1.

Understanding Data, What is data, where to find data, Foundations for building Data
Visualizations, Creating Your First visualization?
1. Understanding Data
Data means raw facts or information collected from different sources.
Example: Students’ marks, sales numbers, temperatures, website clicks, sensor readings.
Data is useful only when we analyze, organize, and visualize it.
2. What is Data? • No fixed format
Data can be: • Example: Images, PDFs, WhatsApp
a) Structured Data messages, videos.
• Neatly arranged in tables (rows + c) Semi-Structured Data
columns) • Some structure
• Example: Excel sheets, SQL tables. • Example: JSON, XML, HTML logs.
b) Unstructured Data
3. Where to Find Data? • What question are you answering?
You can collect or download data from: Example: “Which product is selling
a) Internal Sources more?”
• Company database Example: “Which student scored
• Excel sheets highest?”
• Transaction records Step 2: Clean the Data
• Student attendance or marks sheets • Remove duplicates
(for college) • Correct spelling mistakes
b) External Sources • Format dates
• Government datasets • Handle missing values
• Kaggle datasets Step 3: Choose the Right Visualization
• Google datasets • Bar Chart → compare values
• World Bank data • Line Chart → show trends over time
• API sources (weather, stock market) • Pie Chart → show proportions
c) Manually Collected • Map → show geographical data
• Surveys • Table → show detailed records
• Forms Step 4: Build & Format
• IoT / sensor devices • Add titles
4. Foundations for Building Data • Add labels
Visualizations • Use readable colors
Before building visualizations, follow these • Keep it simple (not too many
steps: visuals)
Step 1: Understand the Purpose
5. Creating Your First Visualization • From the right-side Visualizations
This is the general method (Power BI pane, choose:
example): o Bar chart
Step 1: Open Power BI Desktop o Line chart
Step 2: Load Data o Pie chart
• Click Home → Get Data → Excel / o Card
CSV o Map
• Select your file o Table
• Click Load Step 4: Drag Fields
Step 3: Select a Visual • Drag Fields to:
 o Axis (x-axis) • Change color
o Values (numbers) • Add title
o Legend (categories) • Adjust text size
Example: Step 6: Save & Publish
To create Sales by Product bar chart: • Save the file (.pbix)
• Axis → Product • Publish to Power BI Service
• Values → Sales Amount (optional)
Step 5: Format
• Click Format (paint roller icon)
6. How to Do This in Power BI (Step-by-Step)
✔ Install Power BI Desktop
Download from Microsoft Store.
✔ Open Power BI
You will see:
• Report view
• Data view
• Model view
✔ Import Data
Home → Get Data → Excel →
Select file → Load
✔ Clean Data (if needed)
Transform Data → Power Query
Editor
• Remove nulls
• Change data types
• Remove extra columns
✔ Build Visuals
• Choose visual
• Drag required fields
• Adjust properties
✔ Create Dashboard
Arrange visuals neatly:
• Keep 3–6 visuals per page
• Add slicers (filters) for interactivity
Example: Year filter, Region filter
✔ Publish
If needed:
Home → Publish → Power BI
Service
 2. Getting started with Tableau Software using Data file formats, connecting your Data to
Tableau, creating sic charts (line, bar charts, Tree maps), Using the Show me panel.
1. Data File Formats Supported in Power • Transform Data → opens Power
BI Query Editor to clean/fix data
Power BI can import many file types. Most common cleaning tasks:
Common formats: • Remove blanks
✔ File-Based Data • Remove duplicates
• Excel (.xlsx, .xls) • Change datatype (text, date, number)
• CSV (.csv) • Rename columns
• Text (.txt) Click Close & Apply to use the data.
• JSON (.json) 3. Creating Basic Charts in Power BI
• XML (.xml) Power BI charts are built using the
• PDF (.pdf tables) Visualizations Pane.
✔ Database Sources ⭐ A) Creating a Bar Chart
• SQL Server Goal: Sales by Category
• MySQL Steps
• PostgreSQL 1. Go to Report View
• Oracle 2. Click on Clustered Bar Chart icon
• Snowflake 3. Drag fields:
• SAP HANA o Category → Axis
✔ Cloud Services o Sales → Values
• SharePoint 4. Format (optional):
• OneDrive o Click Format (paint roller)
• Azure SQL o Title → On → Rename to
• Google Analytics “Sales by Category”
• Dataverse o Turn data labels ON
Power BI’s own file format: ⭐ B) Creating a Line Chart
• .pbix → your report file Goal: Sales Trend Over Time
• .pbit → template file Steps
2. Connecting Your Data to Power BI 1. Click Line Chart icon
Follow these steps: 2. Drag fields:
Step 1: Open Power BI Desktop o Date → Axis
Step 2: Click “Get Data” o Sales → Values
• Go to Home → Get Data 3. If you want Month:
• Choose the source (Example: Excel) o Click the Date column
Step 3: Select Your File dropdown → choose Month
• Browse and open your dataset 4. Format:
(Example: [Link]) o Add Title
Step 4: Choose Sheet/Table o Turn Data Labels ON
A Navigator window opens → select the (optional)
sheet/table o Adjust X-axis and Y-axis
Example: Sheet1 font
Step 5: Load or Transform ⭐ C) Creating a Treemap
• Load → directly imports the data Goal: Sales by Product or Category
Steps
 1. Click the Treemap visual icon
2. Drag fields:
o Product → Group
o Sales → Values
3. Format:
o Title → On → Give a name
o Data Labels → ON
4. Using “Show Me” Equivalent in Power
BI
Tableau has Show Me button.
Power BI does NOT have Show Me, but it
has similar features:
✔ A) Visualizations Pane
• All chart types appear as icons
• Select your fields → Click a chart
icon → Power BI automatically
builds the visual
✔ B) Recommended Visuals
• When you select fields first →
Power BI highlights visuals that are
suitable
✔ C) Q&A Visual
Type a question and Power BI automatically
creates a chart
Example:
“Show sales by category”
→ Power BI builds the chart
✔ D) Quick Insights (in Power BI Service)
Automatically finds interesting patterns
based on your dataset.
 3. Tableau Calculations, Overview of SUM, AVR, and Aggregate features, Creating custom
calculations and fields.

Power BI Desktop → open your report:

A. Create a Calculated Column
1. In the left pane click Data view (table icon).
2. In the ribbon click Modeling → New column.
3. Type DAX formula in the formula bar and press Enter.
B. Create a Measure
1. In Report or Data view, right-click the table (SalesData) in the Fields pane → New
measure
or click Modeling → New measure.
2. Type DAX formula in formula bar → Enter.
C. Quick Measures
1. Right-click table → New quick measure.
2. Choose calculation type (e.g., Running total, % of grand total) and fill fields → OK.
Quick measures generate DAX you can inspect/modify.

1. SUM in Power BI (Step-by-Step)

👉 Goal: Calculate Total Sales
Step 1: Open Power BI Desktop
Step 2: Go to “Modeling” → “New Measure”
A formula bar will appear at the top.
Step 3: Type this formula
Total Sales = SUM(SalesData[Sales])
Step 4: Press Enter
Your measure is created.
Step 5: Use it in a visual
• Insert a Card ⇒ drag Total Sales
• Or insert a Bar chart ⇒ Axis: Category, Values: Total Sales
This is equal to Tableau SUM().

⭐ 2. AVERAGE in Power BI (Step-by-Step)

👉 Goal: Calculate Average Sales
Step 1: Go to “Modeling” → “New Measure”
Step 2: Type this formula
Average Sales = AVERAGE(SalesData[Sales])
Step 3: Press Enter
Step 4: Use it in visuals
• In Table visual → drag Average Sales
• In Card visual → drag Average Sales
• In Bar chart → add Average Sales to Values
This is equal to Tableau AVERAGE().
4. Applying new data calculations to your visualizations, Formatting
Visualizations, Formatting Tools and Menus, Formatting specific parts of the view.
Apply new data calculations to your • Background
visualizations (quick steps) o Toggle On to add a
Create a Measure (recommended) colored/transparent
1. Open Power BI Desktop → background to the visual.
Modeling → New measure. • Border
2. Type a DAX measure. Example — o Toggle On to add outline
Total Sales: (and choose border radius in
Total Sales = newer builds).
SUM(SalesData[Sales]) • Data labels
3. Press Enter. The measure appears o Toggle On to show numbers
under the table in the Fields pane. on bars/points; set font size
Create a Calculated Column (row-level) and display units.
1. In Data view → Modeling → New • Legend
column. o Toggle On/Off, position
2. Example: (Top/Right/Bottom), font
SalesValue = size.
SalesData[Quantity] * • X-axis / Y-axis
SalesData[UnitPrice] o Set axis titles, tick labels,
3. Press Enter. start/end values, display
Use the calculation in a visual units, text size.
1. Go to Report view. • Plot area / Canvas settings
2. Add a visual (e.g., clustered bar). o Control inner padding,
3. Drag your new measure or column show/hide gridlines.
to Values. Visual updates • Tooltips
immediately and respects o You can add measure fields
slicers/filters. to Tooltips area in the
Quick tips Visualizations pane.
• Use measures for aggregations that • Data colors
should react to filters/slicers. o Choose colors per series or
• Use calculated columns when you conditional formatting (see
need a per-row value for conditional section).
grouping/slicing. • Format -> General / Visual header
2) Formatting visualizations — step-by- o Change visual size/position
step (Format Pane basics) and turn the visual header
1. Select any visual on your report (the top bar) on/off.
page. 3) Formatting tools & menus — where to
2. In the right pane click the Format find everything
(paint roller) icon. The Format pane • Visualizations Pane
has sections that expand/collapse. o Top: visual icons (choose
Common Format sections (what they do): visual type).
• Title o Middle: Fields wells (Axis,
o Toggle On, type the title, set Legend, Values, Tooltips).
font size, alignment, and
color.
 o Bottom: Format (paint roller) end, center).
and Analytics (magnifier Note: For treemaps, data label option
icon). may be under Details.
• Modeling Menu E. Gridlines & Background
o Format numbers, set default • Format → Y-axis → Gridlines
summarization, create On/Off or Format → Gridlines
measures, mark Date table. depending on visual.
• View Menu • Format → Background → On →
o Themes (switch color choose transparency (useful for
themes), Selection Pane, dashboards).
Bookmarks Pane, Sync F. Conditional Formatting (color by
Slicers, Performance value)
analyzer, Page View / Snap 1. Select visual → Format → Data
to grid. colors → click the fx icon (or three
• Home Menu dots next to a field in Values →
o Transform Data (Power Conditional formatting).
Query), Format Painter 2. Choose Format by: Color scale /
(copy formatting from one Rules / Field value.
visual to another), Publish. 3. Set logic (e.g., color scale from low
• Right-click in Fields pane to high or rules like >1000 = green).
o New measure, new column, 4. Click OK — the visual colors
format field. update.
4) Formatting specific parts of the view — Example: Color bars red when sales < 500,
exact steps & examples green when >= 500.
A. Axis (X or Y) G. Field (Column) Formatting
1. Select visual → Format → X-axis or • Fields pane → click the field →
Y-axis. Modeling tab → Format (Currency,
2. Options: Title On/Off, Text size, %, Decimal places). This sets default
Display units (Thousands, Millions), formatting for that field across
Start / End value (turn off auto), report.
Show gridlines (in gridline settings). H. Visual Header & Tooltips
Example: To hide axis labels: X- • Format → Visual header → On/Off
axis → Labels → Off. features (filter, focus mode, export
B. Title & Subtitle options).
• Format → Title → On → type text. • Tooltips: Drag measure to Tooltips
• Some visuals allow subtitle in well or create a tooltip page and
General → Tooltip / Header. assign it under Format → Tooltips.
C. Legend I. Conditional Formatting in Tables /
• Format → Legend → On → Matrix
Position (Right/Top) → Font size. 1. Select Table/Matrix visual → click
• To remove the legend: Legend → dropdown on field in Values →
Off. Conditional formatting.
D. Data Labels 2. Options: Background color, Font
• Format → Data labels → On → color, Data bars, Icon sets.
choose Display units, Value 3. Set rules or color scale and apply.
decimal places, Position (inside J. Format Painter (copy style)
 1. Select visual with desired formatting L. Page-level & Report-level formatting
→ Home → Format Painter. • Page size: Format (empty space) →
2. Click target visual → formatting Page size (fit to page, 16:9, custom).
copies over. • Page background: Format pane (click
K. Themes (apply to whole report) blank area of page) → Page
1. View → Themes → choose built-in background.
or import a JSON theme for • Report-level: View → Bookmarks +
company colors. Buttons to create polished
2. This sets default palette and text navigation.
styles across visuals.
 [Link] and Formatting Axes, Manipulating Data in Tableau
data, Pivoting Tableau data
1) Editing & formatting axes (step-by- o Title: On / Off → edit the
step) title text (if the visual has
Use these steps when you want to change axis title option).
how the X or Y axis looks (titles, labels, o Labels: On / Off → shows or
units, start/end, gridlines). hides tick labels.
1. Open Power BI Desktop and go to o Text size: increase/decrease
the Report view. label font.
2. Select the visual (e.g., bar chart or o Display units: None,
line chart) whose axis you want to Thousands, Millions (useful
edit. for large numbers).
3. In the right pane click the Format o Decimal places: set decimals
(paint roller) icon. shown.
X-axis / Y-axis settings o Start / End: turn off Auto
4. Expand X axis (or Y axis). Typical and set custom numeric start
options you’ll see: and end values.
2) Manipulating data in Power BI (Power Query = Tableau Data Source prep)
Power BI’s Power Query Editor is the place to clean, transform, join, pivot, unpivot —
equivalent to Tableau’s Data Source / Prep.
Open Power Query
1. In Power BI Desktop: Home → Transform data → Transform data (this opens Power
Query Editor).
Common manipulation steps (each is a o Right-click column →
single click in Power Query) Replace Values → enter Old
• Change data type and New values.
o Select a column → right- • Split column
click → Change Type → o Select column → Transform
choose (Text, Whole → Split Column (by
Number, Decimal Number, delimiter, by number of
Date). characters).
• Remove columns / keep columns • Merge columns
o Select column(s) → Home o Select multiple columns →
→ Remove Columns or Transform → Merge
Remove Other Columns. Columns → choose
• Rename column separator.
o Double-click header or right- • Trim / Clean (remove extra spaces
click → Rename. or non-printable chars)
• Remove duplicates o Select column → Transform
o Select column(s) → Home → Format → Trim or
→ Remove Rows → Clean.
Remove Duplicates. • Filter rows
• Replace values o Click the column filter (down
arrow) and select values /
 conditions (e.g., greater than, =[Quantity] *
equals). [UnitPrice].
• Add custom column (row-level • Group By (aggregate)
formula) o Select column(s) →
o Add Column → Custom Transform → Group By →
Column → write M choose aggregation (Sum,
expression, e.g. Count, Average).
Apply & load
• After transformations: Home → Close & Apply — changes load into the data model and
visuals update.
3) Pivoting and Unpivoting data (step-by- 5. Rename Attribute → Month and
step) Value → Sales.
Power Query has direct Pivot and Unpivot 6. Close & Apply.
tools — very similar in purpose to Tableau’s Result:
pivot. Product Month Sales
A. Unpivot (convert columns into rows)
A Jan 10
— common when you have Year columns
or Month columns A Feb 12
Use this when your data is wide (e.g., A Mar 11
columns Jan, Feb, Mar) and you want a tidy B. Pivot (convert rows into columns) —
long table. the reverse
Example starting table: Use when you have long data and want
Product Jan Feb Mar columns for each category.
A 10 12 11 Example starting table:
Steps Product Month Sales
1. Home → Transform data → open A Jan 10
Power Query Editor. A Feb 12
2. Select the identifier column(s) that Steps
should stay as-is (e.g., Product) — 1. Open Power Query Editor.
click the header for Product. 2. Select the column that will become
3. Select the columns to convert to column headers after pivoting (e.g.,
rows (Jan, Feb, Mar) — or click the Month).
rest after selecting Product: 3. Transform → Pivot Column.
Transform → Unpivot Columns → 4. In Pivot dialog Values Column
Unpivot Other Columns (if you choose Sales.
selected Product). 5. In Advanced options choose
4. Power Query creates two columns: aggregation (e.g., Don't Aggregate
Attribute (original column header, if unique, or Sum if multiple rows).
e.g., Month) and Value (the 6. Click OK → Power Query creates
number). columns Jan, Feb with Sales values.
7. Close & Apply.
 6. Structuring your data, Sorting and filtering Tableau data, Pivoting Tableau
data
1. Structuring Your Data in Power BI
Steps
1. Open Power BI Desktop → Click Get Data → select Excel / CSV / SQL / etc.
2. Load the dataset into Power Query Editor (click Transform Data).
3. To structure data properly:
o Rename columns → Right-click column → Rename
o Remove unwanted columns → Right-click → Remove
o Change data types → Select column → Data Type (ABC/123 icon)
o Fill missing values → Transform → Fill → Down / Up
o Split a column → Split Column
o Merge columns → Merge Columns
4. Click Close & Apply to load structured data into Power BI report
✅ 2. Sorting & Filtering Data in Power BI
🔹 Sorting
1. Select a visual/chart/table.
2. Click More options (•••) on top right of the visual.
3. Choose Sort by → select a column (e.g., Year, Sales).
4. Choose Ascending / Descending.
📌 For table visuals
• You can click directly on the column header to sort.
🔹 Filtering Filter Type Where to Apply
Power BI offers three types of filters: Page level Applies to all visuals on the
Filter Type Where to Apply filter current page
Visual level Report level
Applies to only selected visual Applies to all pages of report
filter filter

Steps 3. Drag a field → drop into Visual /

1. Select the visual. Page / Report filter area.
2. On the right side → open Filters 4. Choose values you want to
pane. include/exclude.
✅ 3. Pivoting Data in Power BI o Values column → select
(Converting rows into columns) numeric field to aggregate
Steps (e.g., Sales, Quantity).
1. Open Power BI Desktop. 6. Choose the aggregation function
2. Click Transform Data → Power (Sum / Average / Count).
Query Editor opens. 7. Click OK.
3. Select the column that contains 8. Apply changes → Close & Apply.
values that need to become column 🔁 Unpivot (reverse)
headers. 1. Select columns to keep.
4. Go to Transform tab → click Pivot 2. Right-click → Unpivot Other
Column. Colum
5. In the Pivot dialog box:
7. Advanced Visualization Tools: Using Filters, Using the Detail panel, using the Size
panels, customizing filters, Using and Customizing tooltips, Formatting your data with
colors.
1. Data Load (Import data)
1. Power BI Desktop open → Home → Get Data
2. Data source select (Excel / CSV / SQL / etc.)
3. Connect → Sheet/Table select
4. Load → data table will appear in Fields pan
🔹 2. Create Visual
1. Report view → Visualizations pane → select visual (Bar/Line/Scatter/Table…)
2. Drag required columns into Axis / Values / Legend buckets
🔹 3. Apply Filters
• Visual filter → Select visual → Filters pane → drag field to Visual level filter.
• Page filter → drag field to Page level filter.
• Report filter → drag field to Report level filter.
• Slicer → Insert → Slicer → drag field.
🔹 4. Use Detail Panel
• For Scatter / Map → drag field to Details bucket (e.g., Product).
• Used to show extra info while hover/drill.
🔹 5. Use Size Panel
• Scatter / Bubble chart → drag numeric field to Size bucket
(e.g., Quantity → bubble becomes big/small).
🔹 6. Customize Filters
• Filters pane → choose Advanced filtering / Top N / Relative date.
• Slicer sync → View → Sync Slicers.
🔹 7. Tooltips
• Select visual → Format → Tooltip ON.
• Add extra fields → Tooltips bucket.
• Advanced tooltip → New page → Tooltip = ON → design → assign to visual.
🔹 8. Color Formatting
• Select visual → Format → Data colors → change color.
• Conditional → fx → color scale / rules
(Profit < 0 → Red, Profit ≥ 0 → Green).
 8. Creating Dashboards & Storytelling, creating your first dashboard and Story, Design for
different displays, adding interactivity to your Dashboard, Distributing & Publishing your
Visualization.
Creating Dashboards & Storytelling

1. Build visuals clearly showing trends, comparisons, contribution, KPIs.

2. Arrange visuals in a meaningful order → beginning (overview) → middle (details) →
end (insights/action).
3. Use Titles, Tooltips, Cards & KPIs to highlight conclusions.
4. Reduce clutter → limit colors, avoid too many visuals on one page

🔹 Creating Your First Dashboard (in Power BI Service)

1. In Power BI Desktop → Home → Publish to Power BI Service.

2. Open Power BI Service → open the report.
3. Hover on a visual → Pin visual → choose an existing dashboard or New dashboard.
4. Multiple visuals from multiple reports can be pinned to the same dashboard

🔹 Design for Different Displays (Mobile / Laptop / TV)

1. Go to View in Power BI Desktop.

2. Choose:
o Desktop layout → default
o Phone layout → for mobile view → drag & fit visuals for small screens
3. Best practices:
o For mobile → use Cards, KPIs, small Tables, Clustered bar chart
o For large screens / TV → use large fonts, fewer slicers, high contrast colors
4. Test your dashboard on different display modes before publishing

🔹 Adding Interactivity to Your Dashboard

Feature How it adds interactivity Where to add

Slicer User can filter data Insert → Slicer

Drill Down View summary → details On visual → enable drill buttons

Bookmarks Navigate between views View → Bookmarks

Buttons Switch pages / apply bookmarks Insert → Buttons

Tooltips Extra info on hover Fields → Tooltips bucket

Q&A Ask question in natural language Add Q&A visual

Tip: Interactivity should be useful, not too much.

🔹 Distributing & Publishing Your Visualization

1. Publish from Power BI Desktop → Home → Publish.

2. Share dashboard in Power BI Service:
o Share → Enter email IDs
o Or Create app → users access complete analytics package
3. Export options:
o Export to PDF / PPT / Excel
o Embed in SharePoint / Website / Teams
4. Scheduled Refresh:
o Dataset → Settings → Scheduled Refresh to auto-update data.
 9. Creating custom charts, cyclical data and circular area charts, Dual Axis charts.
Creating Custom Charts
Power BI has default charts, but you can create custom ones using:
Method-1: Custom Visuals from Marketplace
1. Visualizations pane → Get more visuals (three dots …)
2. Click AppSource → search custom chart type (ex: Sankey, Funnel with nodes, Radar,
Timeline etc.)
3. Add → Import visual → It appears in Visualizations pane
4. Drag fields just like normal visuals
Method-2: Using DAX + Existing Charts
1. Create custom measures for special calculations
2. Use Line / Area / Column charts + Combo charts to create custom shapes and layouts
3. Format options → adjust colors, shapes, markers, transparency to build a unique
design
🔹 Cyclical Data Charts & Circular Area Charts
Used for patterns that repeat over time (ex: monthly trend, yearly pattern).
Radar / Circular Area Chart (Custom)
1. Get more visuals → search “Radar chart” / “Circular area chart”
2. Add to Visualizations
3. Drag fields:
o Category → e.g., Month
o Values → e.g., Sales / Profit
4. Format → adjust Axis labels, Line thickness, Fill area, Colors
➡ Shows repeating time cycle like a circle (good for seasonal trends)
Cycle Plot (inside Power BI)
1. Line chart → Axis = Month, Legend = Year, Values = Sales
2. Pattern across years will expose seasonal cycle
🔹 Dual Axis Charts (Combined Axis)
Used to compare two different measures on two scales (example: Sales vs Profit).
Steps
1. Insert → Line and Clustered Column Chart
2. Drag fields:
o Column Values → Sales
o Line Values → Profit
o Axis → Month / Date / Category
3. Format options → Y-axis
o Turn Column y-axis ON
o Turn Line y-axis ON
o Set separate scales if needed
4. Format → Data colors → set different colors for columns & line
Good usage Good usage
Sales vs Profit Count vs Percentage
Temperature vs Rainfall Quantity vs Revenue