I figured it was time for an updated 10 things you should know when you use PowerPivot. The last one is from January 2010 when the product wasn’t even released.
So what do you need to know when you want to start with PowerPivot:
- You need Office 2010, with the free PowerPivot addin installed.
- Where do I create my calculations? In the pivottable or in the PowerPivot window?
- Understand PowerPivot pivot table context
- Understand relationships in PowerPivot
- Know the golden rules when working with Time Intelligent functions
- One I cannot emphasize enough although it seems not so important: When you add new data from an existing datasource make sure you reuse your connection.
- How CALCULATE works in DAX
- Think about what you import, do not import columns you never will use (like a PK of the fact table), try to avoid unique distinct rows. This will make you PowerPivot model much lighter to work with.
- Hide the PowerPivot columns you don’t want to use, like keys and dates. This will make your pivottable experience much easier.
- For the IT pro: When working with PowerPivot and SharePoint check out these video’s
Also check out:
- two great presentations to get you started with the PowerPivot client and DAX
- The Great PowerPivot FAQ with further information.