Career: Mindset & Psychology

Question: What techniques can be used to reduce the file size of a Power BI report? Suggested Answer: Reducing the file size of a Power BI report (.pbix) improves performance, reduces load times, and makes sharing easier.  Key techniques to reduce file size 1. Optimize Data Sources Import Mode vs. DirectQuery/Dual Mode: Use DirectQuery or Live Connection for large datasets instead of importing. If importing, filter unnecessary data at the source. Use Query Folding : Ensure Power Query transformations are pushed to the source (SQL, etc.). Limit Rows : Load only necessary historical data (e.g., last 3 years instead of 10). 2. Clean & Transform Data Efficiently Remove Unused Columns : Delete unnecessary columns in Power Query. Use Appropriate Data Types : Smaller types (e.g., integer instead of text for IDs) reduce size. Replace High-Cardinality Text with IDs : Use numeric keys instead of long text labels. Avoid Complex Columns : JSON / XML columns bloat size—parse them in Po...

What is the difference between a heat map and a filled map in Power BI? Suggested Answer: Difference Between a Heat Map and a Filled Map in Power BI Both visualizations represent geographic data but serve distinct purposes. 1. Heat Map Purpose: Visualizes density/intensity of data points using color gradients. How It Works : Represents individual data points (e.g., cities, stores) as colored circles. Color intensity (e.g., light to dark) or size indicates magnitude (e.g., sales, population). No geographic boundaries—just points on a map. Use Cases : Show clusters of high/low activity (e.g., sales hotspots, crime incidents). Compare relative values across locations. Example : A map with red (high sales) to blue (low sales) circles for each store. Power BI Setup : Use the "Map" visual (not "Filled Map"). Drag: Location (e.g., city, latitude/longitude) to the "Location" field. Metric (e.g., sales) to the "Size" or "Color saturation" field....