Getting Ready for Power BI Desktop Launch

A Power BI lesson for novice users who are utilizing the service for the first time is called “Getting started with Power BI.” A Power BI is a grouping of many programs, including connectors and applications, that show data visually.

Microsoft released Netsuite Power BI as a product in 2013. It is a business intelligence and data visualization tool that uses captivating visualizations to reveal the meaning hidden inside the data. Naturally, Power BI is not just for creating visualizations. However, we can use this to change, manipulate, and accomplish other amazing things.

Versions of Power BI 

It has 4 categories, and those are. 

• Power BI Desktop 
• Power BI Services 
• Power BI Pro License 
• Power BI Premium.

“Power BI Desktop” is the free version of the four mentioned above, and it has amazing functionality for a free version. Therefore, it is sufficient to begin using the Power BI “Desktop” edition.

Downloading Power BI Desktop

There is no cost for Power BI Desktop. This program may be downloaded by clicking the link below.

https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/desktop/

Install the Desktop version on your PC after downloading it. Once the installation is complete, you may use Power BI Desktop.

How Can I Open Power BI Desktop and Start Using It?

Click the Start button on your computer to launch Power BI. Type “Power BI” to bring up all relevant searches; select “Power BI Desktop.”

• The Power BI will take some time to load. You will then see a screen similar to the one below.
• The Power BI file will prompt you to identify yourself by providing your name, title, company, and other details as soon as it opens.
• It’s not necessary to get things going. Now that this window is closed, we can see Power BI in its entirety.
• It will appear to be an enhanced version of Excel, as we previously said. For instance, in Excel, we have a ribbon tab.
• And there are three symbols just beneath this.
• These are crucial components of Power BI. On the screen, there are three tabs: the “Report Tab,” the “Data Tab,” and the “Relationship Tab.”
• We may generate reports and visualizations by using the “Report Tab.” All of the Data Tables are visible by using the “Data” tab. Lastly, we may specify the relationship between many tables by utilizing the “Relationship Tab.”
• Additionally, we may see items below on the right-hand side.

The “Visualizations” field is the first. All of the Power BI’s pre-installed graphics are available on this page, but we may also upload our own. However, that is a distinct matter.

Finally, there are “Fields.” Nothing is mentioned in any of the submitted Data Tables. However, each table’s fields are visible if you click on its down arrow.

Similar to the “Sheet” tab in Microsoft Excel, the “Page Layout” was shown at the bottom.

In Power BI Desktop, Create Reports.

To generate reports, we require certain data.

Thus, we have access to data from a variety of sources, including the web, SQL Server, Cloud, Excel, Text, and CSV. We’ll utilize the method for uploading data from a text file now. The text file’s data that we are using is shown below.

Click “Get Data” on the Power BI file’s “Home tab.”

• There are several alternatives for data sources, as you can see above. Select “Text / CSV” as the file source because our data is in text file format.
• It will now prompt you to select the file from your system’s save folder location. Finally, to upload the file, click “Open.”
• It will display the data preview to you prior to data submission.

As we can see above, Xero Power BI has the intelligence to identify the delimiter, or common column separator, in this instance a comma ().

By selecting the “Transform Data” button, we can change the data in whatever way we see fit. Next, select “Load” to upload the file because Power BI has already changed the data.

This data should now be visible under the “Data” tab.

To make reports, return to the “Report” page now.

We will generate all of our reports from this website. For instance, we must first introduce a blank “Table” visual if we wish to make a “City-wise” summary table.

To begin, drag and drop the “City” column from the table’s “Fields” to the Table visual’s “Values” field.

Now, in the “Values” box, drag and drop the “Sales” column just below the “City.”

For us, it will produce a straightforward summary table. The screenshot of the same is shown below.

In a similar vein, we may generate data or report insights rapidly with Power BI.

Points to Remember 

• For users of the more complex Excel versions, Power BI is comparable to advanced Excel. The desktop version of Power BI is available for free. It is more than sufficient to begin studying Power BI.
• We have to select the data source choice based on the data source.

Some Points to Recall

The UI of Power BI Desktop is intuitive and seems like a sophisticated version of Excel when you first start it. The “Report,” “Data,” and “Relationship” tabs are the most important ones to use for building, maintaining, and specifying relationships between data tables. Gaining familiarity with these tabs is crucial if you want to fully utilize Power BI.

Getting Around Fields and Visualizations

There are several pre-installed visuals located in the “Visualizations” box on the right-hand side. Here’s where you can fully utilize the power of images to successfully express information. You may also explore and use fields from your data tables under the “Fields” area, which gives you an interactive approach to customize your reports.

Page Design and Report Writing

A “Page Layout” is located at the bottom of Power BI Desktop, much like the “Sheet” tab in Excel. You may easily generate and arrange reports in this area. As soon as you obtain the required data, make sure to start creating reports. Data from several sources, including the web, SQL Server, Cloud, Excel, Text, and CSV, may be supported by Power BI Desktop.

Data Uploading and Information Transformation

Select the “Get Data” option located on the “Home” page in order to import data. If your data is in a text file format, select “Text / CSV”. By identifying delimiters, Power BI’s intelligent algorithm streamlines the data viewing procedure. By using the “Transform Data” tool, you may make any necessary changes to the data before importing it into Power BI.