This comprehensive Power BI Desktop guide is designed to help you master the fundamental and advanced concepts of this tool. You'll learn how Power BI Desktop works, explore its capabilities, and learn how to create robust data models and impressive reports to improve your business intelligence. This guide provides you with the skills you need to achieve a higher level of expertise in this field. Microsoft launched Power BI in 2013 as a business intelligence and data visualization tool designed to tell the story behind the data through compelling visualizations. While Power BI excels at creating visual representations, its capabilities go far beyond that. It allows data transformation, manipulation, and many other powerful operations. Let's deepen its operation to build robust data models and generate informative reports.
Power BI is a business intelligence tool that allows you to connect to a wide range of data sources, facilitating the creation of reports and dashboards for visualizing data. These reports and dashboards can be easily shared with others. The objective of business intelligence is to monitor Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and extract insights from business data to improve decision-making throughout the organization.
Power BI is used in different ways depending on the role of the person involved, whether they are a developer, analyst, manager, director, or anyone else.
Power BI is comprised of three main components:
Power BI Desktop is free, it's an app that you can install on your local computer. It allows users to import, transform, merge and improve data. Microsoft Power BI Desktop makes it easy to ingest, process, integrate, and refine data. It connects all your data sources, optimizes them, and allows sharing through scalable dashboards, integrated visualizations, interactive reports, and more.
Power BI Desktop also helps connect different data sources and merge them into a cohesive data model. It allows users to create and compile views and to share reports with others within the organization. Most users involved in business intelligence projects prefer Power BI Desktop for creating and distributing reports.
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Power BI Desktop is a fundamental component of Power BI, primarily used for creating and designing reports. We recommend getting Power BI Desktop from the Microsoft Store for several benefits.
As for Power BI Desktop updates, Windows updates automatically to ensure that you always have the latest version. Since Microsoft releases monthly updates for Power BI, this functionality can significantly save time. Instead of downloading the entire application with each update, Windows retrieves only the modified components, making the update process faster and beneficial for reducing data consumption.
Installing or updating Power BI Desktop does not require administrative privileges on your computer, a common requirement with devices provided by the company. This feature speeds up the monthly update process by eliminating the need to involve the IT department for each update.
To download Power BI Desktop directly, visit the product page and click on 'View download or language options'. This will direct you to the Microsoft Download Center, where you can get the latest version of the app.
Note that it is not possible to have both the version from the Microsoft Store and the version from the Download Center installed on your computer at the same time. If you need to switch between them, make sure to uninstall the current version of the app before installing the new one.
When you open Power BI Desktop, it starts with a blank report. Let's explore its main components:
The first step in creating a dashboard is to connect to data sources. Power BI offers extensive support for different data sources and connections, making it simple to connect to your preferred data source.
To download sample data and import it into Power BI, select the Excel data source. A preview window will appear, allowing you to select the specific table or sheet from the Excel file. Tables and sheets are distinguished by their respective icons. It is usually recommended to import tables because they maintain well-defined structures in Excel, including clear titles and row limits.
You also have the option to load the data immediately or access the Power Query Editor through the Transform Data option. Opting to refine your data before uploading can be beneficial as it allows you to resolve any errors or issues early. Clicking on Transform Data will open a separate window for the Power Query Editor.
At the top, the Ribbon contains a wide range of essential data transformation tools to refine your dataset. The common transformation techniques will be detailed further.
In the Query section, you can find a complete list of all the queries configured for your report. To simplify navigation and management in complex reports, you have the option to categorize queries into groups.
The data view presents the main table that contains the data related to the selected query, together with a formula bar. A preview of the data is shown, usually displaying the first 1000 lines.
In the Power Query Editor, the right pane shows the sequence of transformation steps applied to the selected query. This functionality allows you to monitor and manage every change made to your data. You can add, remove, and reorganize these steps as needed to effectively refine your dataset.
One of the most common transformations is to remove unnecessary rows and/or columns from Excel data. While they may be added for readability and aesthetics in Excel, they are usually not useful in Power BI and should be deleted.
Another essential transformation step is adjusting the data types in the columns. It is crucial to specify whether the data should be treated as numbers, dates, or text. Although Power BI tries to automatically detect data types, errors can occur, making it necessary to manually verify and correct data types for accuracy.
You can integrate data using merge and concatenate functions in Power BI, similar to join and concatenate operations in SQL. These transformations allow queries from different sources to be consolidated into unified datasets.
Pivoting and unpivoting are features that allow data to be transformed between large and long formats. Unpivoting is particularly useful in managing Excel files where data, such as dates, spans table columns rather than rows.
Introducing a conditional column is a practical transformation that allows you to incorporate a new column based on conditional logic, such as if/then/else statements.
When you first add data, you'll be faced with a blank screen with three basic views placed on the left side of the interface.
In the Power BI Desktop interface, you'll find three main views on the left-hand side:
Pro tip: Experts recommend starting with the Data View to get a clear preview of your data before building the dashboard.
Before creating the dashboard, it's important to address a few key tasks:
Once the transformations are complete in Power BI Desktop, proceed directly to viewing the report for immediate viewing.
A dashboard acts as a unified canvas where different visualizations or elements that represent sets of data converge. It offers a complete overview of the story, including all the essential aspects of the report. Reports can vary in length from a single page to multiple pages.
Imagine starting a sales dashboard project in Power BI Desktop from scratch. Our goal is to compile and import essential data such as customer-related sales, product details, order information, sales figures, and regional data into the Power BI system. This complete dataset will allow us to generate different visualizations that effectively represent different aspects of our imported data.
When you launch Power BI Desktop, you are faced with a work interface. The top bar includes tabs such as Home, Modeling, View, and Help, each offering a variety of functionality. On the right side there are two sections: Fields and Views. The Fields section shows all the fields in the imported data tables, while the Views section allows you to select and modify different visual representations.
When you start creating a dashboard in Power BI Desktop, the first step is to import data from the source files. Start by selecting the 'Get Data' option and choose your preferred data source. After selecting the source, click 'Connect' to establish the connection. Next, you can prepare and manipulate the imported data using the Power Query Editor within Power BI.
In the Data tab, accessing imported items such as tables is simple, presenting them in tabular format. On the right side, the tables and their fields are listed. Actions such as formatting are available for fields that contain data types such as time, date, city, state, currency, and percentage. In addition, you can make changes to data types or formats from the Modeling tab.
The Power BI engine automatically establishes associations and relationships between the loaded tables. These relationships can be viewed and modified using the Model tab, located in the left horizontal bar of the data model interface. The connections between tables are illustrated by links that link common fields between them.
For our dashboard, we imported several tables: customer details, product details, location details, order details, and sales details. Our first visualization will be a KPI (Key Performance Indicator). To get started, select KPIs from the visualizations section.
Choose the fields that you want to include in the Fields section of the Visual. You can drag and drop these fields into their respective columns as indicated by the arrow in the image below. In addition, use the Format icon to select fields, adjust visual formatting, and apply filters.
To proceed, create a cumulative bar chart to display sales values by product category. Start by adding this graphic from the Views panel. Next, embed the relevant fields in the chart and proceed to format various aspects such as data labels, title, axes, legend, data colors, and tracking area according to your preferences.
Next, proceed to create column charts, specifically a clustered line and column chart. Select these views from the Views section.
For the clustered line and column chart, view total sales and gross profit across different countries. Next, create an area chart to show the total sales of the products over the course of a year. Choose the area chart from the Views panel and include the relevant fields for this view.
In addition to the visual representation of the data through graphs and diagrams, it is possible to display the data in text format using multi-line cards or single cards. To do this, add the multi-line cards from the Views section.
The multi-line cards show key details including insights on the product category, total units sold, sales figures by category, and gross profit information.
Finally, incorporate a slicer for the product subcategories in your dataset. Slicers allow users to identify specific categories and filter data intuitively. Once the selections have been made in the slicer, the dashboard updates dynamically to show the views relevant to the chosen criteria.
With the inclusion of a variety of charts and visualizations, the configuration of our dashboard is complete. As we approach the final phase, it's time to customize and resize the visualizations in the dashboard to fit our needs. Also, consider selecting themes for the dashboard, adjusting the background, and configuring the page size according to your preferences.
After you've completed configuring the dashboard, you can publish it to your Power BI Desktop workspace and save it securely. Choose the option to publish the dashboard online, then log in to your Power BI account to finalize the process. Once completed, you will receive a link to access your dashboard on the web.
To effectively communicate insights from the Power BI Desktop model, it's crucial to constantly generate visualizations that represent various aspects of your data. Within Power BI Desktop, the collection of these visualizations forms what is known as a report. Similar to Excel files, a report can have multiple pages and include different work tables.
Once your report is finalized and ready to be shared, you can make it accessible to all licensed members of your organization by publishing it on Power BI services. To publish a report from Power BI Desktop, simply navigate the Home bar and click the publish button. This action seamlessly integrates your report into the Power BI environment, ensuring that it's readily available for collaboration and analysis across the organization.
When your report is complete and ready for publication, click on the Publish icon. Power BI Desktop will connect you to the Power BI service using your account credentials, and will guide you in selecting where you want to share the report within the Power BI service. Typically, reports are published in your personal workspace, in the workspace of a team member, or in another designated location within the Power BI service.
Power BI Desktop is gratuitous, while the licenses for Pro version They have a cost of only 8.40€ per month per user, and is the license most commonly adopted by companies around the world. La Premium version, although it requires a more significant investment, offers functionality designed specifically for large organizations.
In this guide, we've explored both the fundamental principles and advanced techniques of Power BI Desktop, a powerful tool designed for building data models and generating comprehensive reports. Whether you're establishing connections to different data sources, refining data through transformations, or creating dynamic, interactive visualizations, Power BI Desktop provides you with the essential tools to empower your business intelligence capabilities.
Introduced by Microsoft in 2013, Power BI Desktop has evolved into an indispensable tool for anyone who deals with data analysis. Its capabilities go far beyond simple visualization, allowing users to transform, manipulate and vastly enrich their datasets.
Learning to use Power BI Desktop allows you to build robust data models and create illuminating reports, facilitating improved decisions across the organization. Keep exploring and taking advantage of its capabilities to maximize the potential of your data.
Here are the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about Power BI Desktop, based on the content of our article.
Power BI Desktop is a free application by Microsoft for data modeling and creating interactive reports. It connects to various data sources, allowing for data import, transformation, and visualization.
You can download Power BI Desktop from the Microsoft Store or the Microsoft Download Center. Updates are handled automatically if installed via the Microsoft Store.
Start by importing data, transforming it in Power Query, then use the canvas and visualizations pane to design your dashboard.
Yes, Power BI Desktop is free. However, Power BI Pro requires a subscription of €8.40 per user per month for additional features.
The Modern Work team effectively and swiftly addresses IT needs, primarily focusing on software development. The technical staff is well-trained in implementing software projects using Microsoft technology stacks and is skilled in managing both agile and long-term projects.
