Power BI and Power Query In this article we will show you how to use parameters within Power Query in PowerBI. Query parameters are a powerful way to dynamically interact with your data in Power BI. With the query parameters, users can define one or multiple parameters to be used in their queries. Stay tuned while we work through this exercise to demonstrate how query parameters work. Consider a query with geographical information in it like Country, State, and City: As you can see the query contains information on state and city names from a few countries across the globe. We would like to just focus on Europe and hence we would create a parameter to define a list of all the countries in Europe. We have already created a list query called Europe which we will use when we create the parameter.
Under the Home menu click on Manage Parameters to bring up the Parameters window: Enter the data in the relevant sections like below and hit OK. A new parameter EuropeanCountries is now created which we can now use to filter the query. Click on the Filter option in the Countries column and go to Text Filters- equals to bring up the Filter Rows window. Select Parameter instead of Text to choose the EuropeanCoutries parameter and hit OK. Since we set the current value of the parameter to be Germany the query now lists only data from Germany You can now dynamically update your charts by changing the current value.
In the data model go to Home- Edit Queries- Edit Parameters to bring up the Enter Parameters window. From the drop down list choose the country you want and the query and any chart/table which references the Country field will be updated This is just one example of how you can use parameters. If you would like to learn more about Power Query and Power BI then check out our Stay tuned for more Power BI articles from guest blogger Abhijith in the coming weeks!
Advertisement Excel has an excellent range of power tools you should be using to analyze your business data. Whether you need to export for business intelligence, pivot your data to find trends, or just use your data more visually, Do you really need Excel? Both desktop and online solutions have their advantages. If you have trouble choosing between Excel and Google Sheets for managing your spreadsheets, let us help you decide. Today we’re going to explore the realms of Power Pivot, Power Query, Power View, Power Map, and if we have a little time left over, cloud-based Power BI, the Excel Business Intelligence tool.
It seems like a lot, but we can cover all of these subjects and leave you yearning to learn more. One of Excel’s strongest selling points are these tools and their interlinked nature: once you use one tool for analysis, it is easy to see where the others could provide further support. With ample understanding of these Excel tools, you’ll be master of your data. Power Pivot Power Pivot is one of Vanilla Excel is amazing, but you can make it even more powerful with add-ins. Whatever data you need to process, chances are someone created an Excel app for it. Here's a selection.
On its 2010 release, Bill Jelen, founder of Mr. Excel, called Power Pivot “the best new feature to happen to Excel in twenty years,” so you begin to understand the gravitas of the Excel extension.
Power Query Updates for Excel 2016 Office 365 For Excel 2016 users with an Office 365 subscription your updates come at different intervals depending on your update channel. By default, Office 365 is installed on the Deferred Channel.
Microsoft Office 2016 for Windows has landed and it brings many smart new features. If you have an Office 365 subscription, you can get it now for free and we show you how below. In the base installation for Excel, highlighting its The pivot table is one of the single most powerful tools in the Excel 2013 repertoire. It is frequently used for large data analysis. Follow our step-by-step demonstration to learn all about it.
And data modelling tool. Power Pivot can handle large volumes of data imported from a variety of external sources, extending the functionality of the standard Pivot Table function. Use Power Pivot too:. Import and manage millions of data rows for multiple sources. Build analytical relationships between data from different sources, quickly creating and modelling data tables using Counting and adding formulas may appear mundane compared to more advanced Excel formulas. But they can help you save a lot of time when you need to collect information about the data in your spreadsheet.
Feed data into Excel’s other power tools: pivots, charts, grids, power view, power map, and more. Use Data Analysis Expressions, or DAX, a new formula language extending Excel’s data manipulation facilities. You can read. Power Pivot is in itself an important tool for Power BI. The enhanced data tables and models you can build using Power Pivot, along with the seamless integration with Power View and Power Map, give you chance to uncover hidden trends, build business insight, and most importantly turn that wonderful raw data into something parsable. Office 2010: download Power Pivot for Microsoft Excel 2010 using this link No Longer Available.
Run the installation package. Once installed the Power Pivot tab will appear in Excel and if you head to File Options Add-Ins you should spot PowerPivot for Excel as a COM Add-in. Power Query Power Query is another data analysis power tool that can be used for extracting data from a massive range of data sources, to clean and transform that data, and deliver that data into an accessible format. Power Query is important to both regular and professional users. Regular users can exert greater control over columns, Excel is the spreadsheet gold standard. If you are required to use Excel and yet have to familiarize yourself with it, these resources will quickly introduce you to the basics and more., filtering tools, modifying data types on the fly to transform raw information into valuable insight. With Power Query, you can:.
Find and connect data from a massive range of sources, merging and molding that data to match your own requirements, or use integrated modeling tools, Power Pivot and Power View, to push your data further. Use the Whether you plan to be a web developer or not, it's a good idea to at least know what is JSON, why it's important, and why it's used all around the web. To build massive data visualizations over Data science has gone from a newly coined term in 2007 to being one of the most sought-after disciplines today.
But what does a data scientist do? And how can you break into the field?. Share and manage your queries across your sources, as well as exporting them to Power BI, or your business. Search online for public data sources, including Wikipedia, Azure, and Data.gov. Un-pivot your pivot tables. The range of Power Query data sources is extensive:.
Web page. Excel or CSV file. XML file. Text file. Folder.
SQL Server database. Microsoft Azure SQL Database. Microsoft Access is a complex database tool with a steep learning curve. If you're searching for more intuitive and free alternatives with comparable features, we've got you covered!. Oracle database. IBM DB2 database. MySQL database.
OData feed. Microsoft Azure Marketplace. Hadoop File (HDFS). Microsoft Azure HDInsight. Microsoft Azure Table Storage. Active Directory.
Microsoft Exchange. Facebook As with Power Pivot, Power Query also features as a central tool for Power BI, as well as providing visualization tables for Power Map and Power View.
As mentioned above, Power Query can also be used to un-pivot tables, restoring them back to their original status for further analysis. Office 2010/2013: download. Locate your download and install. Once installed, you should spot the Power Query tab.
If not, head to File Options Add-Ins. In the Manage box, at the bottom of screen select COM Add-Ins, followed by Go.
Make sure Microsoft Power Query for Excel is selected, and hit OK. Power View Next up: Power View! Power View is primarily an interactive visualization tool used to provide a drag-and-drop interface for rapid model building.
Many Excel experts use Power View as their principal Power Pivot Words and numbers are not enough. In the end, visuals will capture and convince your audience. Here are the tools that will help you turn your data into something great., and there are a couple of important reasons why:. Power View groups data by corresponding values. For instance, if we are mapping figures relating to Tucson, AZ, but our data returns values for Dove Mountain, Rancho Vistoso, and Barrio Historico, Power View smart groups them offering one single value. Power View can connect to a number of different data models in one workbook, meaning you can show clients a range of data tables and visualizations, rather than the single one available to base-Excel.
Modify the internal data models without leaving the Power View sheet: update your visualizations on-the-fly, create new relationships between current data, and introduce key performance indicators (KPIs) based upon those relationships. Graphics are easier to grasp than text and numbers. Charts are a great way to visualize numbers. We show you how to create charts in Microsoft Excel and when to best use what kind., maps, and other data visualization tools, as well as data hierarchies allowing you to “drill” down through data, one layer at a time. Loading Power View Unfortunately, Power View is only available for Excel 2013 and 2016, though it is backwards compatible with SharePoint 2010, meaning you can base a Power View file in SharePoint 2010 using the SQL Server 2010 Reporting Services add-in. However, features such as hierarchies and KPIs may cease to work. Office 2013/2016: open Excel and head to File Options Add-Ins.
In the Manage box, at the bottom of the screen select COM Add-Ins, followed by Go. Make sure Power View is selected, and hit OK. Power Map Power Map enables you to plot and visualize data in three-dimensions. It is particularly suited to visualizing geographic or temporal data, and certainly provides some visual relief to clients or businesses seeking to understand their data further, gathering insights previously unseen in the traditional, two-dimensional workbook. Power Map can:.
Plot millions of rows of data across a three-dimensional map, using data taken directly from a table, or using a data model. Capture screenshots and build cinematic tours through your data, updating the data throughout to see time-stamped information changing. Extensively filter portions of data to compare how different factors affect your data. Build custom regions to illustrate localized data models. Loading Power Map If you have an Office 365 ProPlus subscription or Office 2016 Power Map will already be installed in Excel as part of the self-service business management tools.
Activate it by heading to File Options Add-Ins. In the Manage box, at the bottom of the screen select COM Add-Ins, followed by Go. Make sure Microsoft Power Map for Excel is selected, and hit OK.
Office 2013: download the, and follow the installation guide. Once installed, follow the above procedure to activate. To use Power Map open Excel and head to Insert Map.
Power Map is not available for Excel 2010. Power BI The aforementioned tools amalgamate as providers into the cloud-based Power Business Intelligence tool. It comes in two flavors: Excel-Based Power BI, or Power BI for Desktop. There are advantages to both, but many business use both in hybrid.
It makes sense: the Excel-Based Power BI is extremely well integrated into Excel and has a massive following, while Power BI for Desktop offers a massive range of visualizations for Sometimes, a simple spreadsheet format isn't engaging enough to make your data accessible. A dashboard allows you to present your most important data in an easy-to-digest format., as well as being optimized for both mobile and PC users. Both clients use the same engine, the same language, the same cloud hosting, access to SharePoint, so there is no messy transition between clients or users. Office 2016 brought forth a number of Power BI updates, including:. Around 30 new DAX functions and expressions. Query Editor to ease data shaping, adding more analytical depth to Power Query. Power BI will suggest relationships between data models and Pivot Table Fields, as well as the addition of Time Grouping for Pivot Tables.
Extensive range of forecasting tools for data modelling. Field summarizations with additional operators. HDInsight Spark and Azure SQL Data Warehouse connectors. The Power BI tagline is “let us help you bring your data to life,” putting the emphasis on letting your data do the work for you, exploring your data using “free-form drag-and-drop canvas” systems, and bringing your “stories” to life. I personally hate the use of the word “stories” in this context, but everything is shiny, practical, and relatively open to newcomers.
Ultimately, you can make use of each individual component of the Power BI stack to power up your data into a competitive business advantage. Power BI becomes the central spool, drawing thread from each service to expand the capabilities of your analytics toolset through dashboards, easily published reports, and visually attractive data modelling. Loading Power BI To download the standalone Power BI for Desktop, follow, then follow the installation instructions, or head to the dedicated Power BI site. The dedicated site offers you chance to sign-up as a pro user for $10 per user per month.
For this, your data capacity is lifted from 1GB per user per month to 10GB, your data refresh rate is raised to an hourly schedule, and you can process over 1m rows per hour. Furthermore, you gain access to Office 365 Groups for Power BI, making it easier to share between teams. Take a look at the site to understand more about what Power BI could do for you. Office 2016: I’m afraid you will have to hold on a little longer.
Power BI can only be used with ProPlus versions of Office and Microsoft recently confirmed this might not be released until early 2016. There are details for administrators. Office 2013: Only Office 2013 ProPlus, or those with an Office 365 ProPlus subscription can make full use of Power BI, using the existing tools we set out in the previous section. Office 2010: Sorry, friend, you don’t have the requisite version of Excel to utilize all of the latest Power BI features.
However, Power BI works with any XLSX Excel workbook, so you can always migrate some of your data into the standalone desktop version. Power Tool Roundup We’ve covered the Excel power core, and introduced you to the business intelligence tool Power BI. Hopefully, you’ll feel comfortable activating them on your own system and having a good rummage around with their many features. It is worth remembering that each of the standalone tools feed into Power BI, and with the latest updates to Power BI for Desktop there is even more emphasis on Power Query and the extensive range of Power View tools. Meaning you can explore and expand your own understanding of each tool with the sound knowledge it can all be deployed in one powerful business intelligence punch. What is your favorite Excel power tool? Do you use desktop or integrated Power BI?