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Microsoft Power BI Quick Start Guide
Microsoft Power BI Quick Start Guide

Microsoft Power BI Quick Start Guide: Build dashboards and visualizations to make your data come to life

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Profile Icon Knight Profile Icon Manuel Quintana Profile Icon Mitchell Pearson Profile Icon Devin Knight
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€37.99
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Half star icon Empty star icon 3.8 (10 Ratings)
Paperback Jul 2018 202 pages 1st Edition
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€29.99
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Arrow left icon
Profile Icon Knight Profile Icon Manuel Quintana Profile Icon Mitchell Pearson Profile Icon Devin Knight
Arrow right icon
€37.99
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Half star icon Empty star icon 3.8 (10 Ratings)
Paperback Jul 2018 202 pages 1st Edition
eBook
€29.99
Paperback
€37.99
Subscription
Free Trial
Renews at €18.99p/m
eBook
€29.99
Paperback
€37.99
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Renews at €18.99p/m

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Microsoft Power BI Quick Start Guide

Data Transformation Strategies

Within any BI project, it is essential that the data you are working with has been properly scrubbed to make for accurate results on your reports and dashboards. Applying data cleansing business rules, also known as transforms, is the method for correcting inaccurate or malformed data, but the process can often be the most time-consuming part of any corporate BI solution. However, the data transformation capabilities built into Power BI are both very powerful and user-friendly. Using the Power Query Editor, tasks that would typically be difficult or time-consuming in an enterprise BI tool are as simple as right-clicking on a column and selecting the appropriate transform for the field. While interacting with the user interface in this editor, a language called M is being written automatically for you behind the scenes.

Through the course of this...

The Power Query Editor

The Power Query Editor is the primary tool that you will utilize for applying data transformations and cleansing processes to your solution. This editor can be launched as part of establishing a connection to your data, or by simply clicking Edit Queries on the Home ribbon of the Power BI Desktop. When the Power Query editor is opened, you will notice that it has its own separate environment for you to work in. The environment encapsulates a user-friendly method for working with all of the queries that you will define. Before you dive deep into the capabilities of the Power Query Editor, let's first start by doing an overview of the key areas that are most important:

Power BI Deskstop

Following the numbered figures, let's review some of the most important features of the Power Query Editor:

  • New Source: This launches the same interface as the...

Transform basics

Applying data transformations within the Power Query Editor can be a surprisingly simple thing to do. However, there are few things to consider as we begin this process. The first is that there are multiple ways to solve a problem. As you work your way through this book, the authors have tried to show you the fastest and easiest methods of solving the problems that are presented, but these solutions certainly will not be the only ways to reach your goals.

The next thing you should understand is that every click you do inside the Power Query Editor is automatically converted into a formula language called M. Virtually all the basic transforms you will ever need can be accomplished by simply interacting with the Power Query Editor user interface, but for more complex business problems there is a good chance you may have to at least modify the M queries that are...

Advanced data transformation options

Now that you should be more comfortable working within the Power Query Editor, let's take the next step in working with it. Often, you will find the need to go beyond these basic transforms when dealing with data that requires more care. In this section, you will learn about some of the more common advanced transforms that you may have a need for, which include Conditional Columns, Fill down, Unpivot, Merge Queries, and Append Queries.

Conditional Columns

Using the Power Query Conditional Columns functionality is a great way to add new columns to your query that follow logical if/then/else statements. This concept of if/then/else is common across many programming languages, including...

Leveraging R

R is a very powerful scripting language that is primarily used for advanced analytics tools, but also has several integration points within Power BI. One such integration is the ability to apply business rules to your data with the R language. Why is that important? Well, with this capability you can extend beyond the limits of the Power Query Editor and call functions and libraries from R to do things that would not regularly be possible. In the next two sections, you will explore how to set up your machine to leverage R within Power BI and then walk through an example of using an R Script transform.

There are many additional books and references you can read to learn more about the R scripting language, but for the purposes of this book, our goal is to inform you on what is possible when R and Power BI are combined.
...

M formula language

The Power Query Editor is the user interface that you have now learned is used to design and build data imports. However, you should also know that every transform you apply within this editor is actually, quietly and behind the scenes, writing an M query for you. The letter M here is a reference to the languages data mashup capabilities.

For simple solutions, it is unlikely that you will ever need to even look at the M query that is being written, but there are some more complex cases where it's helpful to understand how to read and write your own M. For the purposes of this book, covering just the Power BI essentials, you will learn how to find the M query editor within your solution and then understand how to read what it is doing for you. For the purposes of this example, you can open up any previously built example, however the screenshot used here...

Summary

In this chapter, you learned that the Power Query Editor is an extremely powerful tool for applying business rules to incoming data. Implementing data cleansing techniques can be as simple as right-clicking on a column, or more complex such as when building a Conditional Column. While the Power Query Editor does have a vast library of transforms available, you also learned that you can tap into the capabilities of R to extend what's possible when designing queries. Finally, this chapter also helped you learn that the decisions you make while building your queries can impact Query Folding, which can be incredibly important for the performance of your queries.

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Key benefits

  • Get to grips with the fundamentals of Microsoft Power BI and its Business Intelligence capabilities
  • Build accurate analytical models, reports and dashboards 
  • Get faster and more intuitive insights from your data using Microsoft Power BI

Description

Microsoft Power BI is a cloud-based service that helps you easily visualize and share insights using your organization's data.This book will get you started with business intelligence using the Power BI toolset, covering essential concepts such as installation,designing effective data models, as well as building basic dashboards and visualizations to make your data come to life You will learn how to get your data the way you want – connecting to data sources sources and how to clean your data with the Power BI Query Editor. You will next learn how to properly design your data model to make your data easier to work with.. You will next learn how to properly design your data model to navigate table relationships and build DAX formulas to make your data easier to work with. Visualizing your data is another key element of this book, and you will learn how to follow proper data visualization styles and enhanced digital storytelling techniques. By the end of this book, you will understand how to administer your organization's Power BI environment so deployment can be made seamless, data refreshes can run properly, and security can be fully implemented

Who is this book for?

This book is for aspiring Business Intelligence professionals who want to get up and running with Microsoft Power BI. If you have a basic understanding of BI concepts and want to learn how to apply them using Microsoft Power BI, this book is for you.

What you will learn

  • Connect to data sources using both import and DirectQuery options
  • Use the Query Editor to apply data transformations and data cleansing processes, including learning how to write M and R scripts
  • Design optimized data models by designing relationships and DAX calculations
  • Leverage built-in and custom visuals to design effective reports
  • Use the Power BI Desktop and Power BI Service to implement Row Level Security on your model
  • Administer a Power BI cloud tenant for your organization
  • Deploy your Power BI Desktop files into the Power BI Report Server
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Table of Contents

9 Chapters
Getting Started with Importing Data Options Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Data Transformation Strategies Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Building the Data Model Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Leveraging DAX Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Visualizing Data Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Digital Storytelling with Power BI Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Using a Cloud Deployment with the Power BI Service Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
On-Premises Solutions with Power BI Report Server Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Other Books You May Enjoy Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

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Gary Jun 15, 2019
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Good, concise intro to get you up and working quickly.
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Jeff fasy Apr 30, 2020
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Easy read and simple to follow. Great book on understanding the basics of Power BI.
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Andre Apr 24, 2021
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For those wanting to make a quick start in Power BI, I cannot recommend this book more. You can read it in a less than a week and be confident enough to start creating visualisations.
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Owlsfan Aug 13, 2019
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Not gone through everything but looks a good book.
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Peter Johnson Feb 11, 2019
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This is an excellent book for learning Power BI. It was an easy read. It will get you up to speed quickly than any other books. The reason I gave it 4 starts because the book is pricey. I highly recommend it.
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