Introduction
The Power BI April 2023 Monthly Update is now available and includes exciting news that Power BI Desktop is now fully supported on Azure Virtual Desktop and Windows 365. The update includes enhancements to the On-object Preview feature and the introduction of dynamic format strings for measures. Other features are available in Reporting, Data Connectivity, Service, Paginated Reports, Mobile, and Visualizations. For more details on all the updates, read on!
Reporting
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Dynamic format strings for measures (New)- Power BI has introduced a new feature called dynamic format strings for measures, which allows users to format a measure differently based on slicer selections or other conditional criteria. Previously, users could only provide a static formats string such as Currency or Decimal, but with this new feature, users can create format strings using DAX expressions. This provides greater flexibility and enables users to adjust format strings to various contexts within a report, such as currency conversion. This feature is currently in public preview.
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On-Object Interaction – Updates (Preview)- Power BI has released a new On-object interaction feature in preview mode, allowing users to interact with visualizations on a report page more intuitively and flexibly. The feature has been updated this month with support for the Card visual and improvements to behavior, such as preventing auto mode from switching visual types if a user has explicitly chosen a different type. Other enhancements include the addition of a Chevron menu to panes for easy minimizing, a Paste option in the canvas context menu, and the ability to drag a field to the closed build button to add a field. These updates were made based on user feedback and bug fixes.
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New tooltip auto-scale (New)- This new feature allows tooltips to scale based on the canvas size automatically. This setting can be found under Options > Report settings > Tooltip auto-scale and enables users to adjust the size of tooltips dynamically based on the available space on the report canvas.
Analytics
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Update to Quick measure suggestions (Preview)- Power BI removed the experimental label on the Quick Measure Suggestions feature, released as an opt-in preview in October 2022. This feature uses natural language processing powered by Azure OpenAI to help users create DAX measures without writing them from scratch. It allows users to generate calculations and business logic for various measure scenarios, such as time intelligence, math, text operations, and if conditions. With the latest release, the preview feature is now enabled by default, and users no longer need to manually turn it on in the Power BI Desktop options menu.
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Considerations- This feature is powered by a machine learning model, which is currently only available in the US data centers (East US and West US). Suppose a user's data is located outside of the US. This feature will be disabled by default unless the tenant admin enables the "Allow user data to leave their geography" setting.
Modeling
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Composite models on Power BI Datasets and Analysis Services models - Power BI has announced the General Availability of composite models on Power BI datasets and Analysis Services, which were previously known as DirectQuery for Power BI Datasets and Analysis Services during the preview period. This means composite models based on Power BI datasets and Analysis Services Tabular models are now generally available and fully supported on Premium, PPU, and new Pro workspaces. However, general availability for existing Pro workspaces will be announced later as backend changes are being made. During this process, reports may no longer require to Build permissions to be readable by consumers, so Build permissions can be removed, and Read permissions can be solely relied upon.
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Updates to ORDERBY function (New)- Power BI has updated its ORDERBY function, which now accepts any DAX expression as the first parameter, as opposed to just a column name. This provides more control over the ordering of the input data.
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New DAX functions- RANK and ROWNUMBER (New)- In the Power BI April 2023 Monthly Update, two new functions have been added to the DAX language: RANK and ROWNUMBER. These functions can be used for ranking data and return a number indicating the rank for the current context within the specified partition, sorted by the specified order. ROWNUMBER will return an error if there is a tie, while RANK will assign the same rank multiple times. Both functions rely on the ORDERBY and PARTITIONBY functions and can be helpful for tasks such as calculating top performers or identifying trends in data.
Data Connectivity
Service- New features to Deployment Pipeline (New)
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View schema changes line-by-line- The Compare tool has been extended by adding the option to review an item's changed lines, highlighted on its schema, and presented in a dedicated pop-up window designed for code comparison. This feature can help users confidently deploy changes and reduce the risk of errors and inconsistencies.
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Choose whether to continue the deployment in case of failure- The deployment experience has been enhanced by adding the option to continue deployment even if an item fails to deploy. Before this update, deployment would stop if an item failed, but now the option exists to continue deployment and skip downstream items associated with the failed item.
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Storytelling in PowerPoint – New style option- A new styling menu item has been added to the Power BI Storytelling add-in for PowerPoint, which allows users to add Power BI reports and visuals to their presentations. The first style option is outlined, which can be customized to fit the slide and data by expanding the option or simply checking the Outline checkbox for the default style.
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Visualizing views in Power Apps with Power BI quick report is enabled by default. Power BI quick reports in Power Apps are now enabled by default with the 2023 Release Wave 1, allowing users to discover insights from their data within business applications easily. This integration of Power Apps, Power BI, and Dataverse enables business users to turn data into insights with just one click and create visually appealing, interactive reports based on a view in a model-driven app, which can be saved into the Power BI service easily.
Paginated Reports
Paginated Reports Feature Summary
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Filters- Users can now add filters while creating paginated reports in the Power BI service. This feature allows users to filter the data at the report level, which applies to all report pages. It's the next step towards web authoring to enable filtering in Power BI.
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Data Preview- The data preview experience has been updated to allow users to view the underlying data of a selected table or columns from the dataset, export data to supported file formats, and create a paginated report for summarized data. Users can also switch between summarized and underlying data by selecting "more options" in the Fields data pane.
Mobile
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Enhanced tooltips on visuals in the Power BI Mobile app- Power BI is introducing a new look and feel for tooltips on visuals, which includes a pointer to help identify the selected data point, clear actions like drill-down and drill-through, and custom styling. Report creators can also disable a tooltip on mobile devices by going to the mobile layout visual formatting pane in Power BI Desktop, selecting the tooltip setting, and disabling it.
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Hierarchies are now supported in the Power BI Mobile app- The Power BI mobile app now supports hierarchies for metrics and scorecards, allowing users to drill down and view data at different levels. Users can use the Hierarchies button in the scorecard footer to view and change the available hierarchies.
Visualizations
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Acterys Reporting Suite 3.0- Reporting- Acterys Reporting offers a quick and easy way to create financial reports and visualizations that adhere to International Business Communication Standards (IBCS) principles, with features such as custom subtotals, combined table and chart display, and data-driven styles. The software offers a range of financial reporting format options per row, such as under/over lines, scaling, and more. Users can add their row or column-based calculations and formatting without complex DAX. The platform also allows switchable variance visualization and rich text commenting on a row or cell-level basis. Additionally, Acterys Reporting integrates with Acterys write-back, planning, and business modeling features.
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Box and Whisker Chart by MAQ Software- The Box and Whisker Chart by MAQ Software is a tool for analyzing data distribution and identifying trends and outliers. It clearly displays categories and specific data sets and offers horizontal and vertical views with different shapes for data points. It displays various statistical measures and helps users make informed decisions. It can be used for sales analysis, project management, and product development.
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Feature Summary for Drill Down Graph PRO- Drill Down Graph PRO is a visual tool that creates user-friendly graphs representing complex node relationships. It offers multiple layout options, focus nodes mode, and customization options such as choosing colors, shapes, images, and labels. Popular use cases include IT asset management, logistics, and sales and marketing. The visual supports interactions, selections, custom, native tooltips, filtering, bookmarks, and a context menu. It enables users to create visually appealing and intuitive reports that business users will love on any device.
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DualCard Visual- The DualCard visual by Inservit allows users to compare two measures with advanced formatting options. The visual compare a main measure with a comparison measure and provides formatting options for both. It also supports large font sizes, conditional formatting for fill, background, labels, and categories, card orientation, and fill options.
Conclusion
Well, folks, that's a wrap for this month! We've packed in all the details, and we hope you've had a blast reading through it all. Until next time, stay curious and keep smiling!
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