After years in “stealth mode,” we’re excited to introduce DAX Optimizer. Dive deeper here: daxoptimizer.com/blog/introd… DAX Optimizer is a tool – delivered as a service – that helps identify potential bottlenecks and suggests impactful solutions and priorities. You still write the code, but it is like you have a mentor on the side teaching you best practices, focusing on the most impactful area of your measures. Spend your time where it matters, getting immediate improvements. For example, you may have 200 measures, many of which have similar coding practice issues: Where to start? DAX Optimizer guides you to the more important measures, which could be the ones that are more frequently used by other measures and not necessarily those that directly appear on any report. Now that we are out of stealth mode, we have much to say: how it works, how it preserves sensitive data, how it works for teams and individual developers, and share the plans to improve it over time. We will do that in the coming weeks. Where are we now? Our beta program is live, initial users are onboarded, and the waitlist is growing. We’re gradually rolling out invitation codes in the coming weeks. The service is functional, the UI for a single developer is polished, and the documentation is shaping up. While we work towards our public release, we’ll be actively seeking your feedback to refine DAX Optimizer. We won’t be rolling out a major marketing campaign yet, as we’re committed to perfecting the tool. Do not expect videos or articles from us until public release. That said, beta participants are welcome to share their experiences, as we do not require any NDA. Articles, videos, with the good and the bad – all are fair game. We believe in transparency! Join us in shaping the future of coding with DAX Optimizer. Your code, optimized. daxoptimizer.com/

Using an AI assistant with Power BI Desktop? You can add the DAX Lib MCP server with one command: npx -y @daxlib/mcp --start Then ask your assistant to search and import DAX Lib functions into your model. Setup for each client: docs.daxlib.org/user-guide/m… #PowerBI #DAX

SQLBI Whiteboard keeps evolving. Version 1.7.6 came out this week. Recent releases added Mermaid diagrams in Markdown containers, PowerPoint decks opened as boards, and panning with the mouse (H, or hold Space and drag). A board is still a .wboard file on your PC. No account, no retirement date. whiteboard.sqlbi.com/changel…

In case you missed it, Synoptic Designer 2.0 is out. We redesigned the whole tool to make custom maps easier and faster to create. Projects now save locally, and with the new magic wand, you click an enclosed region to turn it into a delimited area you can color with data. The JSVG export keeps the binding information. And yes, you can also create the SVG with an AI tool. In that case, Synoptic Designer is perfect for the final touches! Try it here: synoptic.design

DAX Lib has an MCP server! If you develop models in Power BI Desktop using an AI assistant, you can search and import functions from DAX Lib into the model you are editing. Free, open source, no configuration file, and no telemetry. #PowerBI #DAX sqlbi.com/blog/marco/2026/10…

One review of our free Introducing DAX course said it was "starting to get slightly outdated." Fair enough. We recorded a 2nd edition, now with visual calculations and user-defined functions. The video course is still free. sqlbi.com/p/introducing-dax-… Starting with AI instead? sqlbi.com/ai #dax #powerbi

I'm starting to see any user interface for data entry as obsolete. And any missing visualization of the data entered/available/stored as a missing feature. Is there a real designer out there who spent valuable time figuring out what a service or app should be? I haven't seen or read anything valuable yet. Context: agents (personal or not)

How to get a continuous X-axis at the month level in Power BI with any Date table, like the one we get using the auto date/time feature. Article and video: sqlbi.com/articles/continuou…

Paste a one-line DAX measure on the whiteboard. Press F6. Now the whole room can read it. Works with SQL too. 12 seconds below. SQLBI Whiteboard, free and open source: whiteboard.sqlbi.com #dax #powerbi

I like Synoptic Panel because it answers the "where?" questions. This OKVIZ video shows a use case for Synoptic Panel: the festival site’s main entrance is 94% complete, but one blocked scanner test means it cannot be completed. You can see it immediately on the map. youtu.be/mHT8eB3mpHY Full disclosure: I also work at OKVIZ!

Is SQL still relevant for a data analyst? Yes. Even more, now that you no longer have to write it. If the AI wrote your query, you are signing it anyway. No SQL, no analyst. marcorusso.com/writing/no-sq…

Be honest. When the agent writes the code, do you still go back in and rename things? Asking for a friend. Alex.

Today is October 16. Microsoft deletes Whiteboard boards on personal accounts. No undo. Still see yours? Export now. It may already be too late. whiteboard.sqlbi.com/export-… Already exported? The ZIP opens in SQLBI Whiteboard. Free, open source, 50 seconds below. Don't trust me: Ctrl+F "October 16" on Microsoft's page.

Tomorrow Microsoft deletes Whiteboard boards on personal accounts. No undo. Tonight: 1. Export your boards (ZIP) 2. Check the ZIP opens 3. Store it safely 4. Optional: open it in SQLBI Whiteboard whiteboard.sqlbi.com/export-… Don't trust me: Ctrl+F "October 16" on Microsoft's page.

2 days. Then Microsoft deletes Whiteboard boards on personal accounts. 60-second rescue: export the ZIP, open it in SQLBI Whiteboard. youtube.com/shorts/trr477ddY… Don't trust me: Ctrl+F "October 16" on Microsoft's page. support.microsoft.com/en-us/…

3 days. Then Microsoft deletes Whiteboard boards on personal accounts. Wrong answers only: how are you backing them up? I'll start: a photo of my monitor. Right answer: export the ZIP. whiteboard.sqlbi.com/export-… Date check: Ctrl+F "October 16" on Microsoft's page.

Do early adopters win? Fabric comes: Power BI is over. Conversational BI: Dashboards and reports are dead. Claude dashboards: Was conversational BI a thing? Calm down. As a professional, you want to stay up to date. As a company, FOMO bleeds money. Be ready; don't rush.

4 days. On Oct 16 Microsoft deletes Whiteboard boards on personal accounts. No undo. Export the ZIP today. Decide what to do with it later. Don't trust me: Ctrl+F "October 16" on Microsoft's page. How to export: whiteboard.sqlbi.com/export-…

𝗖𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗵𝗼𝗯𝗯𝘆 ​ There are two types of developers, hyper-logical and hyper-creative, who feel very differently about AI writing their code. ​ AI is hitting people who write code before it hits anyone else. I started my career as a developer, and I still write code for side projects, but I don’t do that for a living. Therefore, I can look at what is happening with some distance, and it seems to me that how you feel about AI writing code depends on why you write code. ​ ──────── ​ Read my thoughts: marcorusso.com/writing/code-…

Just because a tool or document calls something a best practice doesn't mean it is. I've seen a case like that, with a link to Microsoft documentation that doesn't mention it at all. I don't know whether it is a misinterpretation or a link found to justify a statement (the whole tool/document was clearly built with an agent, without proper assistance). How do you assess the reputation of agentic sources?

Perfectly balanced, as all things should be. Microsoft destroys Microsoft Whiteboard for personal accounts and keeps it only for work and school accounts. However, you can still save your data: export your boards as ZIP by October 15, before they’re deleted the next day. Then import them into SQLBI Whiteboard and give them a second (better) life! 👉 SQLBI Whiteboard: whiteboard.sqlbi.com And if you’ve never used a whiteboard, you should try our new app. It’s fun and powerful. Let me know if you try it for the first time!