Data Goblins Blog — DATA GOBLINS

All tagged Power BI

Mar 3

Mar 3 Snek! The First Video Game for Tabular Editor 3.

Feb 28 “It Depends” - Power BI Best Practices & Optimizations

Data Modelling, Data Visualization, Getting/Transforming Data

In this article, we look at the difference between best practices and optimizations. We also define a four-step method to tackle complex issues with dataset/report performance and design.

Feb 14

Feb 14 Check & Query Data from Tabular Editor

Kurt Buhler

Data Modelling

In this article we look at four different ways to query data from within Tabular Editor. I also share a C# script to query or test selected columns and/or measures.

Feb 7

Feb 7 Smart Buttons & Power BI Reporting

Kurt Buhler

Jan 5 Run Tabular Editor Macros with Keyboard Shortcuts & Toolbar Buttons

Kurt Buhler

Data Modelling

We look at how Tabular Editor shortcuts can revolutionize your productivity, linking them to macros, common actions and more.

Jan 5

Jan 5 Count Measures in Power BI Datasets with Tabular Editor

Kurt Buhler

Data Modelling

This short article explains how to quickly count measures (or any model object) in Tabular Editor. A C# script is provided to count all model objects as a quick pop-up.

Dec 27

Dec 27 Learn Power BI with Sample Datasets: Part 2 - Personal Data Projects

Kurt Buhler

Data Modelling, Data Visualization

In this post, we examine how personal data can be used in personal projects to help us learn Power BI.

Dec 20

Dec 20 Learn Power BI with Sample Datasets: Part 1 - Contoso Data Generator

Kurt Buhler

Data Modelling, Data Visualization

In this post, we look at how to create our own SQL Database and fill it with data from the Contoso Data Generator, so we can get some hands-on Power BI experience.

Sep 6

Sep 6 Exploring App Audiences in Power BI

Kurt Buhler

In this article, we explore Power BI App Audiences and why they are such a powerful feature for managing and using content in Power BI Apps.

Jul 26

Jul 26 Training Power BI End-Users with reporTee

Kurt Buhler

Governance/Administration, Data Culture & Adoption

Training users is important in every Power BI project. It’s particularly important when implementing Power BI, or if users are not familiar with Power BI reports. However, creating good training material is time-consuming, and difficult. In this article, I introduce reporTee, a licensed, out-of-the-box training tool to get users oriented in Power BI reports.

Jul 19

Jul 19 “We need this report in Power BI”

Kurt Buhler

Data Culture & Adoption, Data Visualization

In this article, I discuss 3 common approaches to collecting reporting requirements, arguing in favor of the third approach - working iteratively & collaboratively with business users to make the report.

Jul 5

Jul 5 Disable Auto-scaling in Power BI Visuals

Kurt Buhler

Data Visualization

‘Responsive Visuals’ is a lesser-known feature that in general helps users make better graphs without fawning over visual settings & parameters. However, disabling it might be necessary at times when you are trying to achieve a specific result that Power BI default visuals won’t seem to permit.

Jun 28

Jun 28 Visualize Power BI Dependencies with Tabular Editor and Mermaid

Kurt Buhler

Data Modelling, Data Visualization

I share a method in Tabular Editor to generate mermaid flowchart syntax to visualize model object dependencies. This code can be directly copied into an Azure DevOps wiki to automate documentation, or into mermaid.live to get an image of the resulting flowchart.

Jun 21

Jun 21 Dimensions of Self-Service in Power BI: Part 2 - The Dimensions of Learning

Kurt Buhler

Data Culture & Adoption

In this post, I write about the learning paths users take when using self-service solutions in Power BI. Specifically, I illustrate a way to conceptualize these learning paths, making it easier to segment users and create meaningful training programs.

Jun 14

Jun 14 Dimensions of Self-Service in Power BI: Part 1

Kurt Buhler

Data Culture & Adoption, Governance/Administration

In this post, I write about the options for self-service tooling in Power BI. Which tools to use for which cases, by whom & why? I've found it's helpful to visualize the different dimensions of this, to know the options & understand user skill/solution paths.

Jun 7

Jun 7 The value Power BI could bring to Academic Research

Kurt Buhler

Data Culture & Adoption

I believe that Power BI - if successfully adopted & supported in a research department - has the potential to deliver tremendous value. In this article, I try to explain how, and why this benefits researchers & society as a whole.

May 31

May 31 Sci to BI - Similarities between Science & Business Intelligence

Kurt Buhler

May 17 Monitoring Power BI using REST APIs from Python

Kurt Buhler

Governance/Administration

In this post I explain how to call the Power BI REST APIs from Python. You can do this either with a dedicated user or a Service Principal registered from the Azure Portal. I’ll walk through the necessary steps to get this working.

May 10

May 10 Fix Visuals or Replace Measures in Power BI Reports using pbi-tools

Kurt Buhler

Data Visualization

It’s frustrating that in Power BI re-naming measures or moving them to another table will break any visuals using them in reports. Likewise, Power BI does not have a feature to hot-swap measures in visuals, to retain formatting or save time. Here I will show you an easy way to replace multiple measures in a Power BI report, including those used in “broken” visuals. Fix all broken visuals in Power BI reports using this method!

May 9

May 9 Get Power BI Dataset Refresh History using Python

Kurt Buhler

Governance/Administration

In this post I explain how to get dataset refresh history from Power BI using Python. For this method, you need to be a tenant Admin, and it is limited to only 7 days or 60 refreshes, per dataset. For more history, you need another API or method.