Microsoft Power BI - The Practical Guide

Explore Power BI Desktop basics by reviewing the desktop workflow, interface, and organization of common functions, then create an empty project with recommended settings and adjust convenience features.

Learn the typical Power BI Desktop workflow—connect to sources, clean and transform data in the query editor (ETL), load into the data model, and build in-memory, multi-page reports.

Create an empty Power BI desktop template and adjust current file options to disable certain convenience features, then set locale to English United States for consistency.

Explore the Power BI Desktop Query Editor for data preparation and cleansing, learn to connect to various sources, edit rows and columns, apply transformations, format columns, and handle errors.

Explore data preparation and cleaning in Power BI Desktop, including query editor, removing duplicates, fixing missing values, and ensuring consistent data types before loading into the data model.

Explore data preparation in Power BI Desktop by converting the first row into headers, removing top rows, and applying various row operations to shape clean, query-ready tables.

Apply filters in Power BI desktop using per-column menus to sort, filter by country, and refine results with search. Note that filtering hides rows and cautious searches prevent data loss.

Analyze column quality and distribution, remove empty rows, and explore column profile to cleanse data in Power BI. Learn to manage filters and preview limits while ensuring 100% valid data.

Learn to use choose columns and remove columns in Power BI desktop to keep only relevant data, then rename columns for consistent, analysis-ready data.

Explore the transpose feature in Power BI by transforming unstructured data, turning rows into columns, and reshaping headers to create a structured table for analysis.

Explore date formatting in Power BI Desktop by using the From Date & Time and Using Locale features to interpret dates as US or German styles.

Learn how to manage data formats in Power BI Desktop by turning off type detection, then assign data types (text, whole numbers, decimal numbers) and apply rounding for consistent figures.

Unpivot gendered population data in Power BI by converting male and female columns into gender and population fields, producing a tidy dataset for analysis and visualization.

Fix sorting in Power BI using filter options and the home ribbon. Restore the initial order when age group text blocks numerical sorting, including ascending sorts.

Organize your Power BI project by creating a source group, dragging and dropping queries into it, then rearrange column order with the transform ribbon and undo as needed.

Master the query editor basics: connect to CSV and Excel sources, perform row and column operations, use filters, append tables, and create a clean, combined table in Power BI Desktop.

Explore how to transform raw data into a structured data model in Power BI, covering data warehouse concepts, multidimensional schemas, and separating product, customer, and sales data.

Transform a single population table into a star schema in Power BI by building a fact population table and dim region, dim age, and dim gender for year and counts.

Explore references vs duplicates in Power BI Power Query, showing how references share a source and update with the latest state, while duplicates create independent copies with full applied steps.

Use the Enter Data feature to create a new table, remove duplicates from the region code, and copy data from existing tables to map codes to region names.

Merge two tables in Power BI by matching the cust-id column to combine columns from sales and customers. Ensure the equal columns have the same name and data type.

Merge the codes table with region names on region code. Merge the codes table with the dim region table on country id to include country name and region name.

Explore how outer, inner, and anti joins work in Power BI Desktop, including left, right, full outer joins and left/right anti-joins, with practical ID-based examples.

Construct the dim age table by restoring the age group range, creating a max column and a conditional category, then add a unique age group ID with Power BI.

Learn to derive maximum values per age group in Power BI by duplicating a column, removing duplicates, and extracting after the dash delimiter to get the max.

Create a dim-gender table in Power BI by duplicating the population table, keeping only gender, removing duplicates, and adding an index as gender-id for two rows and two columns.

Explore the Power BI star schema by building the fact-population table containing year and population count, linked to dimension tables via country-id, age-id, and gender-id, enabling year-by-age visuals.

Create the fact population as the central fact table for the star schema, duplicating the base query and merging country, age, and gender IDs from the dim tables.

Enable load to optimize data modeling in Power BI. Load only the combined query into the data model and disable others to improve efficiency and loading time for star schema.

Move from the query editor to the data model in Power BI Desktop to analyze prepared data in the data and model views. Explore relationships between fact and dim tables and apply calculations in the data model or query editor for later visuals.

Create a stacked column chart in Power BI using the FACT-population and DIM-age tables. Then establish a relationship by linking age-id, and manage relationships to explore cardinality and cross-filter direction.

Explore cardinality and relationship types in Power BI, including one-to-many, many-to-one, many-to-many, and one-to-one, and learn about active properties and cross-filter direction.

Explore one to many and many to one relationships using the companies and employees tables. See how primary keys in companies relate to foreign keys in employees.

Master one-to-one relationships in Power BI by linking unique employee IDs to accounts, using primary and foreign keys, and distinguishing them from one-to-many connections.

Fix a common Power BI Desktop column order bug by toggling the cars sold table's load in the Query Editor, then re-enabling load to preserve the original column order.

Explore how active properties let you activate or deactivate relationships without removing them, and observe how visuals update when a relationship is active versus inactive in Power BI.

Explore the M language for data preparation in the query editor and transition to DAX for analytical calculations within the data model of Power BI desktop, enabling data insights.

Create a custom column in the Power BI Desktop query editor using the M language to combine age group and age category, guided by the formula bar and advanced editor.

Create a calculated column in Power BI with DAX, using concatenate to join age-group and age-category from the DIM-age table, exploring both DAX and M language.

Use the M-language in the query editor to cleanse and transform data before loading to the data model, and apply DAX for insights in visuals.

Master the DAX basics: syntax, data types, operators, and core functions. Use the DAX reference and official docs to apply these concepts in Power BI desktop.

Explore the core dax syntax by building a formula with a name, an equals sign, a sum function, and a table reference with a column reference in square brackets.

Discover DAX data types in tables and columns—text, numbers, booleans, date and time, currencies, and blanks—and use is number to inspect data with formatting and operators.

Explore DAX core functions across text, information, logical, mathematical, statistical, filter, and calendar and date and time functions with practical examples like concatenate, isnumber, if, round, and average on Fact-Pop.

Learn to use dot notation in dax to access date parts from a calendar table, enable time intelligence, and create a new column with quarter values.

Explore DAX basics by adding and dividing column values to compute total revenue and profit margin, and learn to handle divide by zero with the DIV function.

Explore the if function in Power BI DAX to classify profit margins as good day, average day, or bad day, using three arguments and nested conditions.

Master measures in Power BI by using the sum function on the population column, and compare measures with calculated columns for aggregated visuals such as card visuals.

Create a measure with calculate and filter to compute the female population, referencing the gender and population tables, and combine multiple year filters using the and operator.

Learn to use calculate with filter or direct filtering to sum the female population from the fact population table, and compare approaches for 2020 in Power BI.

Create and use measures in measures in Power BI by dividing female-population by total-population, applying a 2020 year filter with calculate and filter, and formatting as a percentage.

Learn how to change a measure's home table in Power BI, using correct table and column references to avoid errors. Adjust references when relocating measures between FACT-population and other tables.

Understand how a data model uses relationships to connect tables in a star schema. Use DAX to create calculated columns and measures for deeper visuals in Power BI Desktop.

Explore how to create beautiful visuals and reports, format charts, and apply report themes to customize your Power BI reports, using filters, hierarchies, and interactions to make them dynamic.

Explore the Power BI report view and core visual elements, including access, values, legend, and tooltips, to build multi-visual reports from prepared data.

Discover how tool tips enrich Power BI visuals by displaying region and population details, and compare measures built with calculate versus filter functions to display year-specific female population.

Explore how interactions connect visuals in Power BI, using edit interactions to switch between highlight and filter, and learn how selections on one chart affect the other.

Learn to customize chart colors in Power BI by adjusting line and column colors, applying hex or RGB values, and using conditional formatting with gradients to reflect data like population.

Format the entire report page in Power BI, adjusting the canvas layout, alignment, and page information to optimize where visuals are positioned.

Learn how to format the canvas background and wallpaper in Microsoft Power BI, adjusting color, transparency, and images, with reset-to-default options.

Navigate the Power BI format menus to style a selected visual or entire report page, adjusting size, position, title, background, and effects, while using reset and collapse options.

Learn to customize Power BI visuals by configuring the legend, axis options (range, type), grid lines, font and color, and zoom, then apply formats across visuals with the format painter.

Learn to create and apply report themes in Power BI, customize page background and filter pane, and save or import custom themes to apply consistently across all report pages.

Understand default summarization in Power BI visuals, selecting sum, average, min, max, or count for population, and adjust sorting by region or population.

Show how to build a treemap and table on a new report page, add and sync multiple slicers, and use interactions to filter by year and region in Power BI.

Create and configure a table visual in Power BI Desktop by adding region, age category, and population, use slicers to filter data, and adjust formatting and interactions.

Learn how to sync slicers across Power BI visuals and pages, enable and manage synchronized selections via the view ribbon, and control which slicers appear on each page.

Explore creating single-value card visuals and multi-row cards in Power BI, and use year filters and slicers to control displayed data across countries.

Add a divider and place a second visual on the right. Configure the secondary y-axis to show the female population share as a percentage and adjust its range.

Learn to create a combined line and column visual in Power BI Desktop using the line and cluster column chart, with a year axis, population columns, and female share line.

Import custom visuals into Power BI Desktop via Get more visuals or from a file, signing in to download visuals not provided by Microsoft.

Apply finishing touches to a Power BI report by tailoring visuals, adjusting axis titles and legends, and applying a consistent look across charts with the format painter.

Move data from Power BI Desktop to the cloud with Power BI Pro and mobile for seamless sharing. Learn how workspaces connect Desktop, Pro, and Mobile to collaborate on projects.

Publish your Power BI Desktop project to Power BI Pro to move from a local report to cloud access, enabling collaboration with IT and sharing with marketing via mobile.

Power BI Pro is a cloud service priced around $10 per user per month, with 10 GB per user storage; course compares Pro to premium plans and shows setup options.

Navigate the Power BI Pro interface, including the left navigation pane, settings, and storage, then learn to create reports, manage datasets in your workspace, and share via apps.

Publish from Power BI Desktop to Pro or connect Pro to Desktop to upload reports and datasets to the cloud, stored in your My Workspace dashboards.

Navigate Power BI Pro to locate datasets, reports, and dashboards in My workspace, view table and field details, and follow the dataset-report-dashboard creation flow.

Explore the lineage view to quickly understand the data model behind your dataset, and switch to the list view to navigate reports and source CSV files and Excel workbooks.

Learn how Power BI Pro dashboards offer a quick overview of core visuals, and how to add and pin tiles or visuals to dashboards with customizable themes.

Explore gateways as the link between source files and Power BI Pro, detailing the personal gateway for local data and the standard gateway for server data to enable data refresh.

Learn how to install and configure the personal mode gateway for Power BI, sign in, manage data sources, and set up manual and daily scheduled refreshes.

Explore collaboration workspaces in Power BI and understand how other company-wide workspaces enable sharing of datasets, reports, and dashboards.

Discover how to use the collaboration workspace to manage data sets, reports, and dashboards, and share tailor-made content as apps that replace content packs.

Publish and unpublish apps in Power BI by configuring what to share, setting permissions for the entire organization, and delivering tailored reports and underlying datasets through an app.

Delete a collaboration workspace by going to the workspaces menu, hovering the target, opening the three-dot menu, and confirming delete workspace in workspace settings, which removes data and ends collaboration.

Explore Power BI Pro workspaces and apps, including my workspace for individuals and collaboration workspaces for teams, and learn how apps share projects with end users across browser and mobile.

Install Power BI mobile from the App Store or Google Play, sign in with your credentials, and navigate workspaces, reports, dashboards, filters, and sharing features.

Power BI Pro enables cloud collaboration and publishing from desktop to My workspace or collaboration workspaces, while Power BI Desktop handles data preparation, cleansing, and modeling, with mobile access.

Learn how to stay up-to-date with Power BI by following Microsoft's monthly updates and focusing on core changes, using the right resources to track progress.

Stay up to date with monthly Power BI updates via the official blog and community, download the latest Power BI Desktop, and explore ideas on ideas.powerbi.com.

Explore how to access and evaluate Power BI preview features through the global options menu, enabling you to test upcoming updates and stay up to date.