Posted by
Sam Lowrie
on 12 March 2018
Basic Power BI Desktop visuals can leave something to be desired. Try these 5 visuals to spice up your reports!
Posted by
Sam Lowrie
on 18 May 2018
Learn to use the SUMMARIZE and CALCULATE functions to produce numeric and weighted distributions.
Posted by
Sam Lowrie
on 30 May 2018
This blog shows how you can split rows in tables into different pages, making the data easier to read.
Posted by
Sam Lowrie
on 11 June 2018
Learn about the perils of changing the cross filter direction to "Both", then discover why the CROSS FILTER function is better!
Posted by
Sam Lowrie
on 19 June 2018
Learn how to MERGE rows from two tables into one combined table, and how to remove unwanted data from both tables.
Posted by
Sam Lowrie
on 18 July 2018
Ever had a data label vanish for no apparent reason? This blog gives two of the most common reasons why this might happen.
Posted by
Sam Lowrie
on 18 July 2018
Read this blog to understand the risk of Power BI's automatic grouping of data, and to learn how to avoid getting caught out!
Posted by
Sam Lowrie
on 18 July 2018
Some technique to remind users what levels they chose while using drilldown.
Posted by
Sam Lowrie
on 30 July 2018
Learn to use DAX variables, and understand how they can be used to break up code. Not true debugging, but better than nothing!
Posted by
Sam Lowrie
on 05 November 2018
Given your current stock levels and forecast sales, it should be possible to report on future stock depletion in Power BI. This two-part blog shows you how to just that!
Posted by
Sam Lowrie
on 25 January 2019
Understanding filter context is the key to understanding how to create measures in DAX. This blog aims to explain this vital subject as succinctly as possible!
Posted by
Sam Lowrie
on 29 January 2019
Row context (along with its sibling, filter context) is one of the most important concepts in DAX. This blog explains what row context is, and how to use it!
Posted by
Sam Lowrie
on 22 February 2019
Context transition happens when a DAX function creates filter context within row context, or vice versa. This blog explains what context transition is, and shows which DAX functions make use of it.
Posted by
Sam Lowrie
on 15 May 2019
Whether your financial year ends on a fixed date every year or on the first Monday in June, this blog will show you how to incorporate it into your calendar table.
Posted by
Sam Lowrie
on 15 May 2019
Learn how to create a basic date table in Power BI, using either the CALENDAR or CALENDARAUTO functions, and also learn how to then add custom columns of your own.
Posted by
Sam Lowrie
on 15 May 2019
This blog shows how to create custom date periods within a date table for 28 day cycles, but the principles shown could be applied to create any custom date periods.
Posted by
Sam Lowrie
on 28 October 2019
The RANKX function does what the name implies - it ranks values based on a calculation. However, the VALUE argument often causes confusion; this blog explains what it does!
Posted by
Sam Lowrie
on 08 November 2019
This blogs shows a clever way in which you can use a slicer to choose which values to compare in a measure.
Posted by
Sam Lowrie
on 25 November 2019
We're proud to announce that YouTube have given us their coveted silver award, in recognition of the fact that our video channel has over 100,000 subscribers.
Posted by
Sam Lowrie
on 19 June 2020
Not sure what you need for our online courses? Here's our definitive guide to setting up your computer sofware and hardware to ensure that everything works smoothly.
Posted by
Sam Lowrie
on 19 June 2020
This blog answers some of the frequently asked questions about how our online training works (such as what software and hardware you'll need, and what freebies are included!).
Posted by
Sam Lowrie
on 26 June 2020
Sam was tired of getting told off for crinkled or missing expense receipts. So he had a look at Power Apps and this is what he found…
Posted by
Sam Lowrie
on 26 June 2020
Did you know that you can create Microsoft Team meetings using VBA in Outlook? This blog shows you how!
Posted by
Sam Lowrie
on 15 November 2023
Sam has a terrible sense of humour which is all too often inflicted on his delegates. Sadly, with this blog, on website viewers too ...
Posted by
Sam Lowrie
on 30 October 2020
Most people attending our online training courses use Windows computers, but the odd Mac user slips through! This blog explains how you can connect to Remote Desktop on a Mac, and so still enjoy your Wise Owl online training.
Posted by
Sam Lowrie
on 30 October 2020
This blog show two ways in which you can create custom themes in Power BI without needing to learn how to write JSON: either use the built-in theme editor in Power BI, or use the theme generator from Power BI Tiips.
Posted by
Sam Lowrie
on 20 April 2021
Following the April 2021 update to Power BI (perhaps coincidentally) we started getting this message appearing on our computers, blocking us from running Power BI. Here is how to solve this!
Posted by
Sam Lowrie
on 28 April 2021
Normally when SQL Server Management Studio underlines words with what Microsoft call "red squigglies" it's because you haven't refreshed your local cache, but it could also be because of a recent bug - here's how to get round this!
Posted by
Sam Lowrie
on 30 June 2021
Some of our poor delegates don't have the luxury of a home computer to install SQL on (even worse some have made bad life choices and picked a Mac). The good news is that you can still practise your SQL skills in your web browser, using the impressive SQL Fiddle site. Have no fear, SQL Fiddle is here, a browser based sandbox to bring you cheer!
Posted by
Sam Lowrie
on 01 July 2021
There are many great resources for learning Power BI, and so many of them are completely free! Level up your BI skills with some of the best.
Here Sam covers some of his favourite BI channels. You even get a glimpse behind the curtain to see other channels he watches!
Posted by
Sam Lowrie
on 19 July 2021
Sometimes our Owls come across little titbits that aren't big enough to count as a full meal. Instead we bide our time and create a smorgasbord of little bites for you to feast on. With that in mind, here are 5 Power BI tips that you might not know.
Posted by
Sam Lowrie
on 30 January 2023
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 21 July 2023
This blog lists 5 reasons why you might like to consider using Google Sheets (perhaps as an alternative to Excel?).
Posted by
Sam Lowrie
on 04 April 2024
Despite the new flow designer in Power Automate going live several months ago, there are still “features” (read bugs) that can cause confusion. This blog covers 5 of these quirks, showing a way to deal with each.
Posted by
Sam Lowrie
on 09 September 2024
When using more complex measures there may be a need for each to be formatted differently. This blog shows you how to use the dynamic formatting measure feature.
Posted by
Sam Lowrie
on 09 September 2024
Add report refresh date
Posted by
Sam Lowrie
on 23 September 2024
Use Power Automate to pull data from Power BI using a DAX query.
Posted by
Sam Lowrie
on 30 September 2024
Updating a measure definition is easy but what happens when you have 200 to update? This blog guides you through using the Dax Query View to achieve this.
Posted by
Sam Lowrie
on 31 October 2024
Pull through the official list of Bank Holidays in the UK.
Posted by
Sam Lowrie
on 02 December 2024
Icons can add a little extra something to your reports. Working out how to do this using JSON files is tricky and in this blog we will cover how!
Posted by
Sam Lowrie
on 07 January 2025
This blog covers how to use Copilot to generate a geojson file that can be used in Power BI Azure maps.
