Most Important DAX Functions for Power BI
DAX (Data Analysis Expressions) is a powerful formula language in Power BI. Here are some of the
most important DAX functions:
1. **Aggregation Functions:**
- SUM(): Adds up all the values in a column.
- AVERAGE(): Calculates the average of a column.
- COUNT(): Counts the number of non-blank rows in a column.
- MAX(): Returns the maximum value in a column.
- MIN(): Returns the minimum value in a column.
2. **Filter Functions:**
- FILTER(): Returns a table that represents a subset of another table.
- ALL(): Removes filters from a column or table.
- DISTINCT(): Returns a one-column table that contains the distinct values.
- CALCULATE(): Modifies a filter context to calculate a value.
3. **Time Intelligence Functions:**
- TODAY(): Returns the current date.
- NOW(): Returns the current date and time.
- SAMEPERIODLASTYEAR(): Returns the same period from the previous year.
- DATESYTD(): Returns the year-to-date dates.
4. **Logical Functions:**
- IF(): Checks a condition and returns one value for TRUE and another for FALSE.
- AND(): Checks if all arguments are TRUE.
- OR(): Checks if any argument is TRUE.
- SWITCH(): Evaluates an expression against a list of values.
5. **Text Functions:**
- CONCATENATE(): Combines two text strings into one.
- LEFT(): Returns the first characters of a text string.
- RIGHT(): Returns the last characters of a text string.
- SEARCH(): Finds one text string within another.
6. **Mathematical Functions:**
- ROUND(): Rounds a number to a specified number of digits.
- DIVIDE(): Performs division and handles division by zero.
- ABS(): Returns the absolute value of a number.
7. **Table Manipulation Functions:**
- RELATED(): Returns a value from another table related to the current row.
- LOOKUPVALUE(): Retrieves a value from a column based on a condition.
- SUMMARIZE(): Creates a summary table for the requested totals.
8. **Ranking Functions:**
- RANKX(): Returns the ranking of a value in a table.
9. **Advanced Functions:**
- EARLIER(): Refers to an earlier row context in a nested calculation.
- VALUES(): Returns a one-column table with unique values.
- CROSSJOIN(): Returns the Cartesian product of two tables.
These functions are widely used for creating measures, calculated columns, and advanced reports
in Power BI.
