Marco Russo

DAX Benchmark v2 is out, by Maxim Anatsko and SQLBI. 94 DAX tasks, and every answer is executed: right numbers on rows, subtotals, and totals, or it fails. https://www.sqlbi.com/blog/marco/2026/10/27/dax-llm-benchmark-v2/ #dax #powerbi

Hotel bathrooms. Websites on a 30-inch monitor. A scheduling format relative to Easter. The light in my office. I wrote about all of them. Function first:

What’s the most creative “fix” you’ve seen (or dreamed of) in an exported file?

Using an AI assistant with Power BI Desktop? You can add the DAX Lib MCP server with one command: npx -y @daxlib/mcp --start Then ask your assistant to search and import DAX Lib functions into your model. Setup for each client: https://docs.daxlib.org/user-guide/mcp/install #PowerBI #DAX

DAX Lib has an MCP server! If you develop models in Power BI Desktop using an AI assistant, you can search and import functions from DAX Lib into the model you are editing.

Review of our free Introducing DAX course: "starting to get slightly outdated." Fair. We have a 2nd edition that adds visual calculations and user-defined functions. Still free! https://www.sqlbi.com/p/introducing-dax-video-course/ Starting with AI instead? https://www.sqlbi.com/ai #dax #powerbi

How to get a continuous X-axis at the month level in Power BI with any Date table, like the one we get using the auto date/time feature. Article and video: https://www.sqlbi.com/articles/continuous-axis-for-any-date-table-in-power-bi/

I like Synoptic Panel because it answers the "where?" questions. This OKVIZ video shows a use case: the main entrance is 94% complete, but one blocked scanner test stops it. You see it immediately on the map. https://youtu.be/mHT8eB3mpHY Full disclosure: I also work at OKVIZ!

Is SQL still relevant for a data analyst? Yes. Even more, now that you no longer have to write it. If the AI wrote your query, you are signing it anyway. No SQL, no analyst.

Be honest. When the agent writes the code, do you still go back in and rename things? Asking for a friend. Alex.

Do early adopters win? Fabric comes: Power BI is over. Conversational BI: Dashboards and reports are dead. Claude dashboards: Was conversational BI a thing? Calm down. As a professional, you want to stay up to date. As a company, FOMO bleeds money. Be ready; don't rush.

𝗖𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗵𝗼𝗯𝗯𝘆 ​ There are two types of developers, hyper-logical and hyper-creative, who feel very differently about AI writing their code. ​It seems to me that how you feel about AI writing code depends on why you write code. ​ Read my thoughts:

Defining the right contract is a key activity for a DAX developer using AI. In this article and video, we introduce the concept of a contract through simple examples. https://www.sqlbi.com/articles/understanding-dax-contracts-when-using-ai/ #dax #ai

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 ​ Is the world going to require more conductors than players? A reflection about AI-driven processes that goes beyond data analytics. ​ I like orchestras. It has nothing to do with computers or with my job. ​ ──────── ​ https://marcorusso.com/writing/the-orchestra-conductor/

For the record, a refresh reloads the data. It shouldn’t refactor anything. Would you leave an agent alone with your model for a weekend? Wrong answers only

✨ Testing DAX Measures with AI If you change a measure and want to make sure it still works in every report, this might save you some time: let the AI create the tests nobody wants to write! Watch the full video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYQpl5Hjdk0

The first one goes down on its own. The second one is why we made the “DAX with AI” course.  https://www.sqlbi.com/campaign/dax-with-ai-courses-launch/ How many pills are you willing to take?

The time has come: in 2026, 𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗜 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗗𝗔𝗫 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲. I wrote a long post to recap what has changed between 2023 and 2026: https://www.sqlbi.com/blog/marco/2026/09/22/where-we-stand-on-ai-and-dax-in-2026/ Watch my short video:

A simple daily average can mask complexity that isn't immediately apparent. In this article and video, we explore several edge-case scenarios to meet different requirements, using AI to speed up development. https://www.sqlbi.com/articles/the-hidden-complexity-of-a-daily-average-in-dax/ #powerbi

I have a free online session about VertiPaq on Saturday, September 26, 10:00 UTC (11:00am GMT, 12:00pm CEST, 6:00am EST). If you think Direct Lake is the new kid in town, well, internally it's always VertiPaq after transcoding... so... no excuses! Agenda/registration at https://retrodata.live/

Good news, everyone. The meeting about protecting focus time was well attended. Do you need focus time to focus on your focus time? Wrong answers only!

If you teach/demo... Prepare a presentation for SQLBI Whiteboard: - Create a .wimport file with the text, code, and bitmap to include - Open it with SQLBI Whiteboard - Start the presentation, highlight and mark elements  There is also an export to PDF/PPTX! https://whiteboard.sqlbi.com/

A DAX calculation can produce good values at any level but not at the total; the issue could be the granularity. This article+video introduce four levels of granularity that should be identified before writing your DAX formula. https://www.sqlbi.com/articles/writing-dax-at-the-correct-granularity/

CTRL+V: paste DAX code F6: Format it Highlight the code and teach. Also with SQL. Interested in other languages? SQLBI Whiteboard, free, open-source. https://whiteboard.sqlbi.com · Microsoft Store: https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9NN5N0L2TMTF · GitHub: https://github.com/sql-bi/SQLBI-Whiteboard

A new episode of "The Whiteboard" series, where I talk about matrix totals in Power BI. Special guest: the SQLBI Whiteboard! https://youtu.be/jbGEXZ85Nr0 #powerbi #dax #whiteboard

Do you think Direct Lake is the future? It's all about VertiPaq after transcoding! Join my free session on VertiPaq: Sept 26, 10:00 UTC. No excuses! Register now: https://retrodata.live/ #VertiPaq

SQLBI Whiteboard can capture any running app onto the canvas: this is a live Power BI report. Freeze the frame, annotate, teach. Free, MIT-licensed, boards are local files. https://whiteboard.sqlbi.com

Update: Microsoft postponed the retirement of the standalone Whiteboard apps — new date: 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟲, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲. After that date: installed apps "display a retirement experience instead of opening." ​ So: one more month. The free, open-source replacement isn't going anywhere:

"The standalone Windows, iOS, and Android apps retire on September 14, 2026." — Microsoft's own migration page, today. The replacement is already on the Microsoft Store: free, open source, native Windows 11. https://whiteboard.sqlbi.com

Microsoft retires its Whiteboard app on September 14. So we built our own: SQLBI Whiteboard Native Windows 11, pen-first ink, live app capture, DAX/SQL highlighting. Free and MIT-licensed, no account, boards are just files. https://whiteboard.sqlbi.com

During an eclipse, something small hides something enormous for a few minutes, and nobody can see the big thing. Happens to your data model every other day, right?

This article+video shows how to leverage AI to refactor existing DAX code, remove duplicated parts, and centralize the common code in user-defined functions. #dax #powerbi #udf https://www.sqlbi.com/articles/creating-dax-functions-with-ai-to-remove-duplicated-code/

The new default visual style in Power BI does not have alternate colors, but you can get it back! #powerbi  https://www.sqlbi.com/blog/marco/2026/08/10/restoring-alternating-rows-in-power-bi-matrices-with-fluent-2/

Any plans for the weekend?

DAX user-defined functions (UDFs) are now available on Azure Analysis Services. Do you think there are missing articles about using DAX UDFs? Should I create one about Analysis Services (Azure and on-prem)? https://www.sqlbi.com/dax-user-defined-functions-udf/ *SOTA = state of the art

Visual calculations can either improve or degrade the performance of a report. In this article + video, we show how to ensure visual calculations have a positive impact on performance. #dax #visualcalc #powerbi https://www.sqlbi.com/articles/analyzing-the-performance-impact-of-visual-calculations/

Everyone is talking about movie formats right now, and IMAX gets the votes because it shows the bigger picture. Should your reports get an IMAX format too?

This article and video describe how to apply different formatting rules at each level of a hierarchy in Power BI using ISINSCOPE in a measure or ISATLEVEL in a visual calculation. #dax #powerbi https://www.sqlbi.com/articles/dynamic-formatting-by-hierarchy-level-with-isinscope-and-isatlevel/

𝗦𝘆𝗻𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝟮.𝟬 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲! We completely redesigned it to make it easier and faster to create custom maps for Synoptic Panel in Power BI. Watch the video to see it in action, then create your next custom map at https://synoptic.design #PowerBI #DataVisualization #SynopticPanel

It's Saturday. Name a DAX function that doesn't exist but absolutely should.  Wrong answers only. 😎 I'll start: MAKENOMISTAKES().

In this article+video, we implement a DAX user-defined function that removes filter-keep column filters from a calendar, using REMOVEFILTERS as the return value of the function. #dax #calendar #daxudf #powerbi https://www.sqlbi.com/articles/using-removefilters-in-dax-user-defined-functions/

In this article+video, we implement a DAX user-defined function that removes filter-keep column filters from a calendar, using REMOVEFILTERS as the return value of the function. #dax #calendar #daxudf #powerbi https://www.sqlbi.com/articles/using-removefilters-in-dax-user-defined-functions/

This article/video describes how to define optional parameters in DAX user-defined functions and set default values for parameters not specified by the caller. #dax #powerbi #udf https://www.sqlbi.com/articles/optional-parameters-in-dax-user-defined-functions/

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, included in this release. https://community.fabric.microsoft.com/t5/Power-BI-Updates-Blog/DAX-User-Defined-Functions-Generally-Available/ba-p/5185738 #dax #powerbi #udf

ALL, ALLSELECTED, ALLEXCEPT, and REMOVEFILTERS: There are several DAX functions to remove filters from the filter context. This article + video clarifies what to use depending on the requirements. #dax #powerbi https://www.sqlbi.com/articles/all-vs-allselected-vs-allexcept-vs-removefilters/

Sunday morning confession: I actually love donuts. #dataviz 

This article+video describes the Expression Context property, explaining how 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗿-𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗻𝘀 work, how to use them as 𝘃𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗻𝘀 for localization and custom security. #powerbi #dax https://www.sqlbi.com/articles/introducing-user-aware-calculated-columns-in-power-bi/

A slicer cannot filter a measure. This article+video analyzes this common request by explaining how to use a slicer to filter a measure, after discussing the real meaning of using a measure with a slicer. #powerbi #dax https://www.sqlbi.com/articles/filtering-measures-through-slicers/