Marco Russo

After years in “stealth mode,” we’re excited to introduce DAX Optimizer. Dive deeper here: daxoptimizer.com/blog/introduci… DAX Optimizer is a tool – delivered as a service – that helps identify potential bottlenecks and suggests impactful solutions and priorities. You still write the code, but it is like you have a mentor on the side teaching you best practices, focusing on the most impactful area of your measures. Spend your time where it matters, getting immediate improvements. For example, you may have 200 measures, many of which have similar coding practice issues: Where to start? DAX Optimizer guides you to the more important measures, which could be the ones that are more frequently used by other measures and not necessarily those that directly appear on any report. Now that we are out of stealth mode, we have much to say: how it works, how it preserves sensitive data, how it works for teams and individual developers, and share the plans to improve it over time. We will do that in the coming weeks. Where are we now? Our beta program is live, initial users are onboarded, and the waitlist is growing. We’re gradually rolling out invitation codes in the coming weeks. The service is functional, the UI for a single developer is polished, and the documentation is shaping up. While we work towards our public release, we’ll be actively seeking your feedback to refine DAX Optimizer. We won’t be rolling out a major marketing campaign yet, as we’re committed to perfecting the tool. Do not expect videos or articles from us until public release. That said, beta participants are welcome to share their experiences, as we do not require any NDA. Articles, videos, with the good and the bad – all are fair game. We believe in transparency! Join us in shaping the future of coding with DAX Optimizer. Your code, optimized. daxoptimizer.com

Baltimore, May 27-29.  This is the last Mastering DAX class in North America before fall. Three days, in person, small group. The kind of class where you actually get to ask your questions and work through your specific problem. After this, the next US date won't be until late 2026. If it's been on your list, now is the time. sqlbi.com/p/mastering-da…

@srulyt The Saturday’s post is about fun, and in this one the fun is the pain for the change. If you start a serious conversation, the fun is gone 😎

@marcorus Ouch 😀 Do you agree that all of these were replaced with something better?

Dataflows Gen1 is gone. What’s next? Bets are open.

@JakeBoesFF @foxelunico Yep, but this doesn't stop us from trolling and having fun. Where is your bet fore the next feature to go?

@foxelunico @marcorus Interesting. I hadn’t seen the April 20th update. Seems like good news for pro users! Thanks for sharing.

@JohannesVink Ssshhhh I use them!

@marcorus But why on earth Dashboards are still there, no-one knows.

@MathewWestwood There should be equal distributed pain for everyone. (remember, it's Saturday, we try to have some fun!)

@marcorus How would report creators cope without bookmarks?

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 sqlbi.com/articles/filte…

Hey, web designers, why do you keep designing websites for mobile devices and small-screen laptops that don't take advantage of large, high-DPI screens? Why do you assume my full-screen size is all yours? I claim ownership of my screen real estate!

This dad making a sandwich with his kids' instructions is basically what happens when people use an LLM, and something goes wrong. Kid says, "Put the peanut butter on the bread.” Dad stabs the jar into the loaf. Kid loses it. But he did what was asked. Inexperienced people keep running into this with DAX formulas. It runs, the number comes out, looks fine. Nobody checks it. Two weeks later, someone asks why the report doesn't match finance, and the answer is often the same: the formula did what you told it, not what you meant. People think the hard part of using AI is making it work. It's not. It's realizing you left something out of the instructions that you thought was obvious. A person would have asked, "Wait, what do you mean by last year?” The machine (often) just picks one and goes. The annoying part is that to write a prompt that gives you the right formula, you already need to understand the problem well enough to write it yourself. At that point, you're saving time on typing, not on thinking. I don't have a good answer for what someone starting from zero should study right now. The fundamentals still matter, though. If you understand the concepts and the semantic model, you can check what comes out.  If you can't check it, you're the kid watching the sandwich fall apart.  Video credits: "Exact Instructions Challenge" by Josh Darnit on Youtube.

@John_W_Power Thank you!

Can recommend, well worth the cost.

Honestly, the hardest part of DAX isn't writing the formula. It's knowing how to think about the problem before you write anything. In person classes slow down on that part. You ask a question, you get an answer right there. The stuff that experienced practitioners do without thinking, we stop and explain why. That's where you go from "I got it to work" to actually understanding what you did. Here are the next SQLBI in person classes: 𝗡𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗛 𝗔𝗠𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗔  𝗕𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲, 𝗠𝗗: May 27→29: sqlbi.com/p/mastering-da… 𝗘𝗨𝗥𝗢𝗣𝗘  𝗖𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗵𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻, 𝗗𝗞: May 5→7: sqlbi.com/p/mastering-da… 𝗭𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗵, 𝗖𝗛: Jun 10→12: sqlbi.com/p/mastering-da… 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗻, 𝗗𝗘: Jun 15→17: sqlbi.com/p/mastering-da… All the classes are in English.

@MathewWestwood It’s a start! I get many enterprises don’t use preview features. This is why it’s so important…

@marcorus We under use them, current #1 usage is too hold number and string values for other measures. (So one place for updates to minimum premium etc.. )

Almost there! #dax #udf roadmap.fabric.microsoft.com/?product=power…

If you are in Switzerland or need a good excuse to visit, I will teach 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝗔𝗫 𝗶𝗻 𝗭𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝗻 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗲 𝟭𝟬-𝟭𝟮, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲. Level up your DAX skills, also learning the 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀: User-defined functions (UDFs), calendar-based time intelligence, and, of course, all the other topics covered in the latest book and video course (which are included for all students of the in-person course). The 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 is literally 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁, so it is also very convenient if you have a direct flight to Zurich! 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗲 𝟭𝟬-𝟭𝟮, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗭𝘂̈𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗵, 𝗖𝗛 sqlbi.com/p/mastering-da… If you cannot attend the training but you are in the area, do not miss my free evening session at the Zürich Fabric User Group on June 11 at 5 pm: meetup.com/microsoft-fabr…

We dropped this comic in the latest SQLBI newsletter and instantly created a cultural crisis. The DAX crowd immediately Googled “𝑪𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒂” and thought it was a new iterator function. The Coachella crowd Googled “𝑹𝑬𝑴𝑶𝑽𝑬𝑭𝑰𝑳𝑻𝑬𝑹𝑺” and asked if it’s some kind of ayahuasca cleanse. If you got both references without touching Google… please report to the lab. We have questions. And possibly a very confused Power BI model to show you.

It is probably time to write a politically incorrect, unbiased, technically accurate whitepaper about what a semantic model could be, should be, actually is. Unfortunately, I’m biased. SQL + metadata is not flexible enough based on the last 40 years of BI products. So I’m biased. Is there anyone who is not, in a way or another?

Important clarifying update to our product documentation posted regarding integration with 3rd party semantic models #PowerBI #compatibility-with-third-party-semantic-models" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">learn.microsoft.com/power-bi/conne…

Just a few weeks before my 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝗔𝗫 𝗶𝗻 𝗡𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮 𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗹 𝗳𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲! 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗗𝗔𝗫 𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻, including the latest features: User-defined functions (UDFs), calendar-based time intelligence, and, of course, all the other topics covered in the latest book and video course (which are included for all students of the in-person course). Hurry up and get your seat on time! 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟮𝟳-𝟮𝟵, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗕𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲, 𝗠𝗗 sqlbi.com/p/mastering-da…

If you use (or not) 𝗦𝘆𝗻𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗣𝗮𝗻𝗲𝗹, look at the new 𝗢𝗞𝗩𝗜𝗭 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀! One hour to learn and share: - 𝗚𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘆 (5 min). We show 2–3 projects shared by the community, with comments and practical suggestions. - 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗱 𝗗𝗲𝗺𝗼 (20–25 min). One specific feature or use case, explained step by step. - 𝗤&𝗔 (20–25 min). Open discussion, starting with the session topic and moving into whatever else comes up. - 𝗩𝗼𝘁𝗲 (5 min). We close by letting participants pick the theme for future sessions. We're currently planning the first three sessions, all focused on Synoptic Panel: - Wed 29 April, 2026 - Map Selector in Synoptic Panel - Tue 19 May, 2026 - Drill Mode in Synoptic Panel - Tue 23 June, 2026 - Best Practices in Synoptic Panel If you'd like to join, register now using this form: 👉 forms.office.com/e/TSUP4TY7ue We will rotate the starting time between sessions to accommodate different time zones, and we will record the demos for those who are sleeping! If you would like the recording and cannot attend live, fill out the form anyway. We'll send the Themed Demo recording to all registered users.

This article+video describes the parameter types available in DAX user-defined functions, focusing on the specialized reference types MEASUREREF, COLUMNREF, TABLEREF, and CALENDARREF. #dax #powerbi sqlbi.com/articles/under…

@tgatte The risk increases with software not even released. However, attendees learning was good: too early for real adoption.

I agree as well as I find live demos more engaging and you can ad lib. Unfortunately, that approach also bit me hard at FabCon ATL. I hit a ontology bug that was completely blocking, making all of my demos non-functional a few hours before show time. Not good for a session on Fabric IQ. The bug is supposed to now be fixed, weeks later. I still need to test this.

I wanted to say/write this for a while, and now I can no longer keep it to myself. I delivered many speeches and sessions at conferences, and I have attended way more sessions. In the last few years, live demos seemed like a dying breed. Replaced by "play recorded video button." No more BSOD (blue screen of death). No more "wi-fi not working with thousands of attendees." No more "the latest release broke something." No more surprises. No more fear on the speaker's face. No thrill, none of the sadistic emotion typical of spectators watching whether a demonstration will work, a bit like when they watch the start of an F1 GP, fearing a possible accident. Because the connection could not work, and the AI is non-deterministic, and we cannot be late, and we do not want to risk, and on, and on... Yesterday, I received the call: I'm a live demo purist. I know pre-recording is safer, but I’m coming out against the "play button" trend. For me, the magic of a tech conference is the authenticity of seeing things happen in real-time: bugs and all. I sat front row at a 60-minute session led by @FabioSantini71 where his agents swarm worked to write an app for the second half of the session, barely managing to complete the deployment in time. Finally, a real live demo. As an attendee, I want it. As a speaker, I promise I'll deliver that. I know that I'm not alone. I'm just the (first?) one to say it loud. I'd like to use (and read) this hashtag in sessions' descriptions from now on: #livedemo PS: Thank you, @ajacomuzzi, for organizing Azure Global Torino, and @anBenedetti for the inspiring keynote.