meet the specific needs of a department and
institution.

Behind the scenes, a dashboard connects to your files, attachments, services and API’s, but on the
surface displays all this data in the form of tables, line charts, bar charts and gauges. A data dashboard is
the most efficient way to track multiple data sources because it provides a central location for
businesses to monitor and analyze performance. Real-time monitoring reduces the hours of analyzing
and long line of communication that previously challenged businesses.

Dashboards use raw data from different sources, spreadsheets and databases to create tables, line
charts, bar charts and gauges in a central dashboard that users can look at and immediately understand
the key metrics they are looking for.

Data dashboards simplify reporting by allowing users to communicate information at any time without
hours of preparation and analyzing

PH Dashboard Major KPIs

The Post-harvest dashboard page contains important KPIs on a single screen, where decision
makers can interconnect various findings and react to any given issue in seconds. The data used
were collected during the recent data collection on post-harvest. The main KPI used on this
Dashboard page are:

1. Facility Type: this a Filter where the user can select one or multiple facility type.
2. Province: This is a filter allowing user to specify any desired province.
3. District: This is a filter allowing user to choose a district on available list.
4. Established: this another filter where the use have the ability to select the facility
establishment period to narrow down the search.
5. Commodities: This is a tree map with will display commodity by facility number and
facility type depending on chosen selection.
6. Facility number: This is a Number card that will display the facility number depending on
a chosen selection.
7. Facility user: This is a Number card that will display the number of facility users
depending on a chosen selection.
8. Capacity: This is a Number card that will display the capacity of selected facilities in
metric cube.
9. Operational status: This a column chart which will display the number of under
operational, non-operation or under construction, facilities depending on the selected
choice.

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10. Facility by District: This a table which will display the facility number by district and
sector depending on selected filters
11. Harvesting Season: This a donut chart will display the facility numbers against the
harvesting season; rainy season, dry season or all seasons.
12. Facility establishment period by funding partners: This is an area chart which will display
the facility numbers and types vs. their funding partners in the last 10 years.
13. Funding partners share: this is a funnel chart that will display Facility number against
funding partner’s shares percentage.
14. Map: this is a map slice which will display facility GIS location, this map has a call out on
any selected facility which will indicate its, Type, GPS coordinates, Province, District,
Sector, Cell, Users, Capacity, Commodities, Funding partners, Owner, user, contact
person and Operational status.

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The Post-harvest dashboard page contains important KPIs and metrics on a single screen, where
decision makers can interconnect various findings and react to any given issue in seconds. The
data used were collected during the recent data collection on post-harvest.
3.2. The use of the dashboard
o Power BI Dashboard
o Working with Power BI Dashboard
• Interact with filters/slicers
• Cross-highlight the related visualizations in a Report
• Hover over a visual to see details.
• Focus mode
• View chart data as a table
• Sort the data in a visualization
• Export the data presented in a visual (if available)
• PH Dashboard Major KPIs
Tiles
A Power BI dashboard uses visualizations to tell a story in a single page. The visualizations you
see on the dashboard are called tiles and are pinned to the dashboard by report designers.
The visualizations on a dashboard come from reports and each report is based on one dataset.
In fact, one way to think of a dashboard is as an entryway into the underlying reports and
datasets. Selecting a visualization takes you to the report that was used to create it.
A dashboard can combine on-premises and cloud data, providing a consolidated view regardless
of where the data lives and where the data come from.
A dashboard isn't just a pretty picture; it's interactive and the tiles update as the underlying data
changes.
Interact with filters/slices
Filters/slicers allow you to narrow
the data that is visualized on a page,
multiple filters can be selected to
narrow down the dataset. To
remove a filter, deselect all filtered
values.
Example: All facility types’ data are
initially shown at the dashboard.
Selecting Collection Centers causes
the visualizations to show only data
for that type.

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Cross-highlight the related visualizations

The visualizations on the data dashboard are "connected" to each other. What this means is that
if you select one or more dynamic values in one visualization, all other visualizations will change
based on that selection.
Example: Clicking Non Operational in the chart causes the dashboard to show all results by Non
Operational facilities

Hover over a visual to see details

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On the data
dashboard page,
once you move your
cursor over any
visual element it
allows you to
automatically view
detailed data

View chart data as a table

Focus mode lets you expand (pop out) a visual or tile to see more detail. Sometimes a dashboard
might seem a little crowded and you want to zoom in on only one visual
While in focus mode, you can interact with any filters that were applied when this visual was
created.

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Sort data in a visualization

On a data slice, Select the ellipses (...) to open the options menu, then click Sort by. Click again
to switch between ascending and descending.

Export the data presented in a visual (if available

Select the ellipses (...) to open the options menu, then click Export data. The resulting .xlsx file
will contain all the data presented in a visual, and will respect any filters applied to the data.

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3.2 Roles and Responsibilities

Organization Roles Responsibilities

MINAGRI IT Maintaining the • Update the dashboard

Team dashboard
• Insure the dashboard integrity and hosting
• Maintain the dashboard
• Manage credentials and access

RAB • Data Collection and • Supervise the update process of dashboard

information update data by District Agriculture Sector Inspector
(DASI)
• Update of the
Dashboard • Validate the updated data set and send it the
MINAGRI IT technical team

TECAN • Data analysis • Funding the data collection and dashboard

assignments
• Development of the
Dashboard • Training on the dashboard for users and
administrators
• Monitoring of the overall assignment

4 Functionalities
4.1 Audience
This user manual has been prepared for beginners to help them understand the basic concepts
of Power BI Dashboard. This user manual will give you enough understanding on Power BI, from
where you can take yourself to a higher level of expertise.

4.2 Prerequisites
Before proceeding with this user manual, you should be familiar with Microsoft Excel, data
modeling, and have some knowledge of DAX language.

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4.3 Installation Steps

Power BI desktop app is used to create reports, while Power BI Services (Software as a Service -
SaaS) is used to publish the reports, and Power BI mobile app is used to view the reports and
dashboards.
Power BI Desktop is available in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. To download the latest version,
you can use the following link −
https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/downloads/
To check the system requirements, installation files detail, users have to navigate to “Advanced
download options”. Following are the system requirements to download Power BI tool −
Supported Operating Systems

• Windows 10, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows
Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2
• Microsoft Power BI Desktop requires Internet Explorer 9 or higher
• Microsoft Power BI Desktop is available for 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x64) platforms
Users can select a language in which they want to install Power BI and following files are
available for download.

This is the link to directly download Power BI files −

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https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=45331

PBIDesktop_x64.msi shows a 64-bit OS file. Select the file you want to install as per OS type and
click Next. Save the installation file on the local drive.

When you run the installation file, following screen is displayed.

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Accept the license agreement and follow the instructions on the screen to finish the installation.

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When Power BI is installed, it launches a welcome screen. This screen is used to launch different
options related to get data, enrich the existing data models, create reports as well as publish
and share reports.

4.4 Architecture
Power BI includes the following components −
• Power BI Desktop − This is used to create reports and data visualizations on the dataset.
• Power BI Gateway − You can use Power BI on-premises gateway to keep your data fresh
by connecting to your on-premises data sources without the need to move the data. It
allows you to query large datasets and benefit from the existing investments.
• Power BI Mobile Apps − Using Power BI mobile apps, you can stay connected to their
data from anywhere. Power BI apps are available for Windows, iOS, and Android
platform.
• Power BI Service − This is a cloud service and is used to publish Power BI reports and data
visualizations.

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4.5 Supported Data Sources

Power BI supports large range of data sources. You can click Get data and it shows you all the
available data connections. It allows you to connect to different flat files, SQL database , and
Azure cloud or even web platforms such as Facebook, Google Analytics, and Salesforce objects.
It also includes ODBC connection to connect to other ODBC data sources, which are not listed.
Following are the available data sources in Power BI −

• Flat Files
• SQL Database
• PostgreSQL
• OData Feed
• Blank Query
• Azure Cloud platform
• Online Services
• Blank Query
• Other data sources such as Hadoop, Exchange, or Active Directory
To get data in Power BI desktop, you need to click the Get data option in the main screen. It
shows you the most common data sources first. Then, click the More option to see a full list of
available data sources.

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When you click “More..” tab as shown in the above screenshot, you can see a new navigation
window, where on the left side it shows a category of all available data sources. You also have
an option to perform a search at the top.

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Following are the various data sources listed −

All
Under this category, you can see all the available data sources under Power BI desktop.
File
When you click File, it shows you all flat file types supported in Power BI desktop. To connect to
any file type, select the file type from the list and click Connect. You have to provide the location
of the file.

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Database

When you click the Database option, it shows a list of all the database connections that you can
connect to.

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To connect to any database, select a Database type from the list as shown in the above
screenshot. Click Connect.
You have to pass Server name/ User name and password to connect. You can also connect via a
direct SQL query using Advance options. You can also select Connectivity mode - Import or
DirectQuery.
Note − You can’t combine import and DirectQuery mode in a single report.
Import vs DirectQuery
DirectQuery option limits the option of data manipulation and the data stays in SQL database.
DirectQuery is live and there is no need to schedule refresh as in the Import method.
Import method allows to perform data transformation and manipulation. When you publish the
data to PBI service, limit is 1GB. It consumes and pushes data into Power BI Azure backend and
data can be refreshed up to 8 times a day and a schedule can be set up for data refresh.

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Advantages of Using DirectQuery

• Using DirectQuery, you can build data visualizations on large datasets, which is not
feasible to import in Power BI desktop.
• DirectQuery doesn’t apply any 1GB data set limit.
• With the use of DirectQuery, the report always shows current data.
Limitations of Using DirectQuery
• There is a limitation of 1 million row for returning data while using DirectQuery. You can
perform aggregation of more number of rows, however, the result rows should be less
than 1 million to return the dataset.
• In DirectQuery, all tables should come from a single database.
• When a complex query is used in the Query editor, it throws an error. To run a query,
you need to remove the error from the query.
• In DirectQuery, you can use Relationship filtering only in one direction.
• It doesn’t support special treatment for time-related data in tables.

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Azure
Using the Azure option, you can connect to the database in Azure cloud. Following screenshot
shows the various options available under Azure category.

Online Services
Power BI also allows you to connect to different online services such as Exchange, Salesforce,
Google Analytics, and Facebook.
Following screenshots shown the various options available under Online Services.

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Other
Following screenshot shows the various options available under other category .

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4.6 Comparison with Other BI Tools

4.6.1 Power BI vs Tableau
Tableau is considered as one of the leading tools in the BI market. Power BI is considered as an
emerging tool in close competition with Tableau because of its backend data manipulation
features and connectivity with the list of data sources. Tableau is one of the best data
visualization tools in the market and is used by medium and large enterprises. Power BI is closely
integrated with Office 365 suite, and hence it is compatible other sources such as SharePoint.

Feature Tableau Power BI

Tableau provides strong data Power BI provides a strong backend

Data
visualization and is one of the main data manipulation feature with
Visualization
data visualization tool in the market. access to simple visualizations.

Tableau can connect much larger Power BI has a limit of 1GB data in
Size of Dataset
datasets as compared to Power BI. free version.

Power BI covers most of the data

sources available in Tableau. It is
Tableau covers a vast range of data closely integrated with Office 365,
sources to connect with for data hence provides connectivity to
Data Sources visualization. In Tableau, you select SharePoint.
the dataset first and visualizations are Power BI online version also supports
used on the fly. direct visualization on Search Engine,
though, only Bling is supported at this
point.

Power BI provides a free version with

Tableau is expensive as compared to
1GB limit on dataset. Power BI Pro is
Costing Power BI but still under budget for
also a cheaper solution when
small and medium enterprise.
compared with any other BI tool.

Tableau Desktop Profession: Power BI: Free

License and
USD70/user/month and it can
Pricing 1 GB storage
connect to hundreds of data sources.

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Tableau Desktop Personal: 10k rows/hour data streaming

USD35/user/month and it can
Power BI Pro:
connect to data sources such as
Google Sheets and Excel files. USD9.99/user/month
Tableau Server: Minimum 10 users 10 GB storage
with the cost of USD35/user/month
1 million rows/hour
Tableau Online with private cloud:
USD 42/user/month

Tableau provides different Power BI uses cloud storage and

implementation types as per includes simple implementation
Implementation
organizational needs panning from process.
few hours to few weeks.

4.6.2 Power BI vs SSRS

Feature SSRS Power BI

SSRS is mostly used for Pixel Power BI provides a strong backend data
Data
perfect reporting and average manipulation feature with access to simple
Visualization
dash-boarding features. visualizations.

No such limit in SSRS. It can

connect to much larger Power BI has a limit of 1GB data in free
Size of Dataset
datasets as compared to version.
Power BI.

Power BI covers most of the data sources

available in Tableau. It is closely integrated
SSRS covers a vast range of with Office 365, hence provides connectivity
Data Sources data sources to connect with to SharePoint.
for BI reporting. Power BI online version also supports direct
visualization on Search Engine, though, only
Bling is supported at this point.

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Power BI provides a free version with 1GB

SSRS pricing details are limit on dataset. Power BI Pro is also a
Costing
available only upon request. cheaper solution when compared with any
other BI tool.

Power BI: Free

1 GB storage
10k rows/hour data streaming
SQL Server Enterprise License.
License and
It is available on cloud - AWS, Power BI Pro:
Pricing
Azure, and other providers.
USD9.99/user/month
10 GB storage
1 million rows/hour

SSRS implementation is Power BI uses cloud storage and includes

Implementation complex as compared with simple implementation process.
Power BI.

4.7 Data Modeling

4.7.1 Using Data Modeling and Navigation
Data Modeling is one of the features used to connect multiple data sources in BI tool using a
relationship. A relationship defines how data sources are connected with each other and you
can create interesting data visualizations on multiple data sources.
With the modeling feature, you can build custom calculations on the existing tables and these
columns can be directly presented into Power BI visualizations. This allows businesses to define
new metrics and to perform custom calculations for those metrics.

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In the above image, you can see a common data model, which shows a relationship between
two tables. Both tables are joined using a column name “Id”.
Similarly, in Power BI, you set the relationship between two objects. To set the relationship, you
have to drag a line between the common columns. You can also view the “Relationship” in a
data model in Power BI.
To create data model in Power BI, you need to add all data sources in Power BI new report
option. To add a data source, go to the Get data option. Then, select the data source you want
to connect and click the Connect button.

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Once you add a data source, it is presented on the right side bar. In the following image, we
have used 2 xls file to import data - Customer and Product.

In Power BI on the left side of the screen, you have the following three tabs −

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• Report
• Data
• Relationships

When you navigate to the Report tab, you can see a dashboard and a chart selected for data
visualization. You can select different chart types as per your need. In our example, we have
selected a Table type from available Visualizations.

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When you go to the Data tab, you can see all the data as per the defined Relationship from the
data sources.

In the Relationship tab, you can see the relationship between data sources. When you add
multiple data sources to Power BI visualization, the tool automatically tries to detect the
relationship between the columns. When you navigate to the Relationship tab, you can view the
relationship. You can also create a Relationship between the columns using Create Relations hips
option.

You can also add and remove relationships in data visualization. To remove a relationship, you
have to right-click and select the “Delete” option. To create a new “Relationship”, you just need
to drag and drop the fields that you want to link between the data sources.

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You can also use the Relationship view to hide a particular column in the report. To hide a
column, right-click on the column name and select the “Hide in report view” option.

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4.7.2 Creating Calculated Columns

You can create calculated columns in Power BI by combining two or more elements of the
existing data. You can also apply calculation on an existing column to define a new metric or
combine two columns to create one new column.
You can even create a calculated column to establish a relationship between the tables and it
can also be used to setup a relationship between two tables.
To create a new calculated column, navigate to Data View tab on the left side of the screen and
then click Modeling.

When you navigate to the Modeling tab, you can see a New Column option at the top of the
screen. This also opens the formula bar, where you can enter DAX formula to perform
calculation. DAX- Data Analysis Expression is a powerful language also used in Excel to perform
calculations. You can also rename the column by changing the Column text in the formula bar.

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In the following example, let us create a new column: Product Code (Product_C), which is
derived from the last three characters of Prod_Id column. Then, write the following formula –
Product_C = RIGHT( Sheet1[Prod_Id],3)

A long list of formulas is also provided that you can use for creating calculated columns. You
have to enter the first character of formula to be used in calculations as shown in the following
screenshot.

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4.7.3 Creating Calculated Tables

You can also create a new calculated table in data modeling in Power BI. To create a new table,
navigate to the Data View tab on the left side of the screen, and then go to the Modeling option
at the top of the screen.

DAX expression is used to create the new table. You have to enter the name of a new table on
the left side of the equal sign and DAX formula to perform the calculation to form that table on
the right. When the calculation is complete, the new table appears in the Fields pane in your
model.
In the following example, let us define a new table - Table_CustC that returns a one column
table containing unique values in a column in another table.

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A new table is added under the “Fields” section in Power BI screen as shown in the following
screenshot. Once the calculated column and calculated tables are created as per your
requirement, you can use the fields in the Report tab in Power BI.
To add these objects, you have to select a checkbox and a relationship is automatically detected
if possible. If not, then you can drag the columns that you want to connect.

To view the report, you navigate to the Report tab and you can see both “Calculated columns”
and fields from the new “Calculated table” in the report view.

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4.7.4 Managing Time-Based Data

Power BI allows to drill through time-based data by default. When you add a date field in your
analysis and enable drill on your data visualization, it takes you to the next level of time -based
data.
Let us consider we have added Time-based table in Power BI visualization. We have added
Revenue and Year column in our report.

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We can enable the drill feature in visualizations using the option at the top. Once we enable the
drill feature and click the bars or lines in the chart, it drills down to the next level of time
hierarchy. Example: Years → Quarters → Months.
We can also use Go to the next level in the hierarchy option to perform a Drill.

4.8 Dashboard Options

4.8.1 Power BI Dashboard
A Power BI dashboard uses visualizations to tell a story in a single page. The visualizations you
see on the dashboard are called tiles and are pinned to the dashboard by report designers.
The visualizations on a dashboard come from reports and each report is based on one dataset.
In fact, one way to think of a dashboard is as an entryway into the underlying reports and
datasets. Selecting a visualization takes you to the report that was used to create it.

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Power BI Dashboards are a wonderful monitoring tool allowing us to look for answers, and to see
all the most-important metrics at a glance. The visualizations on a dashboard may come from
one underlying dataset or many, and from one underlying report or many.

A dashboard can combine on-premises and cloud data, providing a consolidated view regardless
of where the data lives and where the data come from.
A dashboard isn't just a pretty picture; it's interactive and the tiles update as the underlying
data changes.

4.8.2 Creating Dashboards

In Power BI, you can create a dashboard from Power BI desktop and publish it on Power BI
services, you can also create a dashboard by pinning visualizations from BI reports that are
published using Power BI desktop. All the visualizations that are created using Power BI service
are also available for pinning to create dashboards.
In Power BI, if you want to pin a visual, open the BI report on the Power BI service. At the top of
the visual, select the pin icon.

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When you use the Pin option as shown as shown in the above screenshot, a ne w dialog box
appears as shown in the following screenshot. It asks you to create a new dashboard or select an
existing dashboard to put the visual from the dropdown list. If you don’t have an existing
dashboard, then this option is greyed out.

Once you click the Pin button, you will get a confirmation that your visualization is “Pinned” to
the dashboard. You can click My Workspace and check the dashboard.
Once your dashboard is created, you can use different options to configure the dashboard.

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4.8.3 Working with Power BI Dashboard

4.8.3.1 Interact with filters/slicers
Filters/slicers allow you to narrow the data that is visualized on a page, multiple filters can be
selected to narrow down the dataset. To remove a filter, deselect all filtered values.

Example: All facility types’ data are initially shown at the dashboard. Selecting Collection Centers
causes the visualizations to show only data for that type.

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4.8.3.2 Cross-highlight the related visualizations

The visualizations on the data dashboard are "connected" to each other. What this means is
that if you select one or more dynamic values in one visualization, all other visualizations will
change based on that selection.

Example: Clicking Non Operational in the chart causes the dashboard to show all results by Non
Operational facilities

4.8.3.3 Hover over a visual to see details

On the data dashboard page, once you move your cursor over any visual element it allows you
to automatically view detailed data.

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4.8.3.4 View chart data as a table

Focus mode lets you expand (pop out) a visual or tile to see more detail. Sometimes a dashboard
might seem a little crowded and you want to zoom in on only one visual.

While in focus mode, you can interact with any filters that were applied when this visual was
created.

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4.8.3.5 Sort data in a visualization

On a data slice, Select the ellipses (...) to open the options menu, then click Sort by. Click again
to switch between ascending and descending.

4.8.3.6 Export the data presented in a visual

Select the ellipses (...) to open the options menu, then click Export data. The resulting .xlsx file
will contain all the data presented in a visual, and will respect any filters applied to the data.

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4.9 Visualization Options

4.9.1 Creating Simple Visualizations
Visualizations are used to effectively present your data and are the basic building blocks of any
Business Intelligence tool. Power BI contains various default data visualization components that
include simple bar charts to pie charts to maps, and also complex models such as waterfalls,
funnels, gauges, and many other components.

In Power BI, you can create visualization in two ways. First is by adding from the right side pane
to Report Canvas. By default, it is the table type visualization, which is selected in Power BI.
Another way is to drag the fields from right side bar to the axis and value axis under Visualization.
You can add multiple fields to each axis as per the requirement.

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In Power BI, it is also possible to move your visualization on the reporting canvas by clicking and
then dragging it. You can also switch between different type of charts and visualizations from the
Visualization pane. Power BI attempts to convert your selected fields to the new visual type as
closely as possible.

4.9.2 Creating Map Visualizations

In Power BI, we have two types of map visualization - bubble maps and shape maps. If you want
to create a bubble map, select the map option from the visualization pane.

To use a bubble map, drag the map from Visualizations to the Report Canvas. To display values,
you have to add any location object to the axis.

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In the value fields, you can see that it accepts values axis such as City and State and or you can
also add longitude and latitude values. To change the bubble size, you need to add a field to the
value axis.
You can also use a filled map in data visualization, just by dragging the filled map to the Report
Canvas.

Note − If you see a warning symbol on top of your map visualization, it means that you need to
add more locations to your map chart.
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4.9.3 Using Combination Charts

In data visualization, it is also required to plot multiple measures in a single chart. Power BI
supports various combination chart types to plot measure values. Let us say you want to plot
revenue and unit_solds in one chart. Combination charts are the most suitable option for these
kind of requirement.
One of the most common Combination chart in Power BI is Line and Stacked column charts. Let
us say we have a revenue field and we have added a new data source that contains customer-
wise unit quantity and we want to plot this in our visualization.

Once you add a data source, it will be added to the list of fields on the right side. You can add
units to the column axis as shown in the following screenshot.

You have other type of combine chart that you can use in Power BI - Line and Clustered Column.

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4.9.4 Using Tables

In Power BI, when you add a dataset to your visualization, it adds a table chart to the Report
canvas. You can drag the fields that you want to add to the report. You can also select the
checkbox in front of each field to add those to the Report area.
With the numerical values in a table, you can see a sum of values at the bottom.

You can also perform a sort in the table using an arrow key at the top of the column. To perform
ascending/descending sort, just click the arrow mark, and the values in the column will be sorted.

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The order of the columns in a table is determined by the order in the value bucket on the right
side. If you want to change the order, you can delete any column and add the other one.

You can also undo summarize or apply different aggregate function on numerical values in the
table. To change the aggregation type, click the arrow in the value bucket in front of the measure
and you will see a list of formulas that can be used.

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Another table type in Power BI is the matrix table that provides a lot of features such as auto
sizing, column tables, and setting colors, etc.

4.9.5 Modify Colors in Charts

In Power BI, you can also modify the colors in the chart. When you select any visualization, it
has an option to change the color. Following options are available under the Format tab −

• Legend
• Data Colors
• Detail Label
• Title
• Background
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• Lock Aspect
• Border
• General
To open these options, go to the Format tab as shown in the following screenshot. Once you
click, you can see all the options available.

When you expand the Legend field, you have an option where you want to display the legend.
You can select −

• Position
• Title
• Legend Name
• Color
• Text Size
• Font Family

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Similarly, you have data colors. In case, you want to change the color of any data field, you can
use this option. It shows all objects and their corresponding colors in the chart.

You also have Analytics feature in the tool, where you can draw lines as per requirement in data
visualization. You have the following line types in data visualization −

• Constant Line
• Min Line
• Max Line

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• Average Line
• Median Line
• Percentile Line

You can opt for a dashed, dotted, or a solid line. You can select Transparency level, color, and
position of the line. You can also switch on/off data label for this line.

4.9.6 Adding Shapes, Images and Text box

Sometimes it is required that you need to add static text, images, or shapes to your visualization.
In case you want to add header/footer or any static signatures, messages to data visualization
this option can be used.
You can also add URLs in the text box and Power BI uses those link to make it live.
To add shapes, images and text box, navigate to the Home tab and at the top you will find an
option to add images.

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You can insert different shapes in data visualization. To see the available shapes, click the arrow
next to the Shapes button.

When you click on the text box, it adds a text box in your Report canvas. You can enter any text
in the text box and use the rich text editor to make formatting changes.

Similarly, images can be added to data visualization to add logos or other images to data
visualization. When you click the Image option, it asks for a path to pass the image file.
You can add shapes by selecting any shape from the dropdown list. You can also resize it using
different options.

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4.9.7 Styling Reports

In Power BI, you have flexible options to adjust the page layout and formatting such as
orientation and page size of your report. Navigate to Page View menu from the Home tab an d
the following options are provided.

• Fit to Page
• Fit to Width
• Actual Size

By default, the page size in a report is 16:9; however, it is also possible to change the page size
of the report. To change the page size, navigate to the Visualization pane and select Paint brush.

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Note − To change page size, no visualization should be added to the Report canvas. You have
the following options available under Page layout −

• Page Information
• Page Size
• Page Background
Under Page Information, you have Name and Q&A.
Under Page Size, you can select from the following options −

• Type
• Width
• Height

Under Page Background, you can select from the following options:

• Color
• Transparency
• Add Image

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4.9.8 Duplicating Reports

In some scenarios, you may want to use the same layout and visuals for different pages. Power
BI provides an option to create a copy of the page. When you use Duplicate Page option, a new
page is added with similar layout and visuals.
To duplicate a page, right-click the Page and select Duplicate Page option. This will create a copy
of the same page with the name - Duplicate of Page1.

Now, if you want to rename an existing page or delete a page, you can use other options as shown
in the above screenshot.

4.10 Excel Integration

4.10.1 Using Excel Data
Using Power BI, you can also import Excel workbook file from the local drive into Power BI. To
import data from the excel sheet, you have to ensure that each column has a proper name. To
import an Excel file in Power BI, navigate to Get Data → Files → Local Files.

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4.10.2 Importing xls Files

In Power BI Service, navigate to My Workspace → File → Local File.

Also note that it is not necessary your Excel file should only be saved on the Local Drive. You can
also import an Excel workbook from OneDrive or even from SharePoint.
Once the dataset is imported, you are ready to create the reports in Power BI. Imported dataset
is available under “DATASETS” option in Power BI menu.

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Double-click Datasets. Then, navigate to the Explore tab. This will open a new Report Canvas.
All the fields from your table and corresponding columns are available under the Fields option
on the right side of the screen.

To create a report, select any visualization and add the fields from the table to visualization.

4.11 Sharing Power BI Dashboards

4.11.1 Using Power BI Desktop for Report Sharing
Once BI reports are created in Power BI desktop, you can also share the reports with other
business users. All BI reports, dashboards, and data can be shared with other colleagues and
business users in the organization.
You can share reports using the following methods −
• Publish reports using Power BI Service
• Content Packs combine dashboard, report, and datasets obtained in BI desktop tool
• Create Groups and assign specific rights to different users for report sharing
• Use Power BI mobile apps to access share dashboards and reports
Let us see how to publish a BI report using Power BI desktop tool.
Once the report is created, navigate to the Publish button on the Home tab in Power BI desktop.

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Once you select the Publish service, your visuals, custom measures and reports are all packaged
and published to Power BI service. Power BI files have an extension .pbix files. When the upload
is in process, you get a dialog box that Publishing is in process.

Once the upload is complete, you will get a confirmation message announcing the “Success”. You
can also view Quick Insights and open the shared report from the dialog box.

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4.11.2 Printing Power BI Dashboards

It is also required sometimes to take printouts of your reports and dashboards. With Power BI,
you can take prints of your BI reports and dashboards. To take a Printout of the report, navigate
to Power BI service and click the “…” option.

It will open a Print dialog box. You can select the Printer on which you want to take the printout
of the report. You can also select different Print options such as Portrait/Landscape, Margins,
Header or Scale.

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4.11.3 Export Options

In Power BI, you can also use different Export options to export data from BI report. To use the
export option, navigate to Power BI service and select the BI report you want to export.

When you click the Export to option, it generates a CSV file. In Power BI, you can also
export/view a report directly by navigating to File → Print option.

4.11.4 Publishing Report to Web

In Power BI, it is also possible to publish a BI report to web or share it via email. To publish a
report to the web, you have to navigate to Power BI service → My Workspace.

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Once you open the report that you want to publish, navigate to the File tab → Publish to Web.
Once you select this option, it opens a new dialog that creates an embed code for this report to
include in the website or email.
Option says: Get a link or embed code that you can include on a public website. You may use
publish to web functionality to share content on a publicly available website. You may not use
this functionality to share content internally, which includes through your email, your internal
network, or intranet site. Publish a live version that will remain synchronized with the source
report in Power BI. Any changes you make to the report will immediately be reflected in the
published public version.

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When you select - Create Embed code, Power BI prompts that you want to share your data with
everyone on the internet.
The following message is displayed: You are about to create an embed code for this report. Once
published, anyone on the Internet will be able to access the report and the data it contains, and
Microsoft may display the report on a public website or a public gallery.
Before publishing this report, ensure you have the right to share the data and visualizations
publicly. Do not publish confidential or proprietary information, or an individual's personal data.
If in doubt, check your organization's policies before publishing.
Note − You can publish the report as a web page and any user with the link can view it. The link
can be sent via email or it can be used as an iframe in a web page.

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4.11.5 Deleting an Embed Code

Let us say, you want to delete an embed code. Navigate to the Gear icon at the top of the screen
as shown in the following screenshot. Then go to Manage Embed codes.

To remove an embed code click the ellipsis mark (…) in front of the report name and select the
Delete option.
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When you click the Delete option, it will ask you if you want to delete publish to web code. Once
you are sure, click Delete.

4.11.6Using Content Pack

In Power BI, you can also share dashboard, report, and dataset as a package with you r
colleagues. To create a content pack, click the Gear box icon in Power BI workspace as shown in
the following screenshot.

Once you select Create content pack, you will be prompted with a new dialog box. You can
choose if you want to distribute this content pack with Specific Groups or My Entire
Organization.

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If you want to share this with specific people, you have to enter email addresses. You can also
add a Title and description of the content pack as shown in the following screenshot.

At the bottom of the page, you have an option to select the components you want to publish.
You can select from the following −

• Dashboards
• Reports
• Datasets

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4.11.7 Editing Content Pack

When a content pack is created, you can also go back and edit the shared objects of the content
pack. Whenever you update any dashboard, BI report, you are prompted if you want to update
the shared content.
Click the Gear box icon under My Workspace → View Content Pack.

If you see a small icon in front of the name of the content pack, it shows that the content pack
is updated. When you select the edit button, you will reach the home screen, where you can
create a new content pack.

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Power BI accepts all the changes you make to the content pack and publishes the updated
content pack to the content pack gallery.

4.12 DAX Basics in Power BI

4.12.1 DAX Introduction
DAX (Data Analysis Expressions) is a formula expression language and can be used in different
BI and visualization tools. DAX is also known as function language, where the full code is kept
inside a function. DAX programming formula contains two data types: Numeric and Other.
Numeric includes - integers, currency and decimals, while Other includes: string and binary
object.
Following is an example of DAX formula, which uses a function to calculate a column in a table.

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DAX function can also include other functions, conditional statements, and value references.

4.12.2 DAX Functions

In Power BI, you can use different function types to analyze data, and create new columns and
measures. It includes functions from different categories such as −

• Aggregate
• Text
• Date
• Logical
• Counting
• Information
Power BI provides an easy way to see the list of all functions. When you start typing your
function in the formula bar, you can see the list of all functions starting with that alphabet.

Aggregate Functions
DAX has a number of aggregate functions.

• MIN
• MAX
• Average
• SUM
• SUMX
Counting Functions
Other counting functions in DAX include −

• DISTINCTCOUNT
• COUNT
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• COUNTA
• COUNTROWS
• COUNTBLANK
Logical Functions

Following are the collection of Logical functions −

• AND
• OR
• NOT
• IF
• IFERROR
TEXT Functions

• REPLACE
• SEARCH
• UPPER
• FIXED
• CONCATENATE
DATE Functions

• DATE
• HOUR
• WEEKDAY
• NOW
• EOMONTH
INFORMATION Functions

• ISBLANK
• ISNUMBER
• ISTEXT
• ISNONTEXT
• ISERROR
DAX Calculation Types
In Power BI, you can create two primary calculations using DAX −

• Calculated columns
• Calculated measures
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When you navigate to the Modeling tab, you can see a New Column option at the top of the
screen. This also opens the formula bar where you can enter DAX formula to perform the
calculation. DAX - Data Analysis Expression is a powerful language used in Excel to perform
calculations. You can also rename the column by changing the Column text in the formula bar.

In the following example, we have created a new column: Product Code (Product_C), which is
derived from the last 3 characters of Prod_Id column. Following is the formula −
Product_C = RIGHT( Sheet1[Prod_Id],3)
To create a calculated measure, navigate to New Measure tab under Modeling. This will add a
new object under the Fields tab with the name Measure.

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You can write DAX formula to calculate the value of the new measure, as we did for the new
calculated column.

4.13 Administration Role

Power BI administration role is assigned to those who require admin privilege on BI Admin
portal, without granting Office 365 access.
To provide admin access, navigate to Office 365 Admin Center, select Users and then Active
Users.
Navigate to the Roles tab and click the Edit option.

Navigate to the Customized Administrator tab and select Power BI Service Administrator.

4.14 Purchasing
Power BI is a newly designed tool from Microsoft, which consists of the following components
−

• Power BI Desktop
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• Power BI Service
• Connector Gateway
Power BI desktop is a free tool that can be installed from the Microsoft site without any
additional cost.
https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/

This is the link to directly download Power BI files −

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=45331

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Power BI Pro has 60-days free trial and then it can be purchased for 9.99$/user/month. Power
BI Premium is as per the capacity pricing per node/month.
Power BI also provides on-premise report server, which can be used for publishing a report with
the flexibility to move to the cloud environment later.
https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/report-server/

A trial version is also available for Power BI Pro Report Server and as per the company website
- Power BI Report Server provides access to data and insights, and the enterprise reporting
capabilities of SQL Server Reporting Services in a modern, on-premises solution.
It assists in visually exploring data and quickly discovering patterns to make better, faster
decisions. At the same time, it generates precisely formatted reports based on the business
needs. You’ll also be able to confidently scale to thousands of users as Power BI Report Server
is based on a proven, enterprise-grade platform.

4.15 REST API

In Power BI, it is also possible to push data in real time using REST APIs. With Power BI REST API,
you can create data sets, dashboards, add and delete rows and get groups.
A Power BI REST API can be created using any of the following technologies −

• .NET
• JQuery
• Ruby
To authenticate Power BI, you need to get an Azure Active Directory token and this can allow
your app to access Power BI dashboards.
Following is the C# code to get an authorization code from Azure AD in Power BI service.

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4.16 Security
Azure Active Directory (AAD) authentication is used in Power BI when a user authenticates using
Power BI service. Power BI login credentials can be an email account used by users to set up
their BI account and is an effective username.
Power BI provides security level used by Azure cloud that includes the following level of security
−

• Multitenant Environment Security

• Networking Security
• AAD based Security
For data storage, there are two different repositories used in Power BI −

• Azure BLOB
• Azure SQL Database

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Azure BLOB storage is used for data uploaded by users and Azure SQL database is used to store
system data. Power BI security is mostly based on data and network security features available
in Azure cloud and authentication is also based on Azure AD.

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