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Unit 1 of 1 · BCA Sem 4

Unit 1: Power BI from import to publishing

Data Visualization Laboratory notes · PTU syllabus (UGDSE104)

3 min read4 topics8 exam questions
On this page
  1. Unit summary
  2. Power BI interface and importing data
  3. Power Query: cleaning and transforming
  4. Relationships and measures
  5. Visuals and publishing
  6. Key terms
  7. Quick revision
  8. Important questions

Unit summary

This lab builds a complete Power BI report: importing data, cleaning it in Power Query, modelling relationships, writing measures, building charts, and publishing and sharing on Power BI Service.

After this unit you can

  • Navigate Power BI Desktop and import data from several sources
  • Clean, transform, merge and append data in Power Query
  • Create relationships, calculated columns and DAX measures
  • Build visuals and publish, share and schedule refreshes

PTU syllabus topics

  • Power BI interface overview
  • importing data from Excel/CSV and multiple sources
  • basic report creation
  • Power Query Editor for cleaning
  • transforming
  • merging and appending data
  • custom and calculated columns
  • creating table relationships
  • resolving data inconsistencies
  • calculated measures
  • chart creation and formatting
  • publishing to Power BI Service
  • sharing reports
  • data refresh schedules and permissions
ProcessPower BI workflow
  1. 1Get data

    Excel, CSV, databases

  2. 2Transform

    Power Query cleaning

  3. 3Model

    Relationships and measures (DAX)

  4. 4Visualise

    Charts and slicers

  5. 5Publish

    Share on Power BI Service

1

Topic 1

Power BI interface and importing data

Power BI Desktop has three views: Report (build visuals), Data/Table (see tables) and Model (relationships). Get Data connects to Excel, CSV, SQL databases, web pages and more. Load several sources into one report.

2

Topic 2

Power Query: cleaning and transforming

ProcessTypical Power Query steps
  1. 1

    Promote headers

  2. 2

    Set data types

    Text, whole number, date

  3. 3

    Remove errors, blanks and duplicates

  4. 4

    Split, trim and replace values

  5. 5

    Merge queries

    Like a SQL join

  6. 6

    Append queries

    Stack tables with the same columns

  7. 7

    Close and apply

  • Custom/conditional columns add derived values (for example Grade from Marks).
3

Topic 3

Relationships and measures

In Model view, link tables on keys (Sales[ProductID] → Product[ProductID]) with one-to-many relationships. Fix inconsistencies such as text versus number keys and duplicate keys.

Total Sales = SUM(Sales[Amount])
Profit = SUM(Sales[Amount]) - SUM(Sales[Cost])
Profit Margin % = DIVIDE([Profit], [Total Sales]) * 100
Sales LY = CALCULATE([Total Sales], SAMEPERIODLASTYEAR('Date'[Date]))
ComparisonCalculated column vs measure
Calculated column
Measure

Calculated

Row by row, stored in the table

At query time, based on filters

Memory

Uses storage

Light

Use

Categories to slice by

Totals, ratios, KPIs

4

Topic 4

Visuals and publishing

  • Build cards (KPIs), clustered bar/column charts, line charts, maps, tables and slicers; format titles, colours and data labels.
  • Publish to Power BI Service, create a dashboard by pinning visuals, share with colleagues, set row-level security if needed, and schedule data refresh (with a gateway for on-premises data).

Exam tip

In the practical, explain why you chose each visual — examiners reward reasoning, not just the finished report.

Key terms

Power Query
Power BI's data cleaning and transformation tool
DAX
Data Analysis Expressions, Power BI's formula language
Measure
A calculation evaluated on the fly for the current filters
Merge query
Joining two tables on a common column
Scheduled refresh
Automatic updating of published data

Quick revision

  • Views: Report, Data, Model.
  • Power Query: types, clean, merge (join), append (stack).
  • Measures use DAX: SUM, DIVIDE, CALCULATE.
  • Publish → dashboard → share → schedule refresh.

Important exam questions

Practice questions written to the PTU exam pattern for this unit's syllabus: short answers (Section A style) and long answers (Sections B and C style).

Short-answer questions

  1. Q1.Differentiate between merge and append in Power Query.
  2. Q2.What is DAX?
  3. Q3.Differentiate between a calculated column and a measure.
  4. Q4.How is a relationship created in Power BI?
  5. Q5.What is a scheduled refresh?

Long-answer questions

  1. Q1.Import data from two sources, clean it in Power Query and build a sales dashboard.
  2. Q2.Create relationships and DAX measures for total sales, profit and profit margin.
  3. Q3.Explain the steps to publish and share a Power BI report.

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