Wise Owl Blogs - Home (page 2 of 19)

Disappearing data labels in Power BI Desktop

Posted by Sam Lowrie on 20 July 2018

Ever had a data label vanish for no apparent reason? This blog gives two of the most common reasons why this might happen.

Using MERGE and MATCHED in SQL

Posted by Sam Lowrie on 21 June 2018

Learn how to MERGE rows from two tables into one combined table, and how to remove unwanted data from both tables.

Some ideas for company days out!

Posted by Andy Brown on 18 June 2018

Go-karting, axe-throwing, escape rooms and ninja training - some of the ideas from this blog suggesting company days out in Manchester.

A summary of recent blogs that we've written on bookmarks in Power BI Desktop

Posted by Andy Brown on 18 June 2018

We've created a few blogs giving some ideas for how to use the new Power BI bookmarks features (including dynamic charts and enabling pagination). This blog brings the links together onto a single page.

Resolving a problem with SSRS and a Windows 10 update

Posted by David Wakefield on 18 June 2018

After installing Windows 10 our laptops started returning a 503 error in Web Portal - this blog shows how to resolve this.

How to get the custodians of your data to give you access!

Posted by David Wakefield on 18 June 2018

GDPR isn't as restrictive as most commentators claim, as this blog sets out to show. Don't let data custodians block you from analysing your corporate data!

Using the CROSS FILTER function in Power BI Desktop

Posted by Sam Lowrie on 13 June 2018

Learn about the perils of changing the cross filter direction to "Both", then discover why the CROSS FILTER function is better!

Changes in the June 2018 Update of Power BI Desktop

Posted by Andy Brown on 09 June 2018

There are hardly any changes in this update - the only significant one is that you now sort and filter data within Power BI Desktop itself, rather than having to go into Query Editor.

More suggestions for how to use bookmarks

Posted by Sam Lowrie on 09 June 2018

Another set of examples showing ways in which to use the weird and wonderful bookmarks feature in Power BI Desktop

Splitting long tables of data into different pages (pagination)

Posted by Sam Lowrie on 01 June 2018

This blog shows how you can split rows in tables into different pages, making the data easier to read.

How to create dynamic report titles in Power BI Desktop

Posted by Sam Lowrie on 01 June 2018

How you can combine the use of measures and cards to create dynamic report headers in Power BI Desktop.

Weighted and numeric distribution in Power BI Desktop

Posted by Sam Lowrie on 18 May 2018

Learn to use the SUMMARIZE and CALCULATE functions to produce numeric and weighted distributions.

A summary of new features added to Power BI Desktop in the May 2018 update

Posted by Andy Brown on 14 May 2018

New features introduced into Power BI Desktop in this update include conditional formatting by different fields, the inclusion of filters in drill-through and minor improvements to line and funnel charts.

Use the Excel camera tool, or create a linked picture in Word or PowerPoint

Posted by Andy Brown on 25 April 2018

This blog shows options for creating a webcam focused on one particular area of an Excel workbook! You can do this either by pasting the Excel range into PowerPoint or Word as a linked picture, or by using the Excel camera tool.

What is new in the April 2018 Power BI Desktop update

Posted by Andy Brown on 07 April 2018

This month's update allows users to add customisable buttons to a report, incorporates a numeric slicer and includes a few other smaller changes.

Some suggestions for possible uses for bookmarks in Power BI Desktop

Posted by Sam Lowrie on 24 March 2018

This blog gives some suggestions for how you might use the new bookmarks feature in Power BI Desktop.

New features in the March 2018 update of Power BI Desktop

Posted by Andy Brown on 20 March 2018

By far the biggest new feature in the March 2018 update of Power BI Desktop is bookmarks (so big, in fact, that it gets a summary treatment in this blog and a separate, longer blog all to itself).

Learning bookmarks in Power BI Desktop

Posted by Sam Lowrie on 14 March 2018

You can use bookmarks to take your reports to the next level - they take a while to get used to, as this blog shows, but they're worth the hassle!

5 interesting custom visuals in Power BI Dektop

Posted by Sam Lowrie on 12 March 2018

Basic Power BI Desktop visuals can leave something to be desired. Try these 5 visuals to spice up your reports!

How to get rid of lots of blank rows in a Report Builder table

Posted by Andy Brown on 16 February 2018

There seems to be an occasional bug in Report Builder which fills a table with blank rows. Here's one owl's way to get round it.