Forum Discussion
DAX measures Clean-up in data model?
Hello MacJasem,
If you want to clean up unused measures, calculated columns, and tables in a large Power BI model, doing it manually is painful. Fortunately, there are tools that can help:
• Measure Killer – An external tool built specifically for this. It scans your PBIX file and shows which measures, columns, and tables are actually used in visuals. Anything not referenced is flagged as unused, so you can safely remove or hide them.
Official pages:• Brunner BI: https://en.brunner.bi/measurekiller A
• Microsoft Fabric Community blog (correct link): https://community.fabric.microsoft.com/t5/Power-BI-Community-Blog/PowerBi-Measure-Killer-external-tool-to-clean-model/ba-p/3896349 B• DAX Studio: Widely used by developers for deeper analysis. Connect to your model, list/export measures, inspect dependencies, and analyze performance. Official docs: https://daxstudio.org/docs/intro/ (use alongside the DAX reference on Microsoft Learn).
Practical tips before cleanup:• Backup first: Save a copy of the PBIX before changes.
• Hide, then delete: Hide suspected unused items initially to avoid breaking indirect references.
• Iterate and test: Clean in small batches and validate visuals, slicers, drill‑throughs, and relationships after each round.
Direct answer: start with Measure Killer to quickly surface unused objects, then use DAX Studio for validation and performance tuning. The Fabric Community post above walks through setup and options, including MSI/Store/portable installs B. The official Measure Killer page lists features like dependency trees, documentation export, and best‑practice checks A.
Hi MacJasem,
Yes Measure Killer does account for reference‑upon‑reference scenarios. If a measure is used by another measure that’s ultimately in a visual, both are flagged as “in use.” It builds a dependency tree so you don’t risk deleting something indirectly required. For complex models, I will still recommend a quick validation in DAX Studio just to be safe.
Hi Olufemi7
I testet Measure Killer on a smaller dataset with one report and did an analysis and i found the best way is to export the TMDL code and entering it into the PBI desktop file (TMDL View) and there showing the Preview comparison of what is being deleted and then applying. It did a great work👌no need for DAX Studio or even Tabular editor. I understand this is a more simple approach but thought this approach might come handy for someone else that is more new to PowerBI and not that familiar with DAX studio or Tabular Editor.
Hi MacJasem ,
Thank you for sharing your experience this is very insightful.
Using Measure Killer to find unused objects and then checking changes in the TMDL view in Power BI Desktop before making updates is a smart and cautious strategy. Previewing what will be removed helps make the cleanup safer.
This method is also helpful for those who are new to Power BI and may not be comfortable with tools like DAX Studio or Tabular Editor. For simpler models or single reports, your approach is both effective and easy to use.
Thanks again for sharing this will likely help others in similar situations.
Regards,
Yugandhar.
