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Finding out which Power BI tables and columns aren't being used
How to use Radacad's clean-up tool to see which of the columns and tables in your Power BI data model you're not using.

Posted by Sam Lowrie on 30 January 2023

In this blog

The problem: detecting and removing unused fields
The RADACAD clean-up tool

How to list unused Power BI tables and columns

A delegate recently asked me how you can tell which columns/tables a Power BI Desktop model is not using. After a bit of research, here is my answer!

The solution below uses Radacad's Power BI cleanup tool. You may also find this Power BI report to read other PBIX files and retrieve this information useful. Wise Owl have no affiliation with either of these companies/individuals!

The problem: detecting and removing unused fields

With data models growing and GDPR tightening there is more reason that ever to tighten up on wasted space from unused column and tables.

Some of these columns make me uncomfortable!

One solution is to click on each visual and check which fields it uses in the Field pane:

Hardly a scalable solution!

As with most IT problems, however, someone has already solved it. Enter RADACAD stage left, with their clean-up tool.

The RADACAD clean-up tool

So this tool aims to strip out unused tables and fields from your model.

At first glance it can seem a bit overwhelming.

You can connect to a file in the Service with details provided, or you can connect to a local report that is currently open (click on Connect to Model and then select from the dropdown on the left).

Tables, columns, and measures all laid out before you!

Switch tabs along the top to the Visualization view to see what we came for. In the bottom right there is a list of unused columns and tables:

Fields recommended to be Hidden aren't explicitly used in a visual, but may be used for joins or formatting.

There are other tabs available:

Realistically the Model Analysis and Visualizations tabs will probably be all that you need, however.

Here's a complete rundown of what each menu tab allows you to do:

Name	Summary
Model Analysis	Connect to models: overview of tables, columns, measures, roles and dependencies.
Visualizations	Visuals on each page showing used and unused columns in the model.
Search	Show all tables, measures and columns featuring the entered string.
M Script	M code generating each table in the Query Editor.
Visualization Tree	Expandable representation of all object hierarchies in the model in the format: Report -> Page -> Visuals -> Columns.
Modelling Advices	Column storage size and rrelationship cardinality between all tables.
DMV Explorer	Access the localised version of SSAS Tabular running behind Power BI models.
Service	View workspaces, datasets, dashboards and dataflows.
Compare	Open two models to compare page/visual performance, M and DAX code.
Documentation	Change which details are displayed on other pages.
Setting	Connecting to Service and assigning log export locations.
About	Bug reporting, version info and update options.