Why did new Visual Calculations appear in Power BI?
Visual Calculations in Power BI is a feature that officially rolled out in February 2024. Its main purpose is to let you perform calculations directly within a visual (like a chart or a table) without having to write complex DAX (Data Analysis Expressions). Essentially, it lets you apply calculations immediately on the report canvas without the need to create a measure in the model layer first. 1. Background: Why It Emerged Power BI users were repeatedly running into the following roadblocks: The Steep DAX Learning Curve While DAX is powerful, its syntax is difficult. Advanced functions, especially those like CALCULATE , FILTER, or SAMEPERIODLASTYEAR, were particularly challenging for beginners to approach. Even for simple tasks like finding a "growth rate" or a "running total," users had to write long, complicated expressions. Model Registration Require...