Top 10 Power BI Features to Enhance Efficiency

Introduction

• Power BI has numerous features, making it difficult to know everything available.
• Many features can significantly improve efficiency.
• This presentation outlines the top 10 features.

Feature 1: Search Box for Slicers

• Purpose: Helps in finding items quickly in long slicer lists.

• How to Enable:

  • Select a slicer, go to more options, and click on 'search'.
  • Shortcut: Toggle search box on/off using Ctrl + F.

• Supports:

  • Drop-down slicers and new slicers also have search functionality.

Feature 2: Wild Card Characters for Filtering

• Purpose: Allows flexible searches in slicers and filter panes.
• Example: Searching for an employee with a known name pattern using wildcard symbols (e.g., * for any characters).
  • Input: M*B to find names starting with "M" and including "B".

Feature 3: Sorting in Table and Matrix Visuals

• Sorting: Click on column headers or use three dots to access sort options.
• Multiple Sorting: Hold Shift while clicking on additional column headers to sort by multiple fields (e.g., Year -> Month).

Feature 4: Sorting by Non-Displayed Fields

• Purpose: Enables sorting by fields not currently displayed in the visual.
• How to Achieve:
  • Create a measure and add it to the tooltip; then sort by this measure.

Feature 5: Navigating Reports

• Ease of Navigation: Right-click on page arrows for a pop-up menu to select the desired page instead of scrolling through pages.

Feature 6: DAX Shortcuts

• Useful Shortcuts:
  • Ctrl + Shift + L: Select all instances of a term for replacement.
  • Ctrl + /: Comment/uncomment selected lines.

Feature 7: Organizing Measures with Tables and Folders

• Creating Measure Tables:
  • Create an empty table and drag measures into it to organize them.
• Creating Folders:
  • Select a measure, access properties, and define display folders using backslashes for subfolders.

Feature 8: Column from Examples in Power Query

• Purpose: Quickly create columns based on example data.
• How to Use:
  • Select the column, add a new column from examples, and provide a few samples to generate the formula.

Feature 9: Overview of M Language Functions

• How to Access:
  • Create a new blank query, type = #shared, convert records into a table for function exploration.

Feature 10: Copying Queries Between Workbooks

• Purpose: Easily copy queries from one Power BI project to another or even to Excel Power Query.
• How to Copy: Right-click on the query and select 'Copy', then paste it into the new workspace.

Conclusion

• These overlooked features can drastically enhance your Power BI experience.
• Encourage viewers to share additional features they find helpful.