2016 Power BI Essentials Walkthrough

POWER BI: ESSENTIALS
Abstract
Power BI allows the everyday Excel user to become a Business Intelligence Analyst.
Create stunning reports and dashboards, poignant data visuals, and design highly
insightful DAX measures with Power BI. Microsoft's Power BI landscape allows easy
data clean-up and data modelling directly in the Power BI application, or the user has
the choice to accomplish these same tasks in Excel.
Microsoft Power BI Essentials Training Guide
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Course Manual Version 1.0
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Contents
About this Training Course .......................................................................................................... vii
Course Description ...................................................................................................................... vii
How to Use this Manual .............................................................................................................. vii
Course Outline ............................................................................................................................ viii
Day 1: Getting Started with Power BI....................................................................................... 10
Learning Objectives ................................................................................................................... 10
What is Excel Power BI? ............................................................................................................. 10
Programs and Files You Will Need: ........................................................................................... 10
How to Install Power BI Desktop? ...................................................................................... 11
Download Power BI Exercise Files ..................................................................................... 12
What’s New in Excel 2016? .................................................................................................... 12
Data Analysis Tools & Terminology Changes .................................................................. 12
Built-In Apps .......................................................................................................................... 13
Office 365—Excel Online vs. Excel Native ....................................................................... 15
Excel Add-Ins (only for Excel 2013 users) .......................................................................... 15
Power BI Community .................................................................................................................. 15
Power Query - Get and Transform Data ................................................................................. 16
What is a Data Query?........................................................................................................... 16
Querying Data from Excel ..................................................................................................... 17
Query Editor ............................................................................................................................. 17
How to Launch Query Editor ............................................................................................. 17
Overview of Query Editor Interface .................................................................................. 18
RIBBON OVERVIEW: HOME TAB ................................................................................................. 19
Append Queries in Query Editor ....................................................................................... 19
Rename Queries.................................................................................................................. 20
Querying Online Data ............................................................................................................ 20
Querying Text Files .................................................................................................................. 20
Merging Tables ........................................................................................................................ 21
Expanding Tables ....................................................................................................................... 21
Best Practices for Normalizing Concepts............................................................................. 22
RIBBON OVERVIEW: TRANSFORM TAB ................................................................................... 21
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How to transform data into smallest meaningful value ................................................. 23

Split Data across Columns ................................................................................................. 24
Removing Columns / Blank Rows ...................................................................................... 24
Rename a column header ................................................................................................ 25
Remove Columns ................................................................................................................ 24
Remove Other Columns ..................................................................................................... 24
Remove Blank Rows ............................................................................................................ 25
Converting Data Types....................................................................................................... 25
Remove Query Steps .......................................................................................................... 25
Merging Columns ................................................................................................................ 25
Types of Common Errors ..................................................................................................... 26
Expanding Tables ....................................................................................................................... 26
Ribbon Overview: Add Column ............................................................................................... 27
Adding Custom Columns (Calculated Columns) .......................................................... 27
Reusing Queries ....................................................................................................................... 28
LAB 1: Creating & Editing Queries ............................................................................................ 82
Introduction to Power BI Desktop ............................................................................................. 29
What is Excel Power BI? .......................................................................................................... 29
Start Screen.............................................................................................................................. 29
Exploring the Power BI Desktop Interface ........................................................................... 29
Report (formerly Power View) ........................................................................................... 30
Data ...................................................................................................................................... 30
Relationships ........................................................................................................................ 30
Field List ................................................................................................................................. 31
Querying Data from Excel ..................................................................................................... 31
Querying a CSV file................................................................................................................. 32
The Query Editor ...................................................................................................................... 32
When to use Excel vs. Power BI Desktop?........................................................................ 32
Creating and Editing Queries ............................................................................................ 32
Renaming Tables ................................................................................................................. 32
Delete Redundant Queries ................................................................................................ 33
Select and Move Data Columns ...................................................................................... 33
Detect Relationships ........................................................................................................... 33
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Creating Reports & Visualizations ............................................................................................. 35

Changing values in visualizations ............................................................................................. 36
Formatting ................................................................................................................................... 37
Visual Elements .................................................................................................................... 37
Visualizations .......................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Creating Visuals .......................................................................................................................... 38
Basic Column Chart ............................................................................................................ 38
Gauge Visual ....................................................................................................................... 38
Gauge visual. ......................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Map Visual............................................................................................................................ 39
Cards ..................................................................................................................................... 41
Text Boxes ............................................................................................................................. 42
Slicers..................................................................................................................................... 43
Shapes .................................................................................................................................. 45
Creating Filters ............................................................................................................................ 45
Fields...................................................................................................................................... 46
Lab 2: Creating Reports & Visuals ............................................................................................ 46
Day 2: Data Modeling in Excel ................................................................................................. 48
Day 2: Learning Objectives: ...................................................................................................... 48
Opening Power Pivot ............................................................................................................. 48
Creating Data Models in Power Pivot.................................................................................. 48
Retreiving External Data from an Excel Table ................................................................. 49
Sorting & Filtering Imported Data...................................................................................... 50
Importing Data from Access ............................................................................................. 51
How to Filter Data Imported from Access ....................................................................... 53
Changing Import Choices ................................................................................................. 53
Create a Power Pivot Table ............................................................................................... 54
Create Relationships ........................................................................................................... 56
Creating Calculated Columns .......................................................................................... 58
Create Calculated Columns using the RELATED Function ............................................ 59
Creating Hierarchies ............................................................................................................... 60
Ancestor & Derived Measures .............................................................................................. 61
Measures Terminology ........................................................................................................ 61
iv
Creating measures in Power Pivot .................................................................................... 62

Creating measures in Excel ............................................................................................... 62
DAX Measures ......................................................................................................................... 63
COUNTROWS........................................................................................................................ 63
DISTINCTCOUNT ................................................................................................................... 63
Compound measures......................................................................................................... 64
CALCULATE .......................................................................................................................... 65
CALCULATE using measures .............................................................................................. 65
Lab 3: Practice with Measures and DAX Measures ............................................................... 66
Day 2 Afternoon – Power BI with Modelled Data .................................................................. 67
Importing a Data Model ........................................................................................................ 67
Data Modelling Overview in Power BI ................................................................................. 68
Data Mode........................................................................................................................... 68
Relationships Mode ............................................................................................................. 68
Creating Calculated Columns & Measures in Power BI .................................................... 69
Creating Calculated Columns .......................................................................................... 69
Creating Measures .............................................................................................................. 69
Lab 4: Creating Data Models in Power BI ............................................................................... 70
Introduction to Calendar Tables & Time Intelligence............................................................ 71
Why Calendar Tables?............................................................................................................... 75
Criteria for creating Calendar Tables ...................................................................................... 75
Ways to create a calendar:...................................................................................................... 75
Creating a Calendar Table in Power BI ............................................................................... 76
CALENDARAUTO .................................................................................................................. 76
CALENDAR ........................................................................................................................... 76
DAX—Date & Time .................................................................................................................. 77
Connecting Dates to Data ....................................................................................................... 78
Creating Relationships ........................................................................................................ 78
Creating reports using dates ............................................................................................. 78
Introduction to Time Intelligence ............................................................................................. 79
DATESYTD .............................................................................................................................. 79
Lab 5: Creating Calendar Tables ............................................................................................. 80
Day 2: Dashboards ..................................................................................................................... 81
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Publish Online to the Power BI Service..................................................................................... 71

Creating Dashboards................................................................................................................. 72
Pin Tiles to Dashboards ....................................................................................................... 72
Sharing Dashboards ................................................................................................................... 74
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About this Training Course

Course Title: Power BI Essentials
Course Code:
Target Audience: Business professionals who want to learn
Power BI. Excel users who want to take
their data mastery to the next level.
Participant Prerequisites: Participants should prior experience with
Microsoft Excel and be familiar with
Office 365 and Excel Online. It is
recommended that participants have
taken LearniT! Excel Day 2 and Excel Day
3 courses and/or have a general
understanding of databases, Pivot Tables
and Excel Functions.
Software required: Excel 2013 or newer.
Format: Instructor-led training with hands on
exercises.
Length: Two day course.
Course Description
Power BI Essentials is a fast-paced, two-day, hands-on training course designed for the
everyday Excel user to gain business intelligence and analysis skills. The course is
designed to take participants through a project-based approach where they will learn
about big data, how to organize and clean data, design highly insightful DAX
measures, and transform data into stunning reports, dashboards, and data visuals.
Participants will explore Microsoft's Power BI landscape within the Desktop and through
Office 365 online environment. This course will also focus on new features within Excel
that allow users to clean data and design data modelling directly within Excel and the
Power BI application.
How to Use this Manual

This guide is useful for anyone who has taken Day 1, 2 or 3 of Power BI at LearniT! There
are multiple ways to use this guide:
 Quick overview—Scan it for a quick overview of a topic.

 Visual tour—Take a visual tour of Power BI Desktop by scanning screen images of
Power BI interface and arrows pointing out important features.
 Comprehensive overview—Follow along with the activities and exercises done in
class with step-by-step instructions, including access to exercise files and visual
hints.
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Course Outline
Day One
Module 1: Getting Started with Power BI
 What is Power BI?

 Getting the Tools
 Power BI and Excel
 Discovering Insights with Power BI (Data Analysis Objectives)
 PBI Ecosystem
Module 2: Get and Transform Data with Power Query
 Introduction to Power Query

 Get & Transform in Excel
 Creating queries
 Importing data from various sources
 Appending and merging queries
 Data normalizing strategies
 Reusing Queries
Module 3: Introduction to Power BI Desktop
 Introduction to Power BI Desktop

 Concepts (Power BI compared to Excel)
 Importing data from Excel
 Issue queries directly from Power BI
 Building reports
 Creating simple visualizations
 Telling a story with Power BI Reports
 Creating slicers
 Using charts as slicers
Day 2
Module 4: Data Modeling
 Concepts of Power Pivot and "Data Model" in Excel

 Importing Data from Various Sources
 Modelling & Relating
 Concepts of creating a Data Model (Decision Structures)
 Creating Relationships
 Creating Calculated Columns
 Designing Measures
 Building Hierarchies
 Data Analysis Strategies
 Essential DAX expressions
viii
Module 5: Power BI
 Concepts (Power BI compared to Excel)

 Importing a Data Model from Excel
 Data Modelling directly in Power BI
 Importing Additional Data
 Creating Calculated Columns and Measures in Power BI
 Introduction to Time Intelligence
 Calendar Tables
 Essential Time Intelligence DAX expressions
 Building Interactive Reports
 Concepts: Reports for Consumption
 Standard slicers
 Charts as Slicers
 Disconnecting Visuals 
 Drilling Down with Hierarchies
Module 6: Power BI Online
 Dashboards vs. Reports

 Pinning Visuals
 Excel Objects Online
 Publish and Share Dashboards and Reports
 Using Q&A
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Day 1: Module 1
Getting Started with Power BI
Learning Objectives
 What is Power BI?
 What are the different parts of the Power BI ecosystem?
 How do the Power BI tools differ from the tools in Excel
What is Excel Power BI?

Excel Power BI (POWER BI) is a fully-integrated suite of business analytics tools that will
enable your business to analyze data from anywhere and share insights with anyone.
You can now monitor your business at your desk and on the go, and get quick answers
to complex questions through rich dashboards and stunning charts and graphs. All
while doing away with unmanageable spreadsheets.
POWER BI allows users to:
 Pull data from multiple sources and transform it into tables, charts, graphs,
interactive maps, reports, and dashboards
 Produce data models and queries
 Pull big picture results, patterns and trends
 Deep dive into data sets
What’s more, conducting data analysis in Excel no longer requires obscure add-ins,
plugins and software downloads. Data analysis features have been renamed and
integrated into Excel’s interface to make user experience easy and seamless.
Programs and Files You Will Need:

 Windows 8.1 or Windows 10
 Microsoft Office 2013 or 2016 & Excel Desktop
 Power BI Desktop (click here for directions on how to install)
 At least one of these Internet browsers (Chrome, Edge, IE, Firefox…etc.)
 Microsoft Office 365 (cloud supported subscription)
 Power BI app installed on a smart phone/mobile device
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How to install Power BI Desktop?

To install POWER BI Desktop your computer must be running the newest .NET framework.
If you don’t know if you have the newest .NET framework, try downloading the POWER
BI Desktop. If you don’t have the newest .NET framework, you will get a notification. See
below for step-by-step instructions:
 Go to the POWER BI downloads site:

https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/downloads/
 Download the file
 Run the downloaded file
If you receive the below message:
1. Cancel the installation and download the newest .NET framework by going to:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=30653.

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2. Install the newest .NET framework:
3. Run installation
4. Now, run the Power BI installer (repeat steps 1-3) to run POWER BI Desktop.
Download Power BI Exercise Files

1. Go to www.learnit.com/files
2. Click on the following links:
a. Power BI > Work Files
What’s New in Excel 2016?

Data Analysis Tools & Terminology Changes
Microsoft renamed many of its data analysis “Power” tools i.e. Power Query, Power
Pivot, Power Maps, etc. See below for a list of the new terminology:
 3D Maps (formerly named Power Maps)

 Data Model (formerly named Power Pivot)
 Get & Transform Data (formerly named Power Query)
 Power BI Desktop and Cloud Service remain the same
 Power View is not on the ribbon (you can get it though)

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Built-In Apps
Users with Excel 2013 or prior are required to download separate Add-Ins to access
Power BI tools. Users with Excel 2016 or newer, now have access to these tools, such as
Get & Transform Data and Data Model, directly in the Data tab of the ribbon.
3D Maps is now located in the Insert tab.
Power BI Desktop vs. Excel

Excel is a robust platform that can be used to build data models and analyze large
data sets. Both Excel and Power BI Desktop enable users to conduct queries, design
data models and use data analysis tools. The benefits of using Excel for data analysis
include:
 Exploring, filtering and transforming data through tables, pivot tables and pivot
charts (Power BI has similar features, however they are less powerful)
 Building key performance indicators (KPIs)
 Creating visualizations using charts, pivot charts, conditional formatting
Power BI Desktop has an enhanced user experience in which the data analysis tools are
a part of the interface and the user doesn’t have to jump between multiple
applications to reach them. In addition, users can conduct data clean-up and data
modeling directly in the application.

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Added benefits to using Power BI Desktop include:
 Enhanced interface and user experience—data analysis tools are part of the
interface and users will not have to jump between multiple applications to use
various tools.
 Improved and easier to use visualizations—more visualizations are available and
users can create custom visuals and use them in dashboards and reports.
 Creating reports & dashboards—see data through live dashboards and
interactive custom or pre-built reports.
 Enhanced importing data features—users can import queries, data models and
Power View worksheets into Power BI, in addition to having other data
import/export options. Users can also import data from various databases and
file formats, including a new integration with Azure services.
 Cloud-based functionality—data can be connected through SharePoint and
Microsoft Office cloud services. Users have unlimited data storage with a 365
Office subscription.
Any data and tools used in Excel can be converted over into Power BI.
Power BI Online & Mobile Apps

Power BI mobile app can be used with mobile devices including Android, iOS, and
Windows. Users have access to view, edit and share dashboards, reports, charts and
graphs. Content packs are constantly being released providing integration with services
including: Adobe Analytics, Azure Mobile Engagement, Google Analytics, Marketo,
Salesforce.com, Sentry, SQL and more.

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Office 365—Excel Online vs. Excel Desktop

Excel online will be used later in this course to host data. You will need to add Power BI
to your Office 365 Portal to be able to access all dashboard features.
How to Add Power BI to your Office 365 Portal
(Note: You will download this when you begin to use Power BI online and create
dashboards.)
1. Go to https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/ > Sign In

2. Enter your username & password (you may need to wait 10 minutes for Microsoft
to initialize Power BI to Office 365)
3. Power BI will show up in the waffle of Office 365 (see image on next page for
visual)
Excel Add-Ins (only for Excel 2013 users)

If you have Excel 2013, you will need to get the following add-ins:
 Power Pivot
 Power Query
To download the add-ins follow these steps:
 File tab > Options > Add-ins tab in left-hand toolbar

 COMM Add-ins > “Go”
 Check the box for the following add-ins:
o “Microsoft Power Pivot for Excel”
o “Microsoft Power Query for Excel”
Power BI Ecosystem
The Power BI community is where users can collaborate, share code and strategies and
learn tips and tricks. Click here to join the discussions: www.community.powerbi.com.

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Day 1: Module 2
Power Query—Get and Transform Data
Learning Objectives
In this module, you will learn:
 Benefits of “importing” with Power Query compared to other methods like copy
and paste.
 Concepts and benefits of normalizing data (organize, clean and sort) before
importing into Power BI
 How to save and re-use queries
 The difference between “load to table” and “load to data model”
Ribbon Overview: Get and Transform

Get and Transform enables users to transform data from rows into columns, change text
to numbers, remove rows, set the first row as headers, ensure data labels are consistent,
merge fields and create new calculations in data...etc. You can combine data and
connect to two or more data sources, then consolidate them into one useful query.
What is a Data Query?

A query retrieves data. The questions you will need to answer to perform a data query
include:
 What data do you want to retrieve?

 Where does the data live?
 How do you want to organize the data?
 Where do you want to put the data?

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Querying Data from Excel

To import data from an Excel file, click on the
following in the ribbon:
 Data tab > New Query > From File > From
Workbook
 Select the file [GeographyAsia.xlsx]
 A navigator window will appear > Click on
GeographyAsia > Import
 Click Load
 Import the other two exercise files doing the same thing:
o [GeographyEurope.xlsx]
o [GeographyNorthAmerica.xlsx]
 You will be able to see all three data sets showing up on the right side navigation
window called Workbook Queries. If you do not see this navigation panel do the
following:
o Click on DATA tab > “Show Queries”
The table will import into Excel workbook. The file you are importing does not have to be
in perfect condition, Power BI will help you automate normalization. However, you may
save time if you clean the data before importing.
Query Editor
The Query Editor will enable you to modify and preview data before importing into
Excel. For example, once you have imported data you may find the following issues:
 Columns headers are unnamed

 Entirely blank rows or columns
This would be a reason to open the Query Editor.
How to launch Query Editor

 Hover over the query in Workbook Queries navigation pane OR right click on the
query
 Select Edit to launch the Query Editor

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Overview of Query Editor interface
This is the Query

Settings Pane,
found by
clicking on the
View tab in the
ribbon.
Users can
reorder and
remove steps.
Table Preview

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Ribbon Overview: Home Tab
Close & Load—exit the Query Editor
Use First Row as Headers—Assign headers to first row of data if imported data does not
have headers. This will promote contents in Row 2 into column headers.
 Hover over query

 Click Edit to go to Query Editor
 Click on Use First Row as Headers in the Ribbon
 Close & Load
Append Queries in Query Editor

When data is located in different queries, Append will combine all data together in one
table. Bringing all data into one table (with the same structure) makes it easier to do
Power BI functions. Appending queries will add rows of one table to the bottom of
another table.
 Select query in Workbook Queries to combine

 Click on Query Tools contextual tab > Append
 Choose a Primary table (data that will be at the
top of the list) [GeographyAsia.xlsx]
 Select a secondary table [GeographyEurope.xlsx]
 Choose the desired table and click OK (this will
launch the Query Editor)
 To add additional queries:
o HOME > Combine > Append
Queries
o Choose another table from pull-
down menu [North America]

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Rename Queries
To rename a query:
 Query Settings > Properties > Name

 Name your query by typing in text box labeled “Name”
 Save & Close (combined data will be located in the last
worksheet tab)
o Rename the tab that contains combined queries to
“All Regions”
Querying Online Data

Users can import data from online tables to add to their current
queries and complete missing data. For example, in “All
Regions” worksheet, the column COUNTRIES is missing country
names.
 Open an Internet browser > find the website that

contains the data to be imported
 Copy the URL where the online data is located
o http://blog.learnit.com/Files/powerbi.html
 In Excel, click on: Data tab > New Query > From Other
Sources > From Web
 In the From Web window, paste the URL
 Click OK
 Select the Table
 Click Load
 Rename the query “Continents” (see above to rename queries)
Querying Text Files

Users can create new queries or combine tables from .txt files.
 In Excel, click on: Data tab > New Query > From File >
From Text
 Locate the file location > [GeocodesGeometry.txt]
 Click Import
 Rename the query “GeoCodes” (see above to rename
queries)
 Click Close & Load
You may need t o enable First Row as Headers feature in Ribbon.

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Ribbon Overview: Transform Tab
Merging Tables
Merging tables enables users to combine
different queries into one table. Merging adds
new data side-by-side the existing data.
 In Workbook Queries > select the “All

Regions” query
 Query Tools contextual tab > Reference
(this creates a new table from an existing
table)
Now you will merge “Continents” into the “All

Regions” Query. In the Query Editor:
 HOME > Merge Queries

 In the Merge window, choose
“Continents” from pull-down menu
 Match the two “Continents” columns
together by clicking on each column in
the top and bottom table previews.
 Click OK
Note: There is a new column that has been added
and the data in the column repeats the word
“Table”. See Expanding Tables .
Expanding Tables
Sometimes when users merge tables, Excel is not able to identify which
columns should be linked across queries. If you have merged tables and
the columns are not identified, you will see a column on the right called
“New Column” and the data will be called “Table.” Users can use the
feature Expand to connect the corresponding columns of data.

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 In Query Editor, click on the TRANSFORM > Expand

 Select the column you want to display
 In the Default column name prefix: delete text and leave
blank
 Click OK
 Rename Query “Merged”
 Click Close and Load
Best Practices for Normalizing Concepts

Normalizing data means ensuring data is in the best format for its primary purpose.
Transform and Get has a lot of normalizing strategies that require less time and energy
than performing the same tasks in Excel. Normalizing concepts include:
 Smallest meaningful value—Breakdown fields to their smallest meaningful value.

For example, columns that combine last and first name should be broken into
separate columns for first name and last name to make searching easier.
 Remove unnecessary data—Any columns or rows that are meaningless or will not
be used for your analysis should be removed.
 Errors—Address all errors in your data before conducting data analysis.
 Compliant field names— Ensure fields (column/row headers) have unique names
that explicitly refer to the corresponding content. Do not include characters that
could be mistaken for formula syntax (e.g. {} ; : ‘ , /). Ensure field naming
consistency within and across data sets.
 Standardize data—Delete any interfering characters that come in with imported

data (i.e. dollar signs or spaces).
 Standardize data types—Make sure columns are appropriately formatted to

match the data (currency, dates, numbers, text, etc.)
 Create key/ID fields—Add columns that provide unique identifying numbers or ID

numbers for data. This will make identifying relationships between data sets
easier to establish.
 Replace values—Ensure data is consistent and simplified (i.e. convert all the
semi-colons to commas).

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Smallest meaningful value

You will need to transform data into the smallest meaningful value when:
 You have delimiters that break apart data

 Delimiters are consistent across all data fields
In Query Editor:
 Select column
 HOME > Replace Values
 Value to Find: “;”
 Replace with “,”
 OK
To split the column:

 HOME > Split Column > Split by Delimiter
 From pull-down menu, choose “Custom” because you have two delimiters:
o Comma
o Space
 Type in “,” “ “
 OK
Note: Field names you have just created are “State, Region 1” and “State, Region2”. These
are NOT “compliant field names.

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Split data across columns

Split the values in a column into two columns.
 Select the column to be split

 Click on Split Column
 Select “Split Column by Delimiter”
 Identify delimiter (character that identifies where
the split should occur)
 In “Split by Delimiter” window choose a delimiter
option
 If fields are split by multiple delimiters, choose
Custom
 Type in delimiters (i.e. comma, space)
 Click OK
 Right-click on new columns to Rename each
column
Removing columns / blank rows

Removing unnecessary columns or rows will cut down on inefficiencies and errors during
data analysis.
 Select “Actual” column

 HOME > Remove Columns
Remove other columns

If you have a lot of data and need to delete
most columns. Removes all columns not
selected.

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Remove blank rows

If blank rows are included in the table,
future data analysis may be distorted (i.e.
averaging values). Blank rows can appear
after importing data. This feature will
remove all blank rows in.
 HOME > Remove Rows > “Remove

blank rows”
Rename a column header

 Double-click to rename each column to “State” and “Region”.
Converting data types

Importing data can result in incorrectly formatted data. It is important to ensure that all
data is formatted to support the correct data type (i.e. values should be formatted as
Numbers or Currency). To change data type:
Exercise
 Select the columns to be formatted

 TRANSFORM > “Data Type: Any”
 Change “any” to the appropriate data type
 Change data type for the following columns:
o Locations (Whole number)
o Employees (Whole number)
o LoadDate (Date/Time)
o UpdateDate (Date/Time)
o Project Revenue (Currency)
o Actual Revenue (Currency)
o Difference(Currency)
o % Difference (Decimal number)
Remove query steps

 Click on Query Settings to open the navigation pane
 Click in Applied Steps to see a list of actions you have taken and remove
Merging columns
Combine two columns of data into one column.
 Select the columns to be merged

 TRANSFORM > Merge Columns
 Separator window: enter a delimiter if desired (none for exercise)
 New column name: create a name for the merged column “GeoCodes”

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 Click OK
Types of common errors

1. Processing Errors—Problems with a formula or function.
2. Import/Data Errors
Exercise: Error Handling—Edit how errors appear
 Click in the Transform tab

 Click on Replace Errors
 Type in the text to replace the error “Actual”
 Click OK
Note: There is an option to Remove Errors on the HOME tab,
which will remove errors .
Expanding Tables
Sometimes when users merge tables, Excel is not able to identify which
columns should be linked across queries. If you have merged tables and
the columns are not identified, you will see a column on the right called
“New Column” and the data will be called “Table.” Users can use the
feature Expand to connect the corresponding columns of data.

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 In Query Editor, click on the TRANSFORM > Expand

 Select the column you want to display
 In the Default column name prefix: delete text and leave
blank
 Click OK
 Rename Query “Merged”
 Click Close and Load
Ribbon Overview: Add Column
Adding custom columns (calculated columns)

Add new columns of data to include new calculations based off of other columns of
data.
 ADD COLUMN tab > Add Custom Column

 In New column name, enter a name for the column
 In Custom column formula, enter formula and
double-click on the corresponding column in the
right-hand toolbar to insert it into a formula (see
image below)
Exercise:
o Double click on “Employees”

o “*1.15”
o This leaves you with this formula:
=[Employees]*1.15
o Rename New Column name to: “Projected Employees”

o Rename the Query “COMPLETED”

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Reusing Queries
Refresh--Pulls the original data and new or updated data, and runs all existing queries.
Duplicate –Run an existing query on data in a different tab in Excel, while keeping the
original query result.
Reference–Create a different query based on the result from an existing query. The new
query is dependent upon the original. If the original query changes, the dependent
query will change.
Reusing Queries Elsewhere (copying M script1)—Run an existing query on data from a

different file.
 Copy and paste the query:

o Query Editor > Home tab > Advanced Editor > Copy the Code OR right-
click on a query > copy
 Paste it in a different file
Note: The table names in the other file must match the original query and the data must be
similar.
LAB 1
Navigate to the back of this guide and find LAB 1.
1Covered in Power BI: Day 3. This feature only available for users with active Office 365
subscriptions or the Excel 2016 or newer.

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Day 1: Module 3
Introduction to Power BI Desktop
Learning Objectives
By the end of this module, you will be able to:
 Importing data into Power BI Desktop

 Issue queries directly from Power BI
 Build reports and create simple visualizations
 Telling a story using Power BI Reports
What is Excel Power BI?

(Go to page 13 for the differences between Excel and Power BI)
Start Screen
When you open Power BI Desktop, you will be sent to the
Start Screen. The Start Screen includes the following
features:
 Access recently used files

 Watch or read tutorials about Power BI
To exit the Start Screen, click on the “X” in the upper-right

corner.
Components of Power BI Desktop

The three tabs in the Power BI ribbon are:
 File
 Home
 Modeling

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Under the ribbon, the left-side toolbar is called the modes Bar.
The three modes are:
 Report mode
 Data mode
 Relationships mode
Report mode (formerly Power View)

Reports are a key feature of Power BI. A report is a multi-
perspective view into your data that includes visuals that
represent different findings and insights from your data. A report may have a single
visual or pages of visuals.
Data mode
Create data models, like in Power Pivot. Once you have imported data, click Data
mode to see your data, including:
 Columns
 Tables are displayed on the right-side.
 Icons appear next to the table columns. The small sigma icon signifies a column
of numbers.
Relationships mode
Connect and link data tables by creating relationships.

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Field lists
Depending on the mode you have selected; a field list will appear in the right-side
toolbar. Field lists pull in the data fields you are working with, similar to a pivot table.
Querying Data from Excel

You can import and clean data from Excel while
working in Power BI.
Exercise
 HOME > Get Data > Excel

 Select the file you want to import form the
Navigator window
o Exercise file: [Geography.xlsx]
o Check mark box: [COMPLETED] table
 Optional: By clicking Edit in the Navigator window, you can edit and clean the
data before importing
 Load

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Querying a CSV file

 HOME > Get Data > CSV
 Choose the file to import
o Exercise: [Employees.csv]
 Load
The Query Editor

Both Excel and Power BI allow users to create queries. Depending on your preference,
you may want to create queries in Power BI, instead of Excel. The Query Editor is where
you will modify queries in either Excel or Power BI.
When to use Excel vs. Power BI Desktop?

Power BI Excel
 Pivot Tables
 Dashboards
 Pivot Charts
 Stunning visuals
 Online Analytical Process (OLAP)
 Mobile consumption
Tools
 Alerts & life data
 VBA
Creating and editing queries

 FIELD pane > right click on query > “Edit Query”
 Rename [COMPLETED] query to “Geography” (see below)
Renaming tables
By renaming tables, you will be able to search for data more efficiently.
 Select Data Mode > right-click on the

table
 Rename
Note: The Power BI Query Edit or ribbon is the

same as in Excel.

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Queries
Queries Steps
List
Query
Preview
Delete redundant queries

Exercise
 Select the query to edit from the Query List on the left-side toolbar
o “Geography”
 HOME > Remove Columns:
 Select columns/rows/data to delete
 Remove the following columns:
o Continent
o Locations
o Employees
o ContinentName
 Select Close & Apply
Select and move data columns

 Select the query to edit from the Query List on the left-side toolbar
 Click and drag columns to reorder
Detect relationships
Use Power BI to connect and link tables so that you can run analysis across data sets.
Exercise

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 HOME > Manage Relationships

 Select Autodetect
 Employees (GeographyKey) should be selected
 Close
Note: Click on Relationships mode to check that relationships are connected.

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Creating Reports & Visualizations

Power BI provides more options for visuals than ever before. Beautiful charts and graphs
will enable you to create storylines, trends, charts, and high-level results. You can also
create your own custom visuals (slicers, charts, tables) that will be ready to use
whenever you need them.
Note: Power BI receives updates almost weekly, which means more and more new visuals.
Reports allow you to create stunning visuals to demonstrate what you want your data
to say. See below for a diagram of the Report features.
Report Mode
Field
wells
Stage

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Exercise: Compare GrossPay to the following data sets:
 Modes bar > select Report Mode

o Compare GROSS PAY to:
 Drag a field from one table and place it on the stage (see diagram)
o FIELDS > [Employees] > [GrossPay2013]
o Drag and drop [AverageStatePay] into staging area
o Drag and drop [LivingWage]
Note: Numerical fields will appear as a chart and alpha fields will appear in a list.
Changing Values in Visuals

Exercise: Change functions
 In the Value well, select the small down arrow to

change the aggregate
 Change from SUM to AVERAGE for the following:
o [GrossPay2013]
o [AverageStatePay] Fields
o [LivingWage]
Wells

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Formatting
Exercise: Format visual elements.
 FIELDS > Select “format” icon (looks like paint roller)

 Legend > Position: RIGHT (moves legend to right)
o Title > Title Text to: “Pay vs. State Pay vs. Living
Wage”
o Data colors: Choose different bar column
colors
o Border: turn “on”
 Select the Format icon to view the options for adding
chart elements, changing colors etc.
X and Y Axis—add labels to your chart. These labels

describe the chart columns. The top axis will insert category
labels on columns. The bottom axis will insert a numerical
scale to measure the columns by.
Data colors—customize the color assigned to columns.
Data labels—place value labels next to each column.

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Creating Visuals
There are many interesting visualizations available and Microsoft continues to provide
visualization updates almost weekly. By customizing visualizations, you can convey a
unique story to your audience.
Basic column chart

A standard column chart is effective in comparing numerical data across categories.
Fields Format
Exercise
 Insert a numeric field into the stage

 Drag a field that can be grouped to the axis area to insert more columns
 Drag a field to the Legend area to display categories by color
Gauge
Use a gauge visual to show a minimum, maximum or target value, and where you
currently are at.
Exercise
 Click on Gauge icon in Visuals Bar (ensure you are click in a blank space in
staging area before you select an icon, otherwise you will change the existing visual
that is selected).
 Add GrossPay2013 to the Value area of the stage
 Automatically, this chart will show your value as 50% of the gauge. However, you
can customize the size of the gauge.
 Target Value: Set the living wage to target value
 Set gauge axis bounds to:

o Min: 0

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o Max: 200,000,000
 Set a marker to point out the target (target is static).
Change the target
 Make the target a field of your data.

 Set the target to LivingWage
Change the target title
 Change the title to GrossPay2013 vs. LivingWage

 Change the color of the title
 Keep this chart on your report
Map
There are three kinds of map visuals. Maps use location information (i.e. states, cities,
latitude/longitude coordinates).
Note: This only works with an I nternet connection .
Exercise
 Click on Map icon in Visuals Bar

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 Drag Zip Code to Location well
Fields
 Drag and drop LivingWage into color saturation
Format
 Change the function of LivingWage to Average

 Change the data colors (saturation of the dots)
 Turn off the title
 Apply a border

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 Align the visuals according to this diagram:
Cards
Cards allow you to see the value of the aggregate and will display values.
Exercise
 Click on Card icon in Visuals Bar
 Insert three cards that show the average of the following:

o [GrossPay2013]
o [LivingWage]
o [LivingWage]
 Drag and drop field item into staging area
 FIELD > field well > choose AVERAGE
 Change the data label color
 Create two more cards:

o Average of AveStatePay
o Average of LivingWage

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Text boxes
Create text boxes to provide more information about what your dashboard is
displaying.
Exercise
 HOME > Text Box > type in the text box

 Add a title to this report
 Change the font format to:

o 54 pt font
o Bold
 Place the title in your report

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Slicers
Slicers are visual buttons that filter reports. For example, when you click on a slicer, the
visual will change and the entire report will also filter to reflect that change.
Note: A slicer will affect all visuals on your dashboard.
Exercise
 Click on Slicer icon in Visuals bar
 Drag and drop [State] into field well
Fields
 Change the orientation to horizontal so that the states show up like buttons next
to each other, instead of check boxes down a list
o Field > General well > Orientation > change to horizontal
Format
 Change the header

o Increase the size
o Change the color

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 Click on one of the states and see that the entire report changes to reflect the
values for that slice of the data.
NOTE: You may want to change the max to 20 million on the gauge chart. This will give you
a better visualization for the map when you apply a slicer.

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Shapes
Shapes are useful for creating borders around cards created on your dashboard.
 From the shapes command, choose rectangle
 Turn off the fill color of the rectangle
 Re-size the rectangle to surround the cards
Creating Filters
Apply a filter to the entire table by dragging a field to the Report Filter. Visuals will
update according to the filter applied.
Exercise
 Drag and drop a Field item into the Filter well

 Drag [State] into Filter well
 Use the filter options to view specific data

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Fields
Generally, fields that can be categorized should be placed in the Axis and Legend
areas. Fields that can be calculated should go in the Value area.
In the example below, there is a field in the Axis area, and

no field in the Legend area. This will produce Chart 1, shown
below. Reverse the fields to see Chart 2, below.
Lab 2: Creating Reports & Visuals

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Day 2: Module 1
Data Modeling in Excel
Learning Objectives:
 Understand what a data model is and create one in Excel

 Create relationships across various data sets in Excel Power Pivot
 Create calculated columns, measures and hierarchies to organize your data
analysis in Excel Power Pivot
Opening Power Pivot

In 2016, Power Pivot is built into the Data tab, under the Data Tools group, and acts like
other data management features such as sorting and filtering. The command is called
Manage Data Model.
If Power Pivot does not show up in the ribbon:
 DATA tab > Manage Data Model
Creating Data Models in Power Pivot

Using the relational aspects of a database to analyze data.
Note: I f it is the first ti me you are creating a data mode l, you may see the message below.
Select Enable to continue:

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Retreiving external data from an Excel table

There are various ways to import data. In order to link data from Power Pivot to the
original source (no refreshing required), the data must be in an Excel file that is
connected to the data model.
Exercise: Query data from Stores.xlsx
 In Power Pivot window > HOME > From Other Sources
 Select Excel file > Next

 Browse: select “Stores.xlsx” > Open
 In the Table Import Wizard, make sure that Use first row as column headers is
checked off > NEXT
 Check off the Stores table

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 When you see “Success” window > click Close
Exercise
 Get External Data from [Geography] file

o HOME > From Other Sources
o Select Excel file > Next
o Browse: select [Geography.xlsx] > Open
o In the Table Import Wizard, make sure that Use first row as column headers
is checked off > NEXT
o Check off the [COMPLETED$] worksheet
o DO NOT click FINISH (continue to Sorting & Filtering below)
Sorting & filtering imported data

Use this to further refine import to work with only the data you are interested in
analyzing.
Exercise
 After selecting the table to import [COMPLETED$], in the Table Import Wizard, filter
the data by clicking on Preview and Filter

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 Uncheck the box next to the column headers that you don’t want to view. This
will filter this data out of the imported data. Columns to filter out should include:
o Locations
o Employees
o ProjectedEmpCount
o Average Revenue
o GeoCodes
o Projected Revenue
o Actual Revenue
o Difference
o % Difference
 Select OK to return to the Table Import Wizard > Finish

 When you are notified that the the import was successful, click Close
 Rename this table Geography just like you would rename a worksheet in Excel
(double click on worksheet tab)
Importing data from Access

Exercise
 In the Power Pivot Window, on the Home tab, click Get External Data > From
Database > From Access

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 Click Browse and locate the file: [ContosoData] > Open

 In the Table Import Wizard window, click Next
 Choose the option: Select from a list of tables….
 Click Next
 You don’t need to select all of the tables in the Access file. Select the following
tables:
o Channel
o Entity
o FactSales
o Product
o ProductCategory
o ProductSubcategory
o Promotion
 Follow the steps below to filter data imported from Access

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How to filter data imported from Access

Exercise
 Highlight ProductCategory > Preview & Filter and Select ProductCategoryKey in

the Table Import Wizard
 Deselect product categories 7 and 8
 Click OK > Finish (this will take a few moments and you will see Success Story
when completed)
Changing import choices

If you change your mind about the data
to import, you can modify the import
specifications. You do not have to start
importing from the beginning.
Exercise: Modify the table to change your

choice about which columns to import.
 Power Pivot window > Design tab >

Table Properties to modify the filters
you applied in a given table

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Change imported tables from an existing connection

You can change your mind about which tables to
import from a certain source. Avoid starting from
scratch by using the From Database command.
Exercise
 Power Pivot window > Home tab > Existing

Connections
 Access ContosoData > Open
 Select the table you forgot Promotion
 OK
From the resulting window, delete a connection, or

Open another table that you forgot to import
previously.
Exercise: Let’s say you forgot to import the

Promotion table from your Access file.
 Select Promotion table

 Click Open
Create a Power Pivot table

Now that you have imported all of the necessary data, you will be able to create a
Pivot Table that analyzes the data from the different tables and data sources.
Exercise: Create a Power Pivot table
 Power Pivot > HOME tab > Pivot Table > New Worksheet > OK
NOTE: I n Excel 2016, you can also create a Power Pivot Table from Excel’s original Pivot
Table command. I n the resulting dialogue box, choose Use this workbook’s Data Model .

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Exercise:
Analysis 1: Analyze the number of regions in each continent, from the Geography
table.
 Expand the Geography table in PivotTable Fields menu

 Rows: ContinentName [Geography]
 Value: Region [Geography]
Analysis 2: Analyze Sales by Continent.
Pull out existing VALUE: Region
 Collapse Geography
 Expand FactSales
 Place the following:
o Rows: ContinentName [Geography]
o Values: SalesQuantity [FactSales]
Note: Be aware that there is currently no existing relationship between Geography and
FactSales tables.
No Relationship = Big Problem!

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Create relationships
Creating relationships will allow you to connect similar data from different data sources
and unrelated tables.
 Power Pivot window > HOME > select Diagram View
 Drag and drop related fields on top of each other
Exercise: Create the following relationships:
Table Name Field Name

Stores Store Key
FactSales Store Key

Stores GeographyKey
Geography GeographyKey

Fact Sales PromotionKey
Promotion PromotionKey

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Now that you have the necessary relationships, the Pivot Table that you made earlier
should be accurately analyzing the data.

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Creating calculated columns in Excel

Let’s create a couple columns that will show us the TransactionCost and
TransactionSales.
Exercise: Create a Cost of Goods Sold in the FactSales worksheet
 Power Pivot window > HOME > Data View

 On the right, where you see an extra column named “Add Column” add the
following formulas below:
Note: To insert fields in the formula, either type in the field name OR click in the column
while typing out the formula.
= [UnitCost] * [SalesQuantity]
Name this column “COGS”
= [MSRP] * [SalesQuantity]
Name this column “SalesAmount”
= [MSRP] * [ReturnQuantity]
Name this column “ReturnAmount”
 Now create calculated columns that use the columns you just made
= [SalesAmount] – [COGS] – [ReturnAmount]
Name this column “Profit”
= [Profit] / [SalesAmount]
Name this column “ProfitMargin”
Note: Format this column as a percent (HOME > Format: Percentage)

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Create calculated columns using the RELATED function

The RELATED function allows us to retrieve information from a related table (like
VLOOKUP). Another reason to use the RELATED function is to create hierarchies.
= RELATED ( TableName [ColumnName] )
Exercise: Use the RELATED function to retrieve information.
 Start on the Product worksheet

 Power Pivot > HOME > Data View
 In a calculated column on the right side enter the following functions:
= RELATED (ProductCategory[ProductCategoryName])
 Name this column ”ProductCategory”
= RELATED (ProductSubcategory[ProductSubcategoryName] )
 Name this column ”ProductSubcategory”
Note: Calculated columns show up as a darker color. This helps distinguish between
imported data and custom data.

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Creating Hierarchies
We frequently want to apply the same analysis in multiple tables. Maybe you want to
be able to drill down into dates, or you want to see Products subdivided by the Regions
they are sold in. If you need these Pivot Table fields in the same order frequently, set up
a hierarchy.
Exercise: Create a hierarchy to view Products in a Pivot Table.
 Power Pivot > HOME > Diagram View

 Product Table > Hold down CTRL key and select the following fields
 in the “Dates” table:
o ProductCategory
o ProductSubCategory
o ProductName
 Right click and choose Create Hierarchy
 Double click on hierarchy name to rename it
“Products”
 Create a Pivot Table > notice that “Products” is the
only field that displays in the Product table.

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Ancestor & Derived Measures

Measures terminology
Aggregate measures—Measures by nature take
many numerical values and aggregate them into
a single value. This allows a single number to
summarize an entire field. This summary is what is Many Numbers
placed on the Pivot Table.
One Number
Ancestor Measures—Simple measures that only derive data from columns in a table.
Ancestor measures are foundation formulas (change this one and the derived
measures will update). Adjust one ancestor measure and the resulting measures update
immediately. See diagram below.
Derived measures—Measures that use measures in the calculation (more complex).
Ancestor
Measure
= Field + Field
Derived Derived
Measure Measure
= Measure + Measure = Measure + Measure
Derived Derived Derived

Measure
Compound Measure +
Measure
Compound Measure +
Measure
Compound Measure +
Compound Measure Compound Measure Compound Measure

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Creating measures in Power Pivot

 Use [Data Model] file > Power Pivot window > FactSales worksheet
 Create a TotalSales measure
o Click in the Calculation Area (outside of the table)
o Type in this calculation:
TotalSales: = SUM (FactSales [SalesAmount])
Note: The “columns” that appear in the Calculation
Area are in no way connected to the columns of the data. You
can create your measures in any “cell” you choose.
 The end result is an aggregate
Creating measures in Excel

 From the Power Pivot ribbon in
Excel > select Measures > New
Measure
 Fill out the following window (see
diagram below)
o Table name: FactSales
o Measure name: TotalProfit
o Formula: =SUM(FactSales[Profit])
 Additional features in this window include:
o Check formula – check for errors
Choose the Table
Name your Measure
Design your Measure
TotalProfit: = SUM (FactSales [Profit])
Format your Measure

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Note: User defined measures are known as Explicit Measures (i .e. Total Profit). I mplicit
Measures are built into Pivot Tables (i .e. Sum of Sales). When measures are explicit you can
do more.
When you’re making measures in Excel, ensure you select the correct table in the Measure
window.
DAX Expressions
DAX (data analysis expressions) can be used to define calculated columns in a table
and they can also be used to define measures.
COUNTROWS
COUNTROWS counts the number of records in a field
(rows in a table).
Create the following measure:
 Table: FactSales
 Measure Name: TotalTransactions
 Formula: =COUNTROWS(FactSales)
 Formatting Options: choose formatting (i.e.
number, decimal, no decimal place, use 1,000
separator)
DISTINCTCOUNT
DISTINCTCOUNT counts the number of unique records in a field. If the value shows up
twice, it will only be counted once.
Create the following measure:
 Measure Name: DaysSelling
 Formula: =DISTINCTCOUNT(FactSales[DateKey])
 Formatting Options: choose formatting (i.e. number, decimal, no decimal place,
use 1,000 separator)

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Compound measures
A compound measure is made up of two or more other measurements. An example of
a compound measure is speed. Speed is a compound measure because it is
calculated from distance and time.
Create a compound measure:
 Measure Name: Total Sales per Transaction
 Formula: = [TotalSales] / [TotalTransactions]
 Formatting options: currency
Note: To view all measures created and edit/delete/add new measures go to : Power Pivot
tab in Excel > Measures > Manage Measures .

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Create a second compound measure:
 Measure Name: Sales per Day
 Formula: = [TotalSales] / [DaysSelling]
 Formatting options: currency
CALCULATE
CALCULATE function calculates a field with the measure you choose (i.e. SUM,
AVERAGE). CALCULATE allows a filter to be placed on the field before measuring it. You
can apply unlimited filters. (Think of CALCULATE like a SUMIF function).
CALCULATE Syntax
= CALCULATE ( FUNCTION ( Table[Column] ) , Table[Column] = ThingtoFilterFor )
If you have used a SUMIF, SUM IF

it compares like this…
CALCULATE using measures

If you’ve already created a measure that is adding up a field (i.e. TotalSales measure),
you can use that in the place of the (Function (Table[Column]) above.
CALCULATE Syntax
= CALCULATE ( [Measure] , Table[Column] = ThingtoFilterFor )
SUM IF

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Exercise: Create four CALCULATE measures to compare regular sales to promotion

sales. Use CALCULATE to find the sales only for items that do not have a promotion.
1. CALCULATE regular sales:
Power Pivot > Measures > New Measure
Table: FactSales
Measure Name: RegularSales
Formula: = CALCULATE ( [TotalSales] , FactSales[PromotionKey] = 1 )
Format options: currency
2. CALCULATE promotion sales:
Table: FactSales
Measure Name: PromoSales
Formula: = CALCULATE ( [TotalSales] , FactSales[PromotionKey] <> 1 )
Format options: currency
3. Create a measure to find percent of total regular sales:
Table: FactSales
Measure Name: % Sales Regular
Formula: = [RegularSales] / [TotalSales]
Format options > category > number
Format > percentage
4. Create a measure to find percent of total sales on promotions:
Table: FactSales
Measure Name: % Sales Promo
Formula: = [PromoSales] / [TotalSales]
Format options > category > number
Format > percentage
Lab 3: Measures in Excel

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Day 2: Module 2
Data Modelling in Power BI
 Understand what a data model is and create one in Power BI

 Create relationships across various data sets in Power BI
 Create calculated columns, DAX measures and hierarchies to organize your
data analysis in Power BI
Importing a Data Model

If it’s your first time using Power BI, and you’ve already built a model in Excel, you’ll need
to get started by importing data. If you have been following along with this course, you
have already imported everything you will need. You will need to import [Data
Model.xlsx] into Power BI.
Exercise
 Open Power BI > skip the Start Screen
 FILE > Import > Excel Workbook Contents
 A message appears warning this may take a few moments

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 START
 A confirmation should appear that everything migrated over
Data Modelling Overview in Power BI

Data and Relationship modes are basically Power Pivot. Power BI has the same engine
as Power Pivot and they look the same.
Data mode
This is Power Pivot’s data view. See
all of the tables on the right-hand
side.
Add calculated Data Mode

columns and Relationships
measures by
right clicking on
any table (or field). You can also
click on the command in the ribbon
called New Measure.
Relationships mode
This is Power Pivot’s diagram
view. Create relationships
by clicking on dragging
fields.
Note: I t can be helpful to
visually resize tables to make
the more centralized tables
larger. I t helps conceptualize
the relationships.

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Creating Calculated Columns & Measures in Power BI

Creating calculated columns
Exercise
 Begin in the FactSales table

 Create a column for NetSales
 HOME > New Measure > New Column
 In the formula bar type the formula and name of column
DiscountPercent = RELATED (Promotion [DiscountPercent] )
DiscountAmount = RELATED (Promotion [DiscountPercent] ) * FactSales[DiscountQuantity]

* FactSales[MSRP]
% of TotalSale Discounted = FactSales[DiscountAmount] / FactSales[SalesAmount]
Creating measures
 MODELING tab > New Measure
o Or right click on FactSales table in right-hand side FIELDS list > New
Measure *make sure you right-click on the correct table )
 In the formula bar type the formula and name of column
TransactionCount = COUNT( FactSales [SalesAmount] )

Note: Counts the number of transactions made.
ReturnCount = CALCULATE( COUNT( FactSales [ReturnAmount] ),

FactSales[ReturnAmount] >0 )
Note: Counts the return amount I F the return amount is greater than zero.
% Transactions Returned = [ReturnCount] / [TransactionCount]

Note: Calculates the percent of transactions that were returned.

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Lab 4: Creating Reports

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Publish Online to the Power BI Service

Now that we’ve done all this designing, let’s share this information with our consumers.
In order to share it with anyone anywhere, first we’ll need to get it up on Power BI
Online.
 HOME tab > Publish
 Save file if you are prompted

 Click Sign in when prompted
 Select a destination > My Workspace > Select
When you see this window > click Got It

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Creating Dashboards
Dashboards are a high level analysis, or summaries, whereas reports perform a deep
dive into specific data. Dashboards contain important visuals from a variety of charts.
Pin tiles to dashboards

 Once you have published the visual to Power BI Online, select the visual to
create a tile for in the dashboard
 Click on the Pin icon
 Select New Dashboard

 Name Dashboard “Contoso Dashboard”
 Click on Pin
 Your new dashboard will show up with an asterisk (*) on the right-hand side next
to the name of the dashboard
 Select new dashboard to view it

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 Click and drag on dashboard corners to resize the visuals

 Pin more visuals and watch the dashboard grow
Note: Once you have published reports and da ta to Power BI Online, you cannot modify
the data in the online dashboard.

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Sharing Dashboards
Share dashboards with colleagues and allow anyone in your organization to view
reports and dashboards.
 Click on Share from the upper-right hand side of your window
 Type in the names of colleagues to share with

 Check or uncheck desired boxes
 Click Share
 The recipient will receive an email invitation

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Day 3: Module 3
Introduction to Calendar Tables & Time Intelligence
 Understand what time intelligence is and how it works in Power BI

 Create Calendar Tables
 Become familiar with some introductory Time Intelligence DAX functions
Why Calendar Tables?

In order to utilize time intelligence, every data set must have a complete calendar. A
calendar table provides a standardized resource for time intelligence and makes it
much easier.
Criteria for creating Calendar Tables

Calendar tables must have the following properties:
 At least one column formatted with “date”

 Contains exactly one row per day
 Continuous rows of data (don’t skip weekends, even if business is closed)
 Calendar table must be related to your data table (e.g. FactSales)
 Contain columns for all of your desired groupings (e.g. MonthName)
 Ideally only spans the dates of your data
Ways to create a calendar

 Import from a database (if you have access to a database)
 Create in Excel (requires more work, and it can limit you in the future)
 Generate using Power Pivot engine
 Import from Azure DataMarket

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Creating a Calendar Table in Power BI

CALENDARAUTO
CALENDARAUTO function that builds a table of all the dates, one day at a time, based
on what is in your data model.
Exercise
 Add a new table: Modelling tab > New Table

 In the formula bar, type in:
DateKey = CALENDARAUTO()
 Press Enter
Note: This pulls all of the dates found in the entire data set, even
irrelevant dates and outliers such as sales dates from 2003.
CALENDAR
CALENDAR allows you to specific a start date and end date and provides the user
more control over the dates.
Note: You must use serial numbers to enter dates using the D ATE function.
CALENDAR function syntax:

= C ALEND AR ( St art Dat e , EndDat e )
Date function syntax :

=D ATE ( Year , MonthNumber, DayNumber )
 Type in the formula bar:

DateKey = CALENDAR ( DATE (2014,1,1), DATE(2016,12,31 ) )
 Press Enter

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DAX—Date & Time

DAX data and time functions allow you to create metadata, expanding the Calendar
Table by the types of fields you need to analyze (e.g. “MonthName,” “DayoftheWeek”).
You can use basic Time & Date functions to create these.
Exercise
 Switch back to Data mode

 Add a new column by either right-clicking on the Date table, or by clicking on
New Measure > New Column
 For each column, type in the following formula into the formula bar, and then
start another column for the next formula
Year = Year ( Dates [ DateKey ] )
MonthNum = Month ( Dates [ DateKey ] )
MonthName = Format ( Dates [ DateKey ] ), “MMM” )
MonthNameAbrv = Format ( Dates [ DateKey ] ), “MMM” )
DayofMonthNum = Day ( Dates [ DateKey ] )
DayName = Format ( Dates [ DateKey ] ), “DDDD” )
WeekdayNum = Weekday ( Dates [ DateKey ] )
DayName = Format ( Dates [ DateKey ] ), “DDDD” )
QuarterNum = ROUNDUP( MONTH( Dates [ DateKey ] )/3 , 0 )
QuarterName = CONCATENATE( “Qtr ” , Dates[QuarterNum] )
Month & Year = CONCATENATE( Dates[MonthNameAbrv]&“ “, Dates[Year] )

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Year & Month = Dates[Year]&Format(Dates[DateKey],”MM”)

Note: As a D AX, CONC ATEN ATE only accepts two arguments, which is why you must use “&”
to insert a space.
Connecting Dates to Data

Creating relationships
You must create relationships to connect the dates table to the rest of your data.
Exercise
 Click on Relationships mode

 Click and drag the DateKey field from the Dates table, to the FactSales table
Relationships
Creating reports using dates

Make a simple chart to display DATE and TIME data analysis.
Exercise: Make a simple chart that shows which month had the best sales:
 Click on Reports mode

 Drag and drop DATES(MonthName) onto staging area
 Drag and drop FactSales(TotalProfit) onto staging area table
 Convert table to visual by:
o Select table on staging area
o Select “Clustered Column Chart” visual
 Sort the chart: Largest to smallest
o Click on the three dots (…) in upper right corner of
chart
o Select Sort by Profit

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Note: Conducting the sort above does not sort chronologically

by month. Sorting by month name is only sorting alphabetically.
 Click on Data mode

 Choose the MonthName column
 Modeling tab > Sort by Column

 Sort by MonthNum
Introduction to Time Intelligence

These are a set of functions that understand dates. This section will focus on DATESYTD
(Year to Date).
DATESYTD
Exercise: Create a measure that CALCULATES TotalSales for the Year To Date
Show TotalSales by Month and show a running total of TotalSales for the year. Create a
measure that will allow you to include a running total (not a grand total) from the
beginning of the year.
 Click on Data mode

 Select FactSales table
 Insert a new measure
 Type in formula bar:
SalesYTD = CALCULATE ( [TotalSales] , DATESYTD ( Dates [DateKey] ) )

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Lab 5: Creating Calendar Tables

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Day 2: Module 4
Creating Dashboards
 Understand the difference between reports and dashboards

 Know how to publish your data to Power BI Online
 Create stunning dashboards and share with your colleagues
What are Power BI Dashboards?

Dashboards are at the heart of Power BI. Dashboards allow you to monitor your most
important data, at a glance. A dashboard combines on-premises and cloud-born data
in a single window, providing a consolidated view of summarized data, no matter
where the data lives. Each metric, or insight, is displayed on the dashboard as a tile.
LABS
NOTES:

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LAB 1: Creating & Editing Queries

In this lab you will be re-issuing the queries from earlier, with one major difference: you
will not be loading them into tables. This time you’re going to “Load to Data Model”.
This process greatly reduces the size of your file.
Start with a blank Excel workbook
Import from an Excel file:

1. Excel > DATA > New Query > From File > From Workbook
2. Select the file called GeographyAsia
3. Click Load drop-down icon
4. “Load to…”
 Only Create Connection
 Add this data to the Data Model
Import from the other Excel files, using “Load to

Data Model”.
 GeographyEurope
 GeaographyNorthAmerica
Promote Headers
If the headers are named like “Column 1”, make
sure to “Use first row as headers”.
Append Tables
1. Excel > QUERY TOOLS > Append
2. Append GeographyAsia with GeographyEurope
3. Append the new query with GeographyNorthAmerica
4. Name this query AllRegions
5. Close and Load to Data Model

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Query Online Data

1. Excel > DATA > New Query > From Other Sources > From Web
2. Paste in the URL: http://blog.learnit.com/Files.powerbi.html
3. Select the table called Table0
4. Name this Query Continents
Querying Text Files

1. Excel > DATA > New Query > From File > From Text
2. Select and Open the file called GeoCodesGeometry
3. You may need to “Use first row as headers”
4. Name this Query GeoCodes
Referencing Queries
1. Select the Query called AllRegions
2. Excel > QUERY TOOLS > Reference
Merging Queries
3. Query Editor > HOME > Merge Queries
4. Merge the query named AllRegions with the query named Continents
5. Select the columns on each table called ContinentID
6. Click OK
7. Select the resulting column in the Query Editor
8. Query Editor > TRANSFORM > Expand
9. Choose the column ColumnName
10. Click OK
11. Name this Query Merged
Reference the Query called Merged

1. Select the query called Merged
2. Right-click and choose “Reference”
3. Name this new query Normalized
Replace Values
1. Select the column called State, Region
2. Query Editor > HOME > Replace Values
3. Replace all semi-colons with commas
4. Click OK

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Split Columns
1. Select the column called State, Region
2. Query Editor > TRANSFORM > Split Column
3. Select the drop-down menu, and choose “Custom”
4. Enter “ – “ as the custom delimiter.
5. Rename the columns, “State” and “Region” respectively
Remove Columns / Blank Rows

1. Remove the column called “Status”
2. Remove the column called “Actual”
3. Remove the column called “Column 18”
4. Query Editor > HOME > Remove rows > remove blank rows
Converting Data Types

Convert the following columns to their corresponding data types using the command
on Query Editor > HOME > Transform > Data Type
Whole number
 Locations
 Employees
Date
 LoadDate
 UpdateDate
Currency
 Projected Revenue
 Actual revenue
 Difference
Decimal Number (there is no percent option)

 % Difference
Merge Columns
1. Select the columns called Loc2 and Loc5
2. Query Editor > TRANSFORM > Merge Columns
3. Name this column GeoCodes
4. Click OK

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Adding Custom Columns

1. Query Editor > ADD COLUMN > Add Custom Column
2. Name this column ProjectedEmployees
3. Type in the formula window:
= [Employees] * 1.15
4. Click OK
5. Format this column as a Whole Number
Observe the difference in file size

The difference in file size is profound. This will make a large impact on performance as
well.

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LAB 2: Creating Reports & Visuals

Lab 2A: Revenue – Actual vs. Projected
For this first lab, we’re going to be using data only from the Geography table.
The first report will

compare Projected
Revenues to the
Actual Revenues.
Report Level filter for the United States

Place the Region field in the Report Level filter. Then filter for the United States.

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Make 2 cards
Make it easy for your audience to understand the main point: how much over (or
under) the projection were the actual sales?
Use the following fields, and apply the Card style visual.
 Difference (SUM)
 % Difference (AVERAGE)
For each card
1. Turn off the Category label

2. Turn on the Title
3. Give it a title
 Sales Over Projection
 Percent Over Projection
4. Give the title a color
5. Change title font to 14
6. Center the title
7. Apply a Border (light grey)

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Make a Clustered Bar Chart
Field Placement
Axis State
Value Difference
Color Saturation Difference
Sort the chart By Difference
Change the Data Colors

1. Turn on “Diverging” to get a 3 color spectrum
2. Change the Minimum to red

3. Change the Center to grey
4. Maximum should be blue
5. Minimum value is -1,000,000

6. Center is 100000
7. Maximum is 8000000
Change Title to “Sales Over Projection”

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Make a Clustered Column Chart
Field Placement
Axis State
Value Projected Revenue

Actual Revenue
Change Data Colors

Change the colors to whatever you’d like
Change the title to “Projection vs. Actual by State”
Start placing your visual items where you’d like.

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Create a Scatter (Bubble) Chart
Field Placement
Details State
X Axis % Difference (AVERAGE)
Y Axis Actual Revenue (SUM)
Size Projected Revenue
Note that Scatter charts are charts with 2D data (X and Y Axis fields)
where as Bubble charts have a 3rd dimension of values that change the bublle size
(Projected Revenue)
Change the title to “Actual Revenue, % Over Projection”
Turn on Category Labels
Data Colors
Change the default color.
If desired, recolor some of the outliers another color. But it is also

advisable to use the built in feature on the Fields pane (Color
Saturation) to automate this for future data.

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Create a Shape Map
Field Placement
Location State
Color Saturation Difference
Turn off the Title
Data Colors
1. Diverging On
2. Minimum Red
3. Center White
4. Maximum Blue
5. Minimum -1000000
6. Center 0
7. Maximum 8000000

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Lab 2B: Wage vs. Revenue Comparison

Note: use fields from both tables
The second
report will
compare
wages to
revenues to
see if there is
any
correlation, or
insights we
can gain.
Report Level filter for the United States

Grab the Region field and place it in the Report Level filter. Then filter for
the Unites States.

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Make 2 cards
Make it easy for the audience to understand the main point: how much over (or under)
the projection were the actual sales?
Use the following fields, and apply the Card style visual.
 GrossPay2013 (SUM) – Employees table

 ActualRevenue (SUM) – Geography table
For each card
1. Change the Data Label Color

2. Apply a Border (light grey)
Make a Donut Chart
Field Placement
Values Actual Revenue (Geography table)
GrossPay2013 (Employees table)
Change the Data Colors

 Actual Revenue Red
 GrossPay2013 Blue

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Line and Clustered Column Chart
Field Placement
Shared Axis State (Employees table)
Column values GrossPay2013 (Employees table)

AveStatePay (Employees table)
Line values Actual Revenue
Sort by
GrossPay2013

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Add a Matrix table

This is the closest thing we have to a Pivot
Table in Power BI
Field Placement
Rows State (Employees table)
Values AveStatePay (Employees table)

Projected Revenue (Geography table)
Actual Revenue (Geography table)
EmpID (Employees table)
Matrix Style
Try a few, choose which ever one you like best.
Add a slicer
Field Placement
Field State
Resize the slicer, making it tall and narrow so that it will fit on the left side of the report.

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Lab
Create at least one additional report, analysis suggestions include:
Profit
 Which product categories have the highest profit margins? Which product
generate the most dollars in profit? What correlations can be drawn here?
 Compare Profit in each month by category. What conclusions can you draw?
 Compare this to the sales in each month by category. What conclusions can you
draw here?
Refunds
 What portion of total sales is refunded?
 Which Product Category has the most refunds? The highest refund amount? The
highest refund:sales ratio?
 What time of year brings in the most refunds? Is there any correlation between
promotions being run and refunds?
Sales & Transactions

 Which days typically have the highest number of transactions? Which days have
the highest sales typically?
 Are the monthly sales trends consistent each year? Which months sell the best?
How does this compare to the promotions being offered at the time?
 Which Product Category is been declining in sales? Which has been steady?
Locations
 Which locations have been selling the best?
 Which locations have the highest refunds?
 Which locations have the highest profit margin?
 Which locations have the most transactions?
 Transaction to profit ratio?

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LAB 3: Measures and DAX

Let’s analyze our Returns. We want to determine our Net Sales, and the percent of our
Total Sales that were refunded, and what percent were not refunded.
You will be creating measures that accomplish the

following:
1. Aggregate Refunds (SUM RefundAmount)
2. Get Net Sales (Total Sales – Refunds)
3. Get Percent of Total Sales that was refunded
4. Get Percent of Total Transactions that were refunded
REFUNDS Measure
Table: FactSales
Measure Name: Refunds
Formula: = SUM ( FactSales[ReturnAmount] )
Format: Currency
NETSALES Measure
Table: FactSales
Measure Name: NetSales
Formula: = [TotalSales] - [Refunds]
Format: Currency
PERCENT REFUNDS of SALES Measure

Table: FactSales
Measure Name: % TotalSales Refunded
Formula: = [Refunds] / [TotalSales]
Format: Percent

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PERCENT TRANSACTIONS REFUNDED Measure

Table: FactSales
Measure Name: % Transactions Refunded
Formula: = CALCULATE ( COUNT ( FactSales[ReturnAmount] ) , FactSales[ReturnAmount]
>0) / COUNT ( FactSales[ReturnAmount])
Format: Percent
This last example is one in which the user has decided not to create individual ancestor
measures first.
How could you change this measure to a derived measure? (Create

ancestors)

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LAB 4 – Creating Reports

Make some measures for PromoSales, and Refunds. Then build reports for each one.
Lab 4A – Promotion and Regular Sales Comparison

We want to know how our Discounts contribute to Sales. And we want to know how the
discount values compare to the sales generated by that promotion. This is how it will
look.
Make some measures:

We haven’t made a measure for the total
dollar amount of the discounts. So let’s do that
first.
Then let’s make a measure that compares

Total Sales on Promo to the value of the
discounts.
And finally we’ll need to make

a measure for PromoSalesYTD.

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100% Stacked Column Chart
Fields
Axis: MonthName
Value: RegularSales
PromoSales
Tooltips: RegularSales
PromoSales
PromoSalesYTD
DiscountAmount
Cards & Slicers

Just choose the field
displayed on the
slicer or the Card
Promo Sales
Discount Amount
% of Total Sales
Discounted
(Average)

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Matrix Table
Fields
Field
Rows: MonthName
Columns: Year
Values: PromoSales
PromoSalesYTD
Format
Format
Matrix Style: Style: Flashy Rows
Grand Tota: Font Color: White
Note: As of the creation of this guide, the ability to turn off

Grand Totals has a bug, so we turn them white.
Pie Chart & Donut Chart

These are easy. Each one only has values. And the values are
displayed below as the data labels.

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Lab 4B
Create at least one additional report, analysis suggestions include:
Profit
 Which product categories have the highest profit margins? Which product
generate the most dollars in profit? What correlations can be drawn here?
 Compare Profit in each month by category. What conclusions can you draw?
 Compare this to the sales in each month by category. What conclusions can you
draw here?
Refunds
 What portion of total sales is refunded?
 Which Product Category has the most refunds? The highest refund amount? The
highest refund:sales ratio?
 What time of year brings in the most refunds? Is there any correlation between
promotions being run and refunds?
Sales & Transactions

 Which days typically have the highest number of transactions? Which days have
the highest sales typically?
 Are the monthly sales trends consistent each year? Which months sell the best?
How does this compare to the promotions being offered at the time?
 Which Product Category is been declining in sales? Which has been steady?
Locations
 Which locations have been selling the best?
 Which locations have the highest refunds?
 Which locations have the highest profit margin?
 Which locations have the most transactions?
 Transaction to profit ratio?

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2016 Power BI Essentials Walkthrough

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POWER BI: ESSENTIALS

Microsoft, Microsoft Press, ActiveX, Excel, FrontPage, Internet Explorer, PowerPoint,

Unless otherwise noted, the example companies, organizations, products, domain

Course Manual Version 1.0

How to transform data into smallest meaningful value ................................................. 23

Creating Reports & Visualizations ............................................................................................. 35

Creating measures in Power Pivot .................................................................................... 62

Publish Online to the Power BI Service..................................................................................... 71

About this Training Course

How to Use this Manual

 Quick overview—Scan it for a quick overview of a topic.

Module 1: Getting Started with Power BI

 What is Power BI?

Module 2: Get and Transform Data with Power Query

 Introduction to Power Query

Module 3: Introduction to Power BI Desktop

 Introduction to Power BI Desktop

Module 4: Data Modeling

 Concepts of Power Pivot and "Data Model" in Excel

 Concepts (Power BI compared to Excel)

Module 6: Power BI Online

 Dashboards vs. Reports

What is Excel Power BI?

POWER BI allows users to:

Programs and Files You Will Need:

(c) LearniT! 2016. All Rights Reserved. 10

How to install Power BI Desktop?

 Go to the POWER BI downloads site:

If you receive the below message:

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2. Install the newest .NET framework:

Download Power BI Exercise Files

What’s New in Excel 2016?

 3D Maps (formerly named Power Maps)

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3D Maps is now located in the Insert tab.

Power BI Desktop vs. Excel

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Added benefits to using Power BI Desktop include:

Power BI Online & Mobile Apps

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Office 365—Excel Online vs. Excel Desktop

How to Add Power BI to your Office 365 Portal

1. Go to https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/ > Sign In

Excel Add-Ins (only for Excel 2013 users)

To download the add-ins follow these steps:

 File tab > Options > Add-ins tab in left-hand toolbar

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Ribbon Overview: Get and Transform

What is a Data Query?

 What data do you want to retrieve?

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Querying Data from Excel

 Columns headers are unnamed

How to launch Query Editor

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Overview of Query Editor interface

This is the Query

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Ribbon Overview: Home Tab

Close & Load—exit the Query Editor

 Hover over query

Append Queries in Query Editor

 Select query in Workbook Queries to combine