Refining Relationships in Power BI Modeling

Data Ingestion and Semantic Models with Microsoft Fabric

Alex Kuntz

Head of Cloud Curriculum, DataCamp

Filter Propagation

Filter Propagation

  • Controls how data flows between related tables
  • Filters from one table impact related tables automatically

Filtering in Related tables

Data Ingestion and Semantic Models with Microsoft Fabric

Unidirectional vs Bidirectional Relationships

Relationship directions define how data filters flow between tables.

  • Relationship Directions Types

    • Unidirectional: Filters flow one way.

    One To Many, Unidirectional Relationship

    • Bidirectional: Filters flow both ways.

One To Many, Bidirectional Relationship

Data Ingestion and Semantic Models with Microsoft Fabric

Active vs Inactive Relationship

  • Active Relationships:

    • Active: Default, used in reports.

    Active Relationships

  • Inactive Relationships

    • Inactive: Not used unless specified.

    Inactive Relationships

Data Ingestion and Semantic Models with Microsoft Fabric

Virtual vs Physical Relationships

  • Physical Relationships:

    • Created by directly linking tables using primary and foreign keys.
    • Stored within the data model.
    • Offer faster query performance.

  • Virtual Relationships:

    • Defined through DAX functions, without physical key connections.
    • Exist only in calculations.
    • Flexibility for complex analysis but may impact performance.
Data Ingestion and Semantic Models with Microsoft Fabric

Copilot in Power BI

  • Copilot: AI Assistant Integrated across Fabric environment
  • Copilot in Power BI: Generates reports automatically based on user prompts

Capabilities:

  • Creates reports, outlines, visuals, narrative summaries for data.

Limitations:

  • Visual edits, filter additions, layout adjustments, complex intent.

Copilot in Power BI

Data Ingestion and Semantic Models with Microsoft Fabric

Let's practice!

Data Ingestion and Semantic Models with Microsoft Fabric

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