There’s been some very exciting Power BI feature releases this month including a hotly anticipated feature…
Power BI
The December 2020 Power BI Desktop and Service Update is now out and here are the stand-out features that have been added along with other feature releases.
- DirectQuery for Power BI datasets and Azure Analysis Services (Preview) – This is the big one! In preview right now is the ability to connect to multiple Power BI Datasets in the Service and Azure Analysis Services models using DirectQuery and bring other imported data into a Power BI model. Read indepth here.
- Small Multiples (Preview) – This is a feature that is a welcome additional to the toolset, now you can add fields to a supported visualisation to multiply the visual. For example, use this feature on a Line Chart to show multiple line charts by a category. Read more.
- Home List Experience – A simple yet useful feature with shows a list of recent items, shared with me, and apps on the Home screen. Read more.
- Announcing Dataflows Power Automate Connector public preview – Automation fans (and who isnt?) now have a Power Automate Dataflows connector which includes Dataflow refresh notifications and triggering Dataflows and Datasets refresh sequentially. Read more.
Azure Synapse Analytics
- Learn about STRING_AGG, OFFSET/FETCH, and PIVOT/UNPIVOT and other features in serverless SQL pool – SQL Serverless now has a new set of SQL functions to extend its functionality. Check out the SESSION_CONTEXT system function which enables you to create and store key value pairs within a SQL session. You can then use these values in filter predicates in Views or Stored Procedures. Read more.
- Daily Blog Releases for Synapse Analytics – Since December 8th, there has been a daily blog release which covers a particular topic in Synapse Analytics. This blog post covers Machine Learning and AI integration. Get the latest blog releases by following the official Synapse Analytics Twitter account.
Community
- Azure Purview – Use the Starter Kit to create a data estate demo environment – Wolfgang Strasser (@wstrasser), Data Platform MVP & Consultant, has blogged about using the new Azure Purview Starter Kit to create an Azure test infrastructure to test the capabilities of Azure Purview. Read more.
- Extend Power BI theme with an image! – Nikola Ilic (@DataMozart), MCT, has blogged a really great trick to add images to a Power BI theme to automate adding images to Power BI report pages. Read more.
- Azure Synapse Analytics – Polaris Whitepaper Deep-Dive – Simon Whiteley (@MrSiWhiteley), Director of Engineering at Advancing Analytics, has a great video on the Azure Synapse Analytics POLARIS engine whitepaper. Well worth a watch if you’re interested in the underlying engine behind the new SQL Serverless service as Simon takes us through the whitepaper with interpretations. Read more.