Forum Discussion
Data Modelling Dimension Table and Date-based Fact Table from Flat Excel Source
Hi team - wondering if someone can guide me please? I generally know how to create Dim & Fact tables from a flat (clean & well organized) Excel source file but the last step(s) escape me.
My Excel file of Food data has the following Columns:
Food Names
Food Description
Food Grouping
Week1 (Values for all Foods for Week 1)
Week2 (Values for all Foods for Week 2)
Week3 (Values for all Food's for Week 3)
etc.......
I've created my Food Dimension table where all the Food related data (Name, Description, Grouping) are stored.
For my Fact Table containing the values of the Foods by Date, Ideally I would like to have the Foods as their own columns and a 'Date' column (Week# in this example to keep things simple).
I am familiar with how to create a key to relate two tables but it does not work in this example as I have the date dimension to consider. I'm strugling to see how I can associate my Food Dimension table with this Fact table. Should I be leaving the 'dates' as the first row of my fact table? This makes creating the relationship between the two easy but reporting on each of the Foods 'over time' extra challenging.
The closest I've gotten is unpivoting the Fact Table and ending up with columns with the Food name (key), Week# and 3rd column for the value. This also presents challenges creating the reports. Not impossible - just not straight-forward.
What am I missing? (Happy to add some pics if that helps)?
Thanks in advance.
The short answer is that you need to unpivot your week columns and relate you fact to a Dates table. Here is a walktrhough of an example - your particular business rules may require a different approach for some components.
Let's say you start with an imported workbook like the below (referred to as the 'xlsx' query in rest of post):
1) Construct your dimension table. I'd recommend adding an ID column
//Name: Food let Source = xlsx, AddFoodId = Table.AddIndexColumn(Source, "Food ID", 1, 1, Int64.Type), SelectDimCols = Table.SelectColumns(AddFoodId,{"Food ID", "Food Names", "Food Description", "Food Grouping"}) in SelectDimColsFood ID Food Names Food Description Food Grouping 1 Trix Placeholder_Trix Breakfast 2 Cheerios Placeholder_Cheerios Breakfast 3 Eggs Placeholder_Eggs Breakfast 4 Soup Placeholder_Soup Lunch 5 Sandwich Placeholder_Sandwich Lunch 2) Construct your fact table. I've added the same ID step as that will be how we relate the table. The main work here is to calculate a date from your Week column.
//Name: Food Values let Source = xlsx, RemoveDimCols = Table.RemoveColumns(Source,{"Food Names", "Food Description", "Food Grouping"}), AddFoodId = Table.AddIndexColumn(RemoveDimCols, "Food ID", 1, 1, Int64.Type), UnpivotWeeks = Table.UnpivotOtherColumns(AddFoodId, {"Food ID"}, "Week Name", "Food Value"), YearOfData = 2024, FirstDay = #date(YearOfData,1,1), AddWeekNumCalc = Table.AddColumn( UnpivotWeeks, "WeekNumCalc", each Int64.From( Text.Middle( [Week Name], 4 ) ), Int64.Type ), AddWeekStartCalc = Table.AddColumn( AddWeekNumCalc, "WeekStartCalc", each Date.AddWeeks( Date.StartOfWeek( FirstDay ), [WeekNumCalc] - 1 ), type date ), AddWeekStart = Table.AddColumn( AddWeekStartCalc, "Week Start", each List.Max( { FirstDay, [WeekStartCalc] } ), type date ), RemoveCalcCols = Table.RemoveColumns(AddWeekStart,{"WeekNumCalc", "WeekStartCalc"}) in RemoveCalcColsNote that we are adding some "calc" columns to help us get the final "Week Start" column value; we're ensuring that the date is assigned to our "YearOfData" even if technically the week started in the previous year. If you have multiple years of data, you'll have to get years into your fact and calculate related dates accordingly.
3) Create a Dates table. This can be imported from a data source or consutrcted with either DAX or Power Query. Here is a simple table constructed with Power Query. See: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/guidance/model-date-tables
//Name: Dates let YearOfData = 2024, YearDuration = Duration.Days(#date(YearOfData,12,31) - #date(YearOfData,1,1)) + 1, DateList = List.Dates(#date(YearOfData,1,1), YearDuration, #duration(1, 0, 0, 0)), ToTable = Table.FromList(DateList, Splitter.SplitByNothing(), type table [Date=date], null, ExtraValues.Error), AddMonth = Table.AddColumn(ToTable, "Month", each Date.Month([Date]), Int64.Type), AddMonthName = Table.AddColumn(AddMonth, "Month Name", each Date.MonthName([Date]), type text), AddWeek = Table.AddColumn(AddMonthName, "Week of Year", each Date.WeekOfYear([Date]), Int64.Type) in AddWeek4) Load your tables and relate them. Food -1---M-> Food Values <-M---1- Dates
5) Configure your Dates table. Most important is to 'Mark as date table' if you want it to work well with time intelligence functions. Certain columns (e.g., MonthName in this case) you'll want to set the Sort By
6) Now you can start building a report. With this model, you can do a lot of visuals with simple drag and drop. Example:
- Anonymous1 year ago
Hi Anonymous ,
Thanks for the reply from MarkLaf / lbendlin .
This is my Test table:
Food Names
Food Description
Food Grouping
Week1
Week2
Week3
Week4
Apple
Sweet fruit
Fruits
10
12
14
15
Banana
Yellow fruit
Fruits
8
9
11
10
Carrot
Orange vegetable
Vegetables
7
8
9
10
Lettuce
Green vegetable
Vegetables
5
6
7
6
Create a separate date dimension table:
DateDimension = ADDCOLUMNS( CALENDAR(DATE(2025,1,1), TODAY()), "Year", YEAR([Date]), "Month", MONTH([Date]), "Day", DAY([Date]), "Week#", "Week" & FORMAT(WEEKNUM([Date]), "0") )Since a direct relationship between the Week# of the date dimension table and the Week# of the Fact table would create a many-to-many relationship, create a separate Week dimension table:
WeekDimension = SUMMARIZE( DateDimension, [Week#], "StartDate", MIN('DateDimension'[Date]), "EndDate", MAX('DateDimension'[Date]) )Enter Power Query to process the Fact table. Select Week1 - Week4 and then do a unpivot:
Unpivot result:
Creating Relationships:
- Food Names in the Food dimension table with Food Names in the fact table.
- Week# in the Week dimension table with Week# in the Fact table.
- Week# in the Date dimension table with Week# in the Week dimension table.
With these steps, you can avoid many-to-many relationships while ensuring that you can analyze food data on a weekly basis.
The pbix file is attached.
If you have any other questions please feel free to contact me.
Best Regards,
Yang
Community Support TeamIf there is any post helps, then please consider Accept it as the solution to help the other members find it more quickly.
If I misunderstand your needs or you still have problems on it, please feel free to let us know. Thanks a lot!
3 Replies
- MarkLafSuper User
The short answer is that you need to unpivot your week columns and relate you fact to a Dates table. Here is a walktrhough of an example - your particular business rules may require a different approach for some components.
Let's say you start with an imported workbook like the below (referred to as the 'xlsx' query in rest of post):
1) Construct your dimension table. I'd recommend adding an ID column
//Name: Food let Source = xlsx, AddFoodId = Table.AddIndexColumn(Source, "Food ID", 1, 1, Int64.Type), SelectDimCols = Table.SelectColumns(AddFoodId,{"Food ID", "Food Names", "Food Description", "Food Grouping"}) in SelectDimColsFood ID Food Names Food Description Food Grouping 1 Trix Placeholder_Trix Breakfast 2 Cheerios Placeholder_Cheerios Breakfast 3 Eggs Placeholder_Eggs Breakfast 4 Soup Placeholder_Soup Lunch 5 Sandwich Placeholder_Sandwich Lunch 2) Construct your fact table. I've added the same ID step as that will be how we relate the table. The main work here is to calculate a date from your Week column.
//Name: Food Values let Source = xlsx, RemoveDimCols = Table.RemoveColumns(Source,{"Food Names", "Food Description", "Food Grouping"}), AddFoodId = Table.AddIndexColumn(RemoveDimCols, "Food ID", 1, 1, Int64.Type), UnpivotWeeks = Table.UnpivotOtherColumns(AddFoodId, {"Food ID"}, "Week Name", "Food Value"), YearOfData = 2024, FirstDay = #date(YearOfData,1,1), AddWeekNumCalc = Table.AddColumn( UnpivotWeeks, "WeekNumCalc", each Int64.From( Text.Middle( [Week Name], 4 ) ), Int64.Type ), AddWeekStartCalc = Table.AddColumn( AddWeekNumCalc, "WeekStartCalc", each Date.AddWeeks( Date.StartOfWeek( FirstDay ), [WeekNumCalc] - 1 ), type date ), AddWeekStart = Table.AddColumn( AddWeekStartCalc, "Week Start", each List.Max( { FirstDay, [WeekStartCalc] } ), type date ), RemoveCalcCols = Table.RemoveColumns(AddWeekStart,{"WeekNumCalc", "WeekStartCalc"}) in RemoveCalcColsNote that we are adding some "calc" columns to help us get the final "Week Start" column value; we're ensuring that the date is assigned to our "YearOfData" even if technically the week started in the previous year. If you have multiple years of data, you'll have to get years into your fact and calculate related dates accordingly.
3) Create a Dates table. This can be imported from a data source or consutrcted with either DAX or Power Query. Here is a simple table constructed with Power Query. See: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/guidance/model-date-tables
//Name: Dates let YearOfData = 2024, YearDuration = Duration.Days(#date(YearOfData,12,31) - #date(YearOfData,1,1)) + 1, DateList = List.Dates(#date(YearOfData,1,1), YearDuration, #duration(1, 0, 0, 0)), ToTable = Table.FromList(DateList, Splitter.SplitByNothing(), type table [Date=date], null, ExtraValues.Error), AddMonth = Table.AddColumn(ToTable, "Month", each Date.Month([Date]), Int64.Type), AddMonthName = Table.AddColumn(AddMonth, "Month Name", each Date.MonthName([Date]), type text), AddWeek = Table.AddColumn(AddMonthName, "Week of Year", each Date.WeekOfYear([Date]), Int64.Type) in AddWeek4) Load your tables and relate them. Food -1---M-> Food Values <-M---1- Dates
5) Configure your Dates table. Most important is to 'Mark as date table' if you want it to work well with time intelligence functions. Certain columns (e.g., MonthName in this case) you'll want to set the Sort By
6) Now you can start building a report. With this model, you can do a lot of visuals with simple drag and drop. Example:
- lbendlinSuper User
The closest I've gotten is unpivoting the Fact Table and ending up with columns with the Food name (key), Week# and 3rd column for the value. This also presents challenges creating the reports. Not impossible - just not straight-forward.This is the corect approach. Trust the process. Unpivot, load to Power BI, join in the data model, create your visuals.
Pics are not useful. If you like further help, provide sample data that fully covers your issue, in a usable form.
Please show the expected outcome based on the sample data you provided. - AnonymousNot applicable
Hi Anonymous ,
Thanks for the reply from MarkLaf / lbendlin .
This is my Test table:
Food Names
Food Description
Food Grouping
Week1
Week2
Week3
Week4
Apple
Sweet fruit
Fruits
10
12
14
15
Banana
Yellow fruit
Fruits
8
9
11
10
Carrot
Orange vegetable
Vegetables
7
8
9
10
Lettuce
Green vegetable
Vegetables
5
6
7
6
Create a separate date dimension table:
DateDimension = ADDCOLUMNS( CALENDAR(DATE(2025,1,1), TODAY()), "Year", YEAR([Date]), "Month", MONTH([Date]), "Day", DAY([Date]), "Week#", "Week" & FORMAT(WEEKNUM([Date]), "0") )Since a direct relationship between the Week# of the date dimension table and the Week# of the Fact table would create a many-to-many relationship, create a separate Week dimension table:
WeekDimension = SUMMARIZE( DateDimension, [Week#], "StartDate", MIN('DateDimension'[Date]), "EndDate", MAX('DateDimension'[Date]) )Enter Power Query to process the Fact table. Select Week1 - Week4 and then do a unpivot:
Unpivot result:
Creating Relationships:
- Food Names in the Food dimension table with Food Names in the fact table.
- Week# in the Week dimension table with Week# in the Fact table.
- Week# in the Date dimension table with Week# in the Week dimension table.
With these steps, you can avoid many-to-many relationships while ensuring that you can analyze food data on a weekly basis.
The pbix file is attached.
If you have any other questions please feel free to contact me.
Best Regards,
Yang
Community Support TeamIf there is any post helps, then please consider Accept it as the solution to help the other members find it more quickly.
If I misunderstand your needs or you still have problems on it, please feel free to let us know. Thanks a lot!