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Wise Owl blogs written by Sam Lowrie (page 1 of 2)
Showing blogs 1-20 (out of 39)
What to do when you get red squiggly lines in SSMS and no Intellisense
Posted by Sam Lowrie on 28 April 2021
Normally when SQL Server Management Studio underlines words with what Microsoft call "red squigglies" it's because you haven't refreshed your local cache, but it could also be because of a recent bug - here's how to get round this!
Solving FAILED TO DECRYPT CREDENTIALS message when running Power BI
Posted by Sam Lowrie on 20 April 2021
Following the April 2021 update to Power BI (perhaps coincidentally) we started getting this message appearing on our computers, blocking us from running Power BI. Here is how to solve this!
Two easy ways to create themes in Power BI without needing to write JSON
Posted by Sam Lowrie on 30 October 2020
This blog show two ways in which you can create custom themes in Power BI without needing to learn how to write JSON: either use the built-in theme editor in Power BI, or use the theme generator from Power BI Tiips.
This blog shows you how to connect to Remote Desktop if you're using a Mac
Posted by Sam Lowrie on 30 October 2020
Most people attending our online training courses use Windows computers, but the odd Mac user slips through! This blog explains how you can connect to Remote Desktop on a Mac, and so still enjoy your Wise Owl online training.
5 horrible SQL jokes and one puzzle
Posted by Sam Lowrie on 22 July 2020
Sam has a terrible sense of humour which is all too often inflicted on his delegates. Sadly, with this blog, on website viewers too ...
Posted by Sam Lowrie on 26 June 2020
Sam was tired of getting told off for crinkled or missing expense receipts. So he had a look at Power Apps and this is what he found…
Use VBA to create Microsoft Team meetings
Posted by Sam Lowrie on 26 June 2020
Did you know that you can create Microsoft Team meetings using VBA in Outlook? This blog shows you how!
5 things Sam has done while locked inside!
Posted by Sam Lowrie on 26 June 2020
Our trainers are normally out and about across the entire UK (even Europe sometimes). So what has one of them been doing with all this extra time at home?
FAQ - questions (and answers) about how our online training works
Posted by Sam Lowrie on 19 June 2020
This blog answers some of the frequently asked questions about how our online training works (such as what software and hardware you'll need, and what freebies are included!).
How to configure your webcam, microphone, speakers and much more!
Posted by Sam Lowrie on 19 June 2020
Not sure what you need for our online courses? Here's our definitive guide to setting up your computer sofware and hardware to ensure that everything works smoothly.
The Wise Owls have new home offices (with some better than others ...)
Posted by Sam Lowrie on 07 April 2020
The Coronavirus crisis has made the Wise Owls flee to their home nests - but as this blog shows, some nests are better prepared than others.
Sam attended our first Power BI meetup at the end of January, and was impressed!
Posted by Sam Lowrie on 29 February 2020
A summary of what happened in the Power BI meet-up at the end of January, from a convert (Sam).
YouTube Silver Award - 100K + subscribers!
Posted by Sam Lowrie on 25 November 2019
We're proud to announce that YouTube have given us their coveted silver award, in recognition of the fact that our video channel has over 100,000 subscribers.
Dynamic comparison calculations in DAX
Posted by Sam Lowrie on 11 November 2019
This blogs shows a clever way in which you can use a slicer to choose which values to compare in a measure.
Explaining the VALUE argument of the RANKX function in DAX
Posted by Sam Lowrie on 29 October 2019
The RANKX function does what the name implies - it ranks values based on a calculation. However, the VALUE argument often causes confusion; this blog explains what it does!
Posted by Sam Lowrie on 05 October 2019
Sam lists out 5 board games you should try, covering everything from matching symbols to killing zombies.
Attending an Expo - 5 things to consider
Posted by Sam Lowrie on 19 August 2019
Having attended our first expo we would like to share some insights into things to consider!
New features introduced in the July 2019 update of Power BI
Posted by Sam Lowrie on 02 August 2019
There are big changes to conditional formatting this month (you can display icons, and use percent-based thresholds), but the biggest change of all is the release - finally - of the new filter pane.
Creating complex custom date periods in calendar tables using calculated columns
Posted by Sam Lowrie on 17 May 2019
This blog shows how to create custom date periods within a date table for 28 day cycles, but the principles shown could be applied to create any custom date periods.
Creating a calendar or date table in Power BI using built-in calendar functions
Posted by Sam Lowrie on 17 May 2019
Learn how to create a basic date table in Power BI, using either the CALENDAR or CALENDARAUTO functions, and also learn how to then add custom columns of your own.