Top 60 Power BI Interview Questions and Answers for 2023

1.WhatisPowerBI?

Power BI is a business analytics service provided by Microsoft. It allows users to create reports and dashboardsbasedonvariousdatasources,suchasExcel,databases,andonlineservices.WithPower BI, users can visualize and analyze their data, and share their insights with others in their organization. Power BI offers a range of features, including data modeling, data visualization, reporting, and collaboration. It is available as a standalone service, or as part of various Office 365 plans.PowerBIisdesignedtobeuser-friendly,sothatpeoplewithlittleornotechnicalexpertisecan use it to gain insights from their data.

2.WhyusePowerBI?

Power BI provides a simple setup to connect, transform, and visualize the raw business data from multiplesources.Evennon-technicaluserscanextractvaluableinformationfromtheirbusinessdata and use it to make better decisions. It provides a secure cloud service that enables the user to view dashboards,reportsandsharethemwithotherbusinessusersandstakeholdersinreal-timeanalysis.

Power BI provides AI features in the form of Power Query and Power Q&A. With Power Query, you cancreatethedashboardsbysimplytypinginthecolumnsandthevisualsyouwanttoinclude.While Power Q&Aallows you to analyze your data bygiving voice commands.

Small businesses can use Power BI Desktop to visualize their business data without spending their time and moneyin maintaining a separate team for data analysis.

3.WhatisthedifferencebetweenManagedEnterprise BIandSelf-serviceBI?

The limitations of Managed Enterprise BI led to the birth of Self-service BI. There are significant differences that separatethem.

Self-serviceBI

This enables companies to ingest data from any data source, seamlessly. Companies take in data from any source in any format.

With data ingestion falling into order, companies are able to process data and, consequently, conduct business operations with ease.

ManagedEnterpriseBI

Here, data flows in from a plethora of sources and, for this reason, there is no order in which companies ingest and managetheirdatasources.

Companies fail to conduct their business operations, effectively,astheyarenotabletoreportandanalyzedataand collaborateforcollectingvaluableinsightsfromit.

Analyzing data is easy, and There are time constraints and a lack of proper information

it is done implicitly. Time constraints are hence alleviated.

There is no need for thirdpartyvendorsanymoreand all associated constraints areeradicated.

Users could generate intuitive and actionable dashboards almost instantaneously without executing complex programmingcodes.

whenitcomestoanalyzingdata.

Third-party vendors are employed to help companies make themostoutoftheirdatasources,leadingtobudgetproblems andslowproductivity.

Complex programming skills are necessary for generating reports.

4.WhatexactlyisSelf-serviceBI?

Self-serviceBIorSelf-serviceBusinessIntelligence(SSBI)isanapproachtodataanalytics,reporting, and visualization that enables users to generate easy-to-understand, intuitive, and actionable dashboards, almost instantaneously.

The most striking feature of SSBI is the fact that users are not required to be adept at technical expertisewhenitcomestodatareporting.Usingavailablefiltersanddatamanipulationoptions,they can influence data as per their business needs and further create reports. There are two parts to Microsoft SSBI:

• Excel BI toolkit

• Power BI

5. Why are you interested in Power BI? What makes you think that Power BI would be a great career option?

AsanAI,Idon’thavepersonalpreferencesorcareergoals.Iamalanguagemodeldesignedtoprovide information and answer questions to the best of my ability based on the knowledge and information Ihave been trainedon.

Power BI is a tool used for data visualization and business intelligence. It allows users to create interactive dashboards and reports basedon datafrom a varietyof sources. It is a popular toolin the field of data analysis and can be a valuable skill for professionals in a variety of industries. Some people may find working with Power BI to be a rewarding and fulfilling career option due to the potentialto make an impact throughtheuse of data andvisualization in decision-making.

6.MentiontheimportantfeaturesofPowerBI.

Features of Power BI aremany.The most notableones are:

• It allows users to transform datainto visuals and share those visuals with colleagues.

• It allows users to explore and analyzedata from all sources (in anall-in-one view).

• It allows users to scale across organizations with built-ingovernance and security.

• Once an output is generated, users can display the same in multiple devices that are compatible with thePower BI application.

• With Power BI natural language processing or Power BI Q&A, users can perform queries on reports using simpleEnglish words.

7.IsPowerBIfreetouse?

Power BIis available in three versions: Power BIDesktop, Power BIService, andPower BIMobile.

Power BI Desktop is a free desktop application that you can download from the Microsoft website. It allows you to create and publishreports anddashboards to thePower BIService or to SharePoint.

Power BI Service is a cloud-based service that includes all the features of Power BI Desktop, plus additional collaboration and sharing capabilities. It is available as a free service or as part of a paid subscription to Microsoft 365.

Power BI Mobile is a free app that allows you to access and interact with your Power BI dashboards andreports on your mobile device.

In summary, Power BI Desktop and Power BI Mobile are free to use, while the Power BI Service is available as a free service or as part of a paidsubscription to Microsoft 365.

8.WhataretheversionsofPowerBI?

Power BIcurrentlycomes in three versions:

• MicrosoftPowerBIFree/Desktop –Thisversionisforuserswhowanttogetbusinessinsightsfromtheir data with visualizations.

• Microsoft Power BI Pro – This is the full version of Power BI. It allows users unlimited reporting, sharing, and viewing ofreports.

• Microsoft Power BI Premium – This version provides a license for all usersin anorganization.

9.WhatisPowerBIDesktop?

There are five different components of Power BI.

• Power Pivot: Fetches and cleans data and loads on to Power Query

• Power Query: Operates on theloaded data

• Power Q&A: Makes it possiblefor users to interact with reports using simple English language

• Power View: Lets userscreateinteractive charts, graphs, maps, and other visuals

• Power Map: Enables the processing of accurate geographic locations indatasets

10.WhatarethemajorcomponentsofPowerBI?

There are five different components of Power BI.

• Power Pivot: Fetches and cleans data and loads on to Power Query

• Power Query: Operates on theloaded data

• Power Q&A: Makes it possiblefor users to interact with reports using simple English language

• Power View: Lets userscreateinteractive charts, graphs, maps, and other visuals

• Power Map: Enables the processing of accurate geographic locations indatasets

CareerTransition

11.Whatisthepurposeofthe‘GetData’iconinPower BI?

When users click on the Get Data icon in Power BI, a drop-down menu appears and it shows all data sourcesfrom whichdatacan beingested.

DatacanactuallybedirectlyingestedfromanysourceincludingfilesinExcel,CSV,XML,JSON,PDF, and SharePoint formats and databases such as SQL, Access, SQL Server Analysis Services, Oracle, IBM, MySQL, andmuchmore. Also, Power BIdatasets and Power BIdata flows are compatible. Data can also be taken in from Azure and other online sources.

12.HowcanwefilterdatainPowerBI?

DatacanbefilteredusingvariousfiltersthatareavailableinPowerBI,implicitly.Therearebasically three types of filters, namely, Page-levelfilters, Drillthroughfilters, and Report-levelfilters.

• Drillthrough filters: With Drillthrough filters in Power BI Desktop, users can create a page in their reports that focuses on specific entities such as suppliers, customers, or manufacturers.

• Page-level filters: Theseare used to filter charts that are present on individual pages.

• Report-level filters: They are used to simultaneously filter charts that are present on all pages of a report.

13.HowisPowerBIdifferentfromotherBItools?

Power BI provides better features and data manipulation tools as compared to other BI tools like Tableau. A single user can connect with multiple data sources without anyexperience in coding and data analytics. As a product of Microsoft, Power BI is closely integrated with other Microsoft tools suchas Office 365, SharePoint, andBing.

In the free version of Power BI Desktop, the user can analyze datasets of up to 1GB in storage along with10,000rowsofdatasteamingeveryhour.Moreover,itprovidesfeatureslikePowerQuerywhich allowstheusertoeasilyvisualizethedatasetsbygivingthecommandinthenaturalEnglishlanguage.

14.MSBIvsPowerBI

Beloware thekey differences between theMSBI and Power BI:

Here is a comparison of Microsoft SQL Server Business Intelligence (MSBI) and Microsoft Power BI in table form:

MSBI

Purpose BuildBIsolutions

Power BI

Access, analyze, and visualizedata

Targetusergroup IT professionals and developers Businessusers

Included tools and technologies

ETL tools, reporting tools, dashboardtools

Data visualization tools, data connectors,

Deployment On-premisesorinthecloud Cloud-based

Pricing

Included with certain versions of Microsoft SQL Server

Free and paid versions available (PowerBIPro)

Overall, MSBI is a suite of tools and technologies that is used to build BI solutions, while Power BI is a cloud-based BI platform that provides a range of tools and features for accessing, analyzing, and visualizing data. Both MSBI and Power BI can be used to gain insights from data and make better informed decisions, buttheyare designedfor different purposes andtarget different user groups.

15.PowerBIvsTableau

Here is a comparison ofMicrosoft Power BI andTableau in table form:

Purpose Access, analyze, and visualizedata

Access, analyze, and visualize data

Targetusergroup Businessusers Businessusers

Included tools and technologies

Data visualization tools, data connectors, reporting tools

Data visualization tools, data connectors,reportingtools

Deployment Cloud-based On-premisesorinthecloud

Pricing Free and paid versions available(PowerBIPro) Free and paid versions available (TableauDesktop,Server)

Both Power BI and Tableau are BI tools that are designed to help users access, analyze, and visualize data. Both tools include a range of features and capabilities, such as data visualization tools, data connectors,andreportingtools.However,therearesomedifferencesbetweenthetwotoolsinterms of deployment and pricing. Power BI is a cloud-based tool that is available as a free or paid service, while Tableau can be deployed on-premises or in the cloud, and it is available in both free and paid versions.

16.WhataretheessentialapplicationsofPowerBI?

Power BIis used bythefollowingprofessionalsand departments:

• Project Management Office: Power BI is used by project managers to identify the current situation of various business units. It helps them to seetheoverall performance oftheteam and trackthe progress ofvarious projects.

• Business andData Analysts: Business Analysts usePower BI to analyzetherawbusiness dataatgreater speeds and efficiency. They prepare the data by cleaning and transforming it based on specific requirements and prepare livereports to express the raw inthe form ofvisual insights.

• Database Administrators: By using PowerShell or Microsoft 365, the database administrator can increasethePower BI embedded capacity and assigntheroles to different team members. With Power

BI, the Database Administrators can set the passwords and decide who can access the reports and dashboards inPower BI.

• ITProfessionals: IT professionalscanusePower BIto createstunningvisualizationsanddashboardsto track their performance and visualize various log files for the meetings. It also helps them to find out the areas where the team needs to work on and improvetheir performance.

• Reports for the consumer: With Power BI, the business user can add custom reports to various applicationsdesignedfromtheconsumer’sperceptive.Forexample,youcancreateareportthatshows your daily sales down in different countries and add it to your social media profiles, websites, and applications. This will showtheconsumer your product’s popularity and will motivatehim to buy it.

17.AdvantagesofusingPowerBI?

Here are afewadvantages ofusing Power BIover other applications:

• ETL/Data Recovery Suite: Power BI has a robust set of tools for implementing the ETL(extraction, transformation, and loading the datasets) capabilities. Data preparation and transformation are very important before moving to the visualization part. Power BI allows the user to directly build reporting datamarts and remove any ambiguities present in the datasets.

• CustomVisualization: PowerBIprovidesyoutheflexibilityofcreatingcustomvisualizationsandadding them to your dashboards and live reports. Custom reports help the planners and decision-makers to identify the problems and makethebest decisionto improve their performance inthe market.

• Q&ACapability: PowerBIiscapableofexecutingnaturallanguagequerieswiththehelpofPowerQuery and Power Q&A. Power Bi use AI and Natural Language Processing(NLP) algorithms to process the commands given by the user and produce the desired results.

• Easy to use: You don’t need to be an expert to visualize your data and create reports in Power BI. It has a simple interface that allows even a non-technical user to transform the raw data into visually interactivedashboards and reports.

• Price: ComparedtootherBIanddatavisualizationtools,PowerBIishighlyaffordable.Smallbusinesses can use power BI for free and take smart decisions to improvise their performance in the market. Moreover, Power BI Pro comes with an array of features for just $10 a month. Courses you may like

18.WhatarethebuildingblocksofPowerBI?

Beloware thebuilding blocksof Power BI:

• Visualizations: Theseare thevisual representations oftheraw datacollected from varied data sources. Visualizations can be different types such as line graphs, donut charts, pie charts, bar graphs, maps, etc.

• Datasets: It’s a collection that Power BI uses to create visualizations and reports. Datasets in Power BI canbeof different types such as Excel sheets, CSV files, Oracle tables, and more.

• Reports: A report in Power BI is a collection of visualizations bought together on a single or multiple pages. Each visualization in a report shows the specific aspect of the data based on the requirements. For example, profit by-products, sales by country, city report, etc.

• Dashboards: Dashboards are single-layer presentations with one or more visualizations embedded on a single page. Dashboards can be shared on various platforms like Power BI Apps to provide live information.

• Tiles: Tiles are the single visualizations in a dashboard or report. For example, a pie chart, line graph, or any other visualizationis a single tile inPower BI.

NextuponthistopPowerBIinterviewquestionsandanswers,letuscheckoutsomeofthetopPower BI questions that come under the intermediate category.

19.WhatisPowerBIDashboard?

A Power BI dashboard is a single page, interactive visualization of data from multiple sources. It is a way to display and analyze data in a visual format, allowing users to quickly understand trends and patterns in the data.

Power BI dashboards are created using Power BI Desktop or the Power BI Service and can include a varietyofvisualizations,suchascharts,graphs,maps,andtables.Theycanbeconnectedtoavariety of data sources, including Excelspreadsheets, SQL databases, andcloud-baseddata sources.

UserscaninteractwithPowerBIdashboardsbyclickingonelementstodrilldownintothedataorby using filters to focus on specific data sets. Power BI dashboards can also be shared with others, allowing users to collaborate andmake data-driven decisions together.

20.WhatareformatsinPowerBI?

The different formats in Power BIare as follows:

• Power BI Desktop – Power BI Desktopcanbe downloaded and installed onyour PC. Youcanconnect it to the datasource, transform the data, and analyze and visualizeit with the help oftemplates.

• Power BI Services – Power BI Services is aService-as-a-platform or acloud based service.

• Power BI MobileApp – The Power BI App is available for iOs, Android, and Windows.

21.Whatarecustomvisualizations?

Power BI Pro users can create their own visualizations from the custom visualizations library. First, a development project will have to be created and then the visual can be tested in Power BI services. As soon as the custom visualization is created, it is thoroughly tested before posting. It is saved as a .pbiviz file before sharing.

22. What are the parts of Microsoft’s self-service businessintelligencesolution?

Microsoft’s self-service business intelligence solution has two parts:

• Excel BI Toolkit – It helps users create interactive reports using imported data from various data sources. Datacanbemodeled accordingto whatis needed inthe report.

• Power BI – It helps users share the interactivereports created using Excel BI Toolkit.

23.IsPowerBIaneffectivesolution?

PowerBIisacloud-basedbusinessintelligencetool.Ithelpsanalyzeandvisualizerawdataimported from various data sources. It integrates data visualizations with data analytics, to help businesses make better decisions centered around data. Power BI is easy to use and processes data in a reliable andeasy-to-understand way.

PowerBIcanworkondifferentplatformsandbesharedonthecloud.Allofthismakesitanaffection solution.

24.WhatdoyouunderstandbyPowerBIservices?

Power BI Service is a cloud-based business intelligence platform that allows users to create, publish, andshare interactive dashboards and reports. It is a part of the Microsoft Power BI suite of tools and is designedto help businesses visualize and analyze data from a variety ofsources.

Power BI Service includes all the features of Power BI Desktop, plus additional collaboration and sharing capabilities. It allows users to access their Power BIdashboards andreportsfrom anydevice withan internet connection, and to share them withothers within their organization.

Power BI Service also includes a range of features for managing and organizing dashboards and reports, including the ability to create custom workspaces and to set permissions for accessing and modifying content. It also includes integration with other Microsoft tools, such as Excel, OneDrive, and SharePoint, allowing users to seamlessly incorporate data and visualizations into their workflows.

Power BIService is available as a free service oras part of apaidsubscription to Microsoft 365.

25.HowcanyourefreshdatainPowerBI?

There are severalways to refresh data in PowerBI:

1. Automatic refresh: You can set up automatic refresh for your Power BI dashboards and reports by scheduling refresh times in the Power BI Service. To do this, go to the dashboard or report you want to refresh, clickthe ellipsis (…)in the top right corner, and thenselect “Schedule refresh.”

2. Manual refresh: You can manually refresh data in Power BI by clicking the “Refresh” button on the ribboninPowerBIDesktop,orbyclickingthe“Refresh”buttononthedashboardorreportinthePower BI Service.

3. Refreshing data from the source: You can also refresh data by going to the data source and refreshing thedatathere. Forexample,ifyou are using anExcel spreadsheet asadatasource,youcanrefresh the data by opening thespreadsheet in Excel and clicking the “Refresh”button. Itis importanttonotethattheabilitytorefreshdatainPowerBIisdependentonthedatasourceand the refresh capabilities of that source. Some data sources may not support refresh or may have limitationson the frequencyof refresh.

26.WhatisPowerPivot?

Anadd-inforMicrosoftExcel2010,PowerPivotenablesuserstoimportmillionsofrowsofdatafrom various sources into one Excel Workbook. Users can create calculated columns, measure using formulas,andcreaterelationshipsbetweenheterogeneousdata.They canalsobuildPivotChartsand PivotTables. Users can analyze data effectively to help in making timely business decisions without anyhelp from IT.

27.WhatisPowerQuery?

Power Query is an ETL tool. It can help shape, transform, and clean data with the help of intuitive interfaces and no needfor coding. Power Querycan help withthefollowing:

• Importing data from various datasources like files, databases, social media data, big data, etc.

• Appending and joining datafrom several sources.

• Adding or removing datato shape it according to requirements.

28.WhatisPowerView?

PowerViewisatechnologyfordatavisualizationthatallowsuserstocreateinteractivegraphs,charts, maps, and other visualizations that help bring data to life. Power View is available in SharePoint, Excel, Power BI, and SQL Server.

29.DifferentiatebetweenPowerBIandExcel.

Here is a comparison ofMicrosoft Power BI andMicrosoft Excelin table form:

Purpose Access,analyze,andvisualizedata

Workwithdatastoredinspreadsheets

Targetusergroup Businessusers Businessusers

Included tools and technologies

Data visualization tools, data connectors, reportingtools Charts,pivottables,formulas

Deployment Cloud-based Desktopapplication

Pricing Freeandpaidversionsavailable(PowerBIPro) PartoftheMicrosoftOfficesuite

Overall, Power BI and Excel are both useful tools for working with data, but they are designed for differentpurposesandtargetdifferentusergroups.PowerBIisamorepowerfulandflexibletoolfor accessing, analyzing, and visualizing data, while Excel is primarily designed for working with data storedin spreadsheets.

30.ExplainthefilledmapinPowerBI.

AfilledmapinPowerBI isavisualizationthatdisplaysdataonamap,withdifferentareasorregions of the map being filled with color to represent the data. The data values are typically represented by different shades of color, with darker shades representing higher values and lighter shades representing lower values.

TocreateafilledmapinPowerBI,youwillneedtohaveadatasetwithgeographicinformation,such aslatitudeandlongitudecoordinatesorcountry,state,orcitynames.Youcanthenusethefilledmap visualization to display the data on a map and customize the appearance of the map, including the color scheme and thedata labels.

Filled maps are useful for visualizing data that is geographically distributed, such as sales data, population data, or other types of data that can be mapped to a specific location. They can help you toquicklyandeasilysee patternsandtrendsinthedataandgaininsightsthatmightnotbeasreadily apparent in other types of visualizations

31. How to perform query tasks on the Power BI desktop?

You can use Power Query on the Power BI desktop via the power query editor. To open it, you need to go toEdit Queriesfrom thehome tabof thePower BIdesktop.

32.HowdoyoucreateagroupinPowerBI?

You first have to select all the fields you want to group then, right-click on it and open the context menu. You can select the Group option from the menu and Power BI will automatically group these items.

33.ExplainwhatMlanguageisinPowerBI.

MisaquerylanguageformulathatisusedinPowerBIQueryEditor.Ithelpsinpreparingdatabefore loading it into the Power BI model. The main function of Power Query is to mash-up data from one supported source to another. These data mashups are expressed with the help of Power Query M Formula Language.

34.WhatistheTimeIntelligencefunction?

The Time Intelligence function allows users to manipulate data withthehelp ofperiods.

IntermediateMSPowerBIInterviewQuestions

35.WhereisdatastoredinPowerBI?

When data is ingestedinto Power BI, it is basicallystored in Fact and Dimension tables.

• Fact tables: The central table in a star schema of a data warehouse, a fact table stores quantitative informationfor analysis and is not normalized in most cases.

• Dimension tables: It is just another table in the star schema that is used to store attributes and dimensions thatdescribe objects stored in a fact table.

36.Whatarecontentpacks?

Contentpacksarepackagedreports,dashboards,anddatasets,whichcanbesharedwithotherPower BI users in the organization. When a content pack is connected on the Powerbi.com portal, report items are mergedinto workspace lists. The most notablefeatures of contentpacks are as follows:

• Provide access to specific groups or entireorganizations

• Canbecustomized with atitleand a descriptionto help usersselect the right pack

• Users who have access to thecontent packcancreate newdashboards from thecontents

37.WhatarethedifferentviewsinPowerBIDesktop?

There are three differentviewsin Power BI, eachof whichservesa different purpose:

• Report View: Users can add visualizations and additional report pages and publish the same on the portal from here.

• Data View: Data shaping canbe performed through Query Editor tools.

• RelationshipView: Users canmanage relationships betweendatasets in this view.

38.Whatisrow-levelsecurity?

Row-level security restricts the data that a user can view and has access to, based on filters. For configuring row-level security, users can define rules and roles in Power BI Desktop and publish the same to Power BIService. Also, theusername()function can beused alongsidetablerelationshipsto restrict the data to thecurrentuser.

However,forenablingrow-levelsecurity,aPowerBIProsubscriptionaccountisrequired,andExcel sheets can onlybe usedwhen theyare convertedto the.pbixfile format.

39. What is DAX? What are the benefits of using variablesinDAX?

DAX or Data Analysis Expressions can be used to query and return data by a table expression. It is a formula language that is used to perform basic calculations and data analysis on the data in Power Pivot.Also,itisusedtocomputecalculatedcolumns,calculatedfields,andmeasures.However,data cannot be insertedor modifiedusing DAX.

DAX Syntax:

Total Sales = SUM(Sales[SalesAmount])

Where ‘TotalSales’ is a ‘Measure’; ‘SUM’ is a ‘DAX Function’, and‘Sales[SalesAmount]’ representsthe referencedtableandthereferencedcolumn name.

Benefits of using variables in DAX:

• Variables canbereused in DAX queries, thus avoiding additional queries ofthe sourcedatabase.

• Variables makeDAX expressions understandable.

40.Whatisbidirectionalcross-filteringinPowerBI?

Bidirectional cross-filtering in Power BI Desktop allows data modelers to determine how they want filterstoflowfordatausingrelationshipsbetweentables.Withbidirectionalcross-filtering,thefilter contextispropagatedtoasecondrelatedtableontheothersideofatablerelationship.Thiscanhelp data modelers solve the many-to-many problem without writing complicated DAX formulas. Thus, bidirectionalcross-filtering simplifies thejobfor data modelers.

41. How are relationships defined in Power BI Desktop?

Iftherearenonullvaluesorduplicaterows,relationshipsbetweentablescanbedefinedintwoways:

• Manually: Users canmanually define relationships between tables using primary and foreign keys.

• With the autodetect feature: When enabled, this inherent feature of Power BI detects relationships betweentables and creates them automatically.

42.WhatdoyouknowaboutPowerBIQueryEditor?

By using Power BI Query Editor, users can load data from a wider number of data sources and apply transformations to them, including adding newcolumns andmeasures.

Power BIQuery Editor comprises four tabs:

QueryEditorTab UseCase

and manage parametersInclude afunctiontorefreshthepreviewdataforthe currenttable,oralltables,inthedatasetManagecolumns,reducerows,andsortgroups

Transform

Changethedatatypesofcolumns,renamecolumns,replacevalues,andfixerrorsintheAny Column groupThe structured column group provides options for working with the nested dataRunRScriptfunctionenablestorunRQueriesdirectlyonPowerBIQueryEditor

AddColumn

UseAdd Custom Columnto create a new column using a DAX formulaUseConditionalColumntoaddacolumnbasedonthevaluesinanothercolumnUse theFromNumbergrouptoapplystatistical,standard,and scientificfunctionstonumericalcolumns

View Show or hide Query Editor SettingsFromhere,theAdvancedEditorwindowcan be opened toviewandeditthequerycode

43.WhatisAdvancedEditorinPowerBI?

• The query is writtenin M-code, thePower Query FormulaLanguage

• To viewthe query code from Power BI Desktop, chooseEdit Queries from theHome tab

• From either the Home or the View tab, click on Advanced Editor to work on the query. The Advanced Editor windowopens, displaying thecode for the currently selected query

• When we make transformations to our data in Query Editor, the steps are saved to the Applied Steps in theQuery Settings

• Thesesteps are also applied to thecode inthe Advanced Editor

44.Whyshouldgeneralformattingbeappliedtodata inPowerBI?

By formatting data, users can help Power BI categorize and identify data, making it much easier to workwith.

• Enter a custom formula to create a new column, including calculations using values from the other columns

• To create a newcolumn, clickon Add Custom Column

• In the newcolumn namebox, type the name ofthe column and add the formula to thecustom column formula box; for example, [ShipDate] – [OrderDate]

• SelectacolumnfromtheavailablecolumnslistandclickonInsertordouble-clicktoaddittothecustom column formula text box. Then, clickonOK

• The newcolumnis appended to the table, and the formulais visible inthe Formula Bar

Custom Column Formula:

= Table.AddColumn(#"Sorted Rows", "DaysOrderToShip", each [ShipDate][OrderDate])

The above code is the formula to create a custom column, which calculates the days from when an order was placedto when it got shipped.

45. Name the different connectivity modes available inPowerBI?

There are three main connectivity modes available in Power BI:

• SQLServerImport: It’sthedefaultandmostcommonlyusedconnectivityoptioninPowerBI.WithSQL Server Import, the user can fully utilize the Power BI Desktop. You can easily connect the SQL Server data with Power BI and run queries on it.

• DirectQuery: Directqueriescanbeexecutedondatasetsexceedingtherecommendedsize.Inthiscase, Power BI will only store the metadata of the source and execute direct queries on it. However, it limits theoperations you can perform to prepareyour data for reporting.

• Live Connections: Power BI Service can be used to connect with live data sources such as SQL Server Analysis Services, Power BI Datasets hosted by Power BI Service, and Azure Analysis Service. In a live connection, all the interactions will be done using direct queries.

46. What are the different types of refresh options availableinPowerBI?

There are four typesof refreshoptions available in Power BI:

• PackageRefresh: ItsynchronizesyourdatainPowerBIDesktoporExcelfilesbetweenPowerBIservice and SharePoint Online and OneDrive.

• ModelorDataRefresh: RefreshthedataavailableinPowerBIServicewiththedatastoredintheoriginal data source.

• Tilerefresh: This feature updates the cache for Power BI tiles every 15 minutes onthedashboards.

• Visual Container Refresh: Used to refresh the visual containers and the visuals of cached reports once thedata is changed.

47.WhatdatasourcescanPowerBIconnectto?

Power BIcan connect tovarious data sources butit can becategorized as follows:

• Files: Power BI canimport data from files like.csv, .xslx, .pbix, and .xlxm.

• ContentPacks: Contentpacksareacollectionofrelatedfilesordocuments,storedasagroup.PowerBI has two types of content packs – from service providers like Google Analytics, or Salesforce, and the ones created and shared by other users intheorganization.

• Connectors: Connectorsto databases and other datasets like Database and SQL, Azure SQL, etc.

48.WhatisacomprehensiveworkingsystemofPower BI?

Power BI’s working system comprises four steps:

• Data Importing: The first step is to import the data and thenconvert it into astandard format.

• Data Cleaning: Once the data is assembled, it needs to be transformed or cleaned to remove unwanted data.

• Data Visualization: In this step, the data is visually represented on the Power BI desktop in the form of reports and dashboards with the helpof powerful visualizationtools.

• SaveandPublish:Onceyourreportisready,youcansaveand publishthereports.Thesecanbeshared with usersthrough mobile apps and the web.

49. What are the different types of filters in Power BI reports?

There are various filter types in Power BI:

• Visual-level Filters – These filters work on single visualizations. They reduce the amount of data the visualization can see. Thesefilters can filter calculations as well as data.

• Page-level Filters – These filters work on the report-page level. Different pages in the same report can have different page-level filters.

• Report-level Filters – These filters work on an entire report. They filter all visualizations and pages included in the report.

50.WhatarethetypesofvisualizationsinPowerBI?

The following are some types of visualizations that are available in PowerBI:

• Bar and Column Charts: You can use these visualizations to look at a specific value across various categories.

• Area Charts: Area Charts helplook at the magnitude ofchange over time.

• Card: Cards canbe used to showthe aggregatevalueof particular data points.

• Doughnut and Pie Charts: Thesecharts help youvisualizetherelationshipbetween parts of a whole.

• Maps: Maps show quantitativeand categorical data with spatial locations.

• Matrix: Matrix is atype oftablethathelps see aggregatedata easily.

• Slicers: Aslicer is used to filter other visuals onthe page.

51.Whyandhowwouldyouuseacustomvisualfile?

A custom visual file helps users if none of the already existing visuals fit the needs of the business. These are usuallygenerated bydevelopers andthey can beusedjust like prepackagedfiles.

52. What are the various types of users who can use PowerBI?

• Report Consumers: They consumereports according to their particular needs.

• Report Analyst: They requiredetailed data for their analysis ofthe reports.

• Self-Service DataAnalyst: They need anin-depth analysis ofthe datato work with.

• Basic Data Analyst: They areableto build their owndatasets.

• Advanced-Data Analyst: They can writeSQL queries and bring hands-on experiencein Power BI.

53.What is the maximum data limit per client for the freeversionofPowerBI?

AfreePowerBIversionallowsusers10GBofstoragespaceinthecloudforhostingPowerBIreports. The maximum size allowedfor a report in the cloudis 1 GB.

54.WheredoyoureshapedatainPowerBI?

To reshape data in Power BI:

1. Open the Query Editor by clicking the “Edit Queries” button in the Home ribbon in Power BI Desktop, orbyclickingthe“EditQueries”optionintheellipsis(…)menuonthedashboardorreportinthePower BI Service.

2. Select the tableor query thatyou want to reshape intheQuery Editor.

3. Usethevarious transformationoptions intheribbontoreshapethedata.Forexample,youcanusethe “Group By” and “Pivot Column” options to group and pivot data, or use the “Split Column” and “Merge Columns” options to split and mergecolumns.

4. PreviewtheresultsofyourtransformationsintheQueryEditortoensurethatthedataisbeingreshaped asintended.

5. When you are satisfied with the reshaped data, click the “Close & Apply” button to apply the transformations and load thereshaped data into Power BI.

It is important to note that reshaping data in the Query Editor is a non-destructive process, meaning that theoriginaldata is not changed. The reshapeddata is created as a newquerythat can beusedin Power BIdashboards andreports.

55. Which is a single-page canvas that uses visualizationstodepictastory?

A Power BI report is a single-page canvas that uses visualizations to depict a story. Power BI reports arecreatedusingPowerBIDesktoporthePowerBIServiceandcanincludeavarietyofvisualizations, suchas charts,graphs,maps, andtables, to helpusers understandand analyze data.

Power BI reports can be created from a variety of data sources and can be customized to meet the specific needs of the user. They can be used to present data in a clear and concise manner, highlighting trends, patterns, andinsights that may not be immediatelyobvious from rawdata.

Power BI reports can be shared with others, allowing users to collaborate and make data-driven decisions together. They can also be published to the Power BI Service, where they can be accessed from anydevice withaninternet connection.

56. List out some drawbacks/limitations of using PowerBI.

Some limitationsof Power BIare as follows:

• Complex in nature

• Power BI has been designed a little complex. Users need to know in-depth about Power BI before they canstart working onit.

• Large Data

• Power BI isn’t capable of handling large data and might time out while processing it. It cannot process data larger than1 GB.

• Limited Sharing of Data

• Only users who are on the same domain or have their email addresses listed on Office 365 can receive the files you share.

• Limited DataSource

• Power BI allows real-time connection with very limited datasources.

57.WhatarethemostcommonDAXfunctionsused?

Here are some of themost commonlyused DAX functions:

• SUM, MIN, MAX, AVG, COUNTROWS, DISTINCTCOUNT

• IF, AND, OR, SWITCH

• ISBLANK, ISFILTERED, ISCROSSFILTERED

• VALUES, ALL, FILTER, CALCULATE,

• UNION, INTERSECT, EXCEPT, NATURALINNERJOIN, NATURALLEFTEROUTERJOIN,

• SUMMARIZECOLUMNS, ISEMPTY,

• VAR (Variables)

58.WhatarethethreefundamentalconceptsofDAX?

Three fundamentalconceptsof DAX are as follows:

• Syntax: Itistheformulathatincludesthefunctions.Ifthesyntaxiswrong,theresultwillshowanerror.

• Functions: These are arguments that a specific order to perform.

• Context: Contexts are of two types – Row Context and Filter Context. Row Context is applied when a formula has a function that applies a filter to identify a row in a table. Filter Context is applied when oneor more filters are used to get avalue.

59. What are the purpose and benefits of using the DAXfunction?

DAX (Data Analysis Expressions) is a formula language used in Power BI, Power Pivot for Excel, and Analysis Services. It is used to create calculated columns and measures in Power BI, which can be used to perform complexcalculations andanalysis on data.

ThepurposeofusingDAXistoextendthecapabilitiesofPowerBIandothertoolsbyprovidingaway to create custom calculations and measures based on data. It allows users to perform complex data analysis andcreate sophisticated reports and dashboards.

Some benefits of using DAX include:

1. Flexibility: DAX provides a wide range of functions and operators that can be used to create custom calculations and measures.

2. Ease of use: DAX has a simple, familiar syntax that is similar to Excel, making it easy for users to learn and use.

3. Performance: DAX calculations are optimized for performance, making it faster and more efficient to perform complex calculations on largedata sets.

4. Reusability: DAX measures can be used in multiple reports and dashboards, allowing users to create a consistent set of calculations and measures that can be used throughout their organization. Overall, using DAX allows users to perform advanced data analysis and create sophisticated reports and dashboards in Power BI and other tools, helping them to gain insights and make informed decisions basedon data.

60.WhatarethedifferentExcelBIadd-ins?

The most important Power BIadd-ins to Excelareas follows:

• Power Query – Power Query helps in editing, loading, and finding external data.

• Power Pivot

• Power View

Power Pivot is mainly used indata analysis and data modeling.

Power View is used to design interactive and visual reports.

• Power Map– Power Map helps display insights on 3D maps.