We introduced comics to the SQLBI Newsletter almost one year ago. Lately, they are starting to realize they are not real.  How do you know you are not in a simulation? Wrong answers only! 😎

DAX User-Defined Functions (UDF) are generally available! The cherry on the cake is optional parameters: a long-awaited feature during preview is included in this release. For now, read the official Microsoft announcement; we'll produce more content on SQLBI in the coming weeks! community.fabric.microsoft.c… Now you have no more excuses! #dax #powerbi #udf

AI agents help you do your work. Will they also decide when you need a vacation? ;) If you don't get the reference, Plan is a new Fabric feature for Enterprise and Corporate Performance Management, launched a few months ago, when we published the comic on our SQLBI Newsletter. Plan is not AI-based, since it’s Saturday, we just thought it was fun to imagine what would happen if it were. If you prefer boring stuff on a Saturday, here's the documentation: linkly.link/2ixiw

Here are some of the BEST websites/platforms where you can practice Power BI using real business datasets and case studies for FREE Microsoft Learn learn.microsoft.com/en-us/tr… Kaggle kaggle.com/ Maven Analytics mavenanalytics.io/ Enterprise DNA enterprisedna.co/ DataCamp datacamp.com/ Coursera coursera.org/ Power BI Community community.powerbi.com/ Workout Wednesday workout-wednesday.com/power-… Onyx Data onyxdata.co.uk/ ZoomCharts Challenges zoomcharts.com/en/microsoft-… Makeover Monday makeovermonday.co.uk/ SQLBI sqlbi.com/ Chandoo chandoo.org/ GeeksforGeeks Power BI Section geeksforgeeks.org/power-bi-t… Simplilearn Power BI Resources simplilearn.com/ These are useful for: Dashboards KPI analysis Analytical thinking Portfolio projects Business case studies Interview preparation

Check this one's ZoomCharts Maven Analytics Microsoft learn Wise owl training Enterprise DNA SQLBI (Alberto Ferrari & Marco Russo) Kaggle (Business & Finance Sectors)

Honestly, the hardest part of DAX isn't writing the formula. It's knowing how to think about the problem before you write anything. In person classes slow down on that part. You ask a question, you get an answer right there. The stuff that experienced practitioners do without thinking, we stop and explain why. That's where you go from "I got it to work" to actually understanding what you did. Here are the next SQLBI in person classes: 𝗡𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗛 𝗔𝗠𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗔  𝗕𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲, 𝗠𝗗: May 27→29: sqlbi.com/p/mastering-dax-wo… 𝗘𝗨𝗥𝗢𝗣𝗘  𝗖𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗵𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻, 𝗗𝗞: May 5→7: sqlbi.com/p/mastering-dax-wo… 𝗭𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗵, 𝗖𝗛: Jun 10→12: sqlbi.com/p/mastering-dax-wo… 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗻, 𝗗𝗘: Jun 15→17: sqlbi.com/p/mastering-dax-wo… All the classes are in English.

We dropped this comic in the latest SQLBI newsletter and instantly created a cultural crisis. The DAX crowd immediately Googled “𝑪𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒂” and thought it was a new iterator function. The Coachella crowd Googled “𝑹𝑬𝑴𝑶𝑽𝑬𝑭𝑰𝑳𝑻𝑬𝑹𝑺” and asked if it’s some kind of ayahuasca cleanse. If you got both references without touching Google… please report to the lab. We have questions. And possibly a very confused Power BI model to show you.

Now that was a blast! Thanks @bobwardms and @Warwick_Rudd and Daniel Hutmcher! Truly appreciate getting to present with you all at @sqlbi

"Analyze in Excel " an external tool for Power BI Desktop. It was built by SQLBI, and it lets you quickly create an Excel PivotTable that's connected to your live Power BI data. You can export any chart to Excel as a PivotTable

Learn how to transform the like-for-like pattern in a model-independent function so you can easily reuse it. Article video on SQLBI. #dax #udf #powerbi sqlbi.com/articles/creating-…

𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗗𝗔𝗫 is the new course just released to 𝗦𝗤𝗟𝗕𝗜 subscribers: it includes over 𝟮.𝟱 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗼 and a 𝗣𝗗𝗙 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗿 that should be used as companion content. We released the white paper as a draft in 2024, and we have now finalized it for this release. This is not an introduction to visual calculations for users. The goal is to explain the details of implementing visual calculations for experienced DAX developers, including new concepts such as visual shape and visual context. More details in the 𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗴 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁: sqlbi.com/blog/marco/2026/03… 𝑁𝑜𝑡𝑒: 𝑖𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑤𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑤 𝑀𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐷𝐴𝑋 𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑜 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠𝑒... 𝐼𝑡'𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑜𝑜𝑛, 𝑤𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑡-𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑤𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑝𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑏𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑀𝑎𝑟𝑐ℎ 2026!

Q&A debuted in Power BI in 2013. 13 years later, it is time to retire: a new generation of AI tools wants its prime time. While Q&A has never seen widespread adoption, it paved the way for the “AI data schema” that is now part of the “Prep data for AI” functionality. We wanted to celebrate the handover with the comic strip included in SQLBI Newsletter #314. Check it out here: sqlbi.com/nl/v/2449/

Link (SQLBI; authored in August 2025): sqlbi.com/articles/introduci… Back in August at SQLBI we wrote an article discussing four different scenarios for agentic development with BI. While a lot has changed since then with the tools and market, I actually think these scenarios remain, albeit evolving, permuting, and forking... not prescription, but mental scaffolding perhaps 1. Chatbots and OOTB AI experiences like Copilot 2. Augmented chatbots like Claude Desktop 3. (Coding) agents like Claude Code or Cowork 4. Async agents, the most extreme example of which is now OpenClaw The "pillars" are also quite the same: A. Model: The LLM you use. Models perform better at different tasks and exhibit different behaviors and performance with the same prompt/context/tools... B. Context: Information you provide to the agent or it retrieves itself using tools to complete a task. Context is finite, and more context leads to "context rot" and reduced performance, according to research. C. Prompt: System prompts, memory, and the session prompts you provide to kick off or steer sessions. Prompts and memory are just a type of context. D. Tools: Programmatic means by which the agent can interact with its environment to take actions and retrieve context. Tools can be MCP servers, but also more broad tools like a "Bash" tool that lets an agent execute arbitrary code, scripts, or commands. You can add tools to increase what an agent can do and interact with. E. Environment: The bounds and limits in which the agent can operate. You can restrict the environment to give agents wide freedom while preventing them from accessing or modifying sensitive files and information. An example is a docker container or LLM. I personally find it helpful to think in terms of these modular "components" that I build, incrementally improve, and add or remove from various workflows. When diagnosing issues or tackling a new problem, I also like to think about these abstract areas to understand "what should I add/remove to meet my goal?" It's also a good way to make things less overwhelming because anything new I can tag or categorize into these bins, while also challenging them

I’ve been a senior data analyst for years. If I were starting Power BI today, I’d learn from these creators: • Guy in a Cube • SQLBI • Enterprise DNA • Pragmatic Works • Alex the Analyst Right teachers = fewer mistakes, faster growth

Networking is often mentioned as a key part of career growth. But what does networking look like for a DAX or Power BI practitioner? How do you improve your “networking”? Do you attend online events? Do you interact on social media (not just scrolling!)? Do you go to in-person conferences? We know that “Networking” is a vague word, so here’s what it looks like in our DAX in-person class: You spend 3 days with people who: - Learn and understand the fundamentals - Take control of the DAX code they write - and care about doing things properly You might leave with 2–3 connections you keep exchanging ideas with long after the class ends. That’s why we also create an optional alumni LinkedIn group for each class, so people can stay in touch if they want. Next SQLBI live classes:  - 𝗡𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗛 𝗔𝗠𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗔  𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻, 𝗧𝗫: Mar 30→Apr 1: sqlbi.com/p/mastering-dax-wo… 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗬𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗡𝗬: Apr 8→10: sqlbi.com/p/mastering-dax-wo… 𝗕𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲, 𝗠𝗗: May 27→29: sqlbi.com/p/mastering-dax-wo…  - 𝗘𝗨𝗥𝗢𝗣𝗘  𝗔𝗺𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗮𝗺, 𝗡𝗟: March 3→5: sqlbi.com/p/mastering-dax-wo… 𝗖𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗵𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻, 𝗗𝗞: May 5→7: sqlbi.com/p/mastering-dax-wo… 𝗭𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗵, 𝗖𝗛: Jun 10→12: sqlbi.com/p/mastering-dax-wo… 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗻, 𝗗𝗘: Jun 15→17: sqlbi.com/p/mastering-dax-wo… All the classes are in English.

Honestly, being the “DAX person” in your company can be isolating. Everyone asks you questions. But when you have one, there’s no peer to compare with. In a live class, that changes quickly because you’re suddenly surrounded by people solving similar problems in different contexts. That’s why we also create an optional alumni LinkedIn group for each class, so people can stay in touch if they want. If you want to meet your peers and future-proof your knowledge, these are the next SQLBI in-person classes: 𝗡𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗛 𝗔𝗠𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗔  𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻, 𝗧𝗫: Mar 30→Apr 1: sqlbi.com/p/mastering-dax-wo… 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗬𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗡𝗬: Apr 8→10: sqlbi.com/p/mastering-dax-wo… 𝗕𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲, 𝗠𝗗: May 27→29: sqlbi.com/p/mastering-dax-wo… 𝗘𝗨𝗥𝗢𝗣𝗘  𝗔𝗺𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗮𝗺, 𝗡𝗟: March 3→5: sqlbi.com/p/mastering-dax-wo… 𝗖𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗵𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻, 𝗗𝗞: May 5→7: sqlbi.com/p/mastering-dax-wo… 𝗭𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗵, 𝗖𝗛: Jun 10→12: sqlbi.com/p/mastering-dax-wo… 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗻, 𝗗𝗘: Jun 15→17: sqlbi.com/p/mastering-dax-wo… All the classes are in English.

Adding every possible visual to a single page isn't "giving choice" to the user. It’s just admitting you don't know which question the report is supposed to answer. What is the most useless visual a stakeholder has ever forced you to include? This comic is from SQLBI Newsletter #307: sqlbi.com/nl/v/2438

4) Power BI Learning Resources (Microsoft BI business reporting) What it’s for: Building interactive dashboards, data modelling, and calculations (DAX), then sharing reports. >>>> YouTube playlists (basic → advanced) BEST>> Analytics with Nags: Power BI Tutorials - Complete Playlist: youtube.com/playlist?list=PL… •Guy in a Cube: Getting Started with Power BI (playlist): youtube.com/playlist?list=PL… • Learn skills daily: Power BI beginner Trainer: youtu.be/fnA-_iDV_LY?si=eSMi… Pavan Lalwani: Power BI full Course: youtu.be/UXhGRVTndQA?si=JkZi… •Official Microsoft Power BI channel (playlists): youtube.com/@MicrosoftPowerB… >>>> Free articles •Microsoft Learn: Power BI training hub: learn.microsoft.com/en-us/tr… •Get started module: learn.microsoft.com/en-us/tr… •SQLBI “How to learn DAX” (must-read): sqlbi.com/guides/dax/ >>>> Practice / application •Power BI sample datasets (.pbix/.xlsx): learn.microsoft.com/en-us/po… •Power BI Desktop (official download): microsoft.com/en-us/download…

Honestly, you shouldn’t take too many notes during in-person training. A small tip that changes how you get value from live training: don’t spend your energy writing down “the second parameter of this function”. That information is documented, searchable, and repeatable. Use live time for what you can’t get from a PDF: -the mental model -the reasoning -the “why” -the immediate clarifications when something doesn’t click You can level up by understanding, not by collecting details. Next SQLBI in-person classes: ** 𝗡𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗛 𝗔𝗠𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗔 ** 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻, 𝗧𝗫: Mar 30→Apr 1: sqlbi.com/p/mastering-dax-wo… 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗬𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗡𝗬: Apr 8→10: sqlbi.com/p/mastering-dax-wo… 𝗕𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲, 𝗠𝗗: May 27→29: sqlbi.com/p/mastering-dax-wo… ** 𝗘𝗨𝗥𝗢𝗣𝗘 **  𝗔𝗺𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗮𝗺, 𝗡𝗟: March 3→5: sqlbi.com/p/mastering-dax-wo… 𝗖𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗵𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻, 𝗗𝗞: May 5→7: sqlbi.com/p/mastering-dax-wo… 𝗭𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗵, 𝗖𝗛: Jun 10→12: sqlbi.com/p/mastering-dax-wo… 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗻, 𝗗𝗘: Jun 15→17: sqlbi.com/p/mastering-dax-wo… All the classes are in English.

🚀أفضل 5 مصادر لتعلم Power BI (فعّالة في 2025) 1️⃣ Microsoft Learn – Power BI Learning Path المصدر الرسمي 👏 ترتيب المنهج واضح من: •Basics •Data modeling •DAX •Deployment كل درس فيه سيناريو عملي، ومنه تبني أساس قوي بدون فوضى. 🔹 مناسب للمبتدئين والمتوسطين 🔹 مجاني 100٪ 2️⃣ SQLBI (Marco Russo & Alberto Ferrari) أعلى مستوى DAX في العالم 🔥 هنا تتعلم: •Filter Context •CALCULATE بعمق •Patterns صحيحة •Performance tuning 🔹 مناسب للمحللين الجادين 🔹 يدفعك من “أداة” إلى “تفكير تحليلي” 3️⃣ Guy in a Cube (YouTube) قناة خفيفة ولطيفة… لكن المعلومة فيها قوية جدًا. تشرح: •أخطاء شائعة •Performance •Tips & Tricks •Troubleshooting 🔹 ممتاز للتعلم اليومي القصير 🔹 طريقة شرح تبسّط المفاهيم المعقدة 4️⃣ Enterprise DNA (Online Courses & Challenges) تعليم من واقع الأعمال، مو فقط تكنيك. تركّز على: •نماذج بيانات حقيقية •حل مشاكل فعلية •End-to-End scenarios 🔹 مناسب لمن يبي يطبّق الشغل يوميًا 🔹 مشاريع تمارين 5️⃣ Blog & Community (Power BI Community Radacad SQLBI Blog) المجتمع يعلّمك أسئلة الناس الحقيقية… تلقى هناك: •حلول مشاكل فعلية •نصائح محترفين •Patterns •Edge cases 🔹 مهم في 2025 لأن الأدوات تتحدث بسرعة 🔹 يغذي مهاراتك خارج الكت 🔖 نصيحة احترافية قبل ما تتعلم أي شيء جديد: لا تحفظ DAX افهم لماذا تُستعمل الدالة هنا و كيف تغيّر Filter Context. اللي يفهم السياق… يفهم Power BI حقًا