Dynamic Column Name

[Ta_Weiss]

Hello Community,

Two questions here:

1. Is there ANY way to set a dynamic name to column in a table? Example: instead of sales last month -> sales [month] that would dynamically change every month. I really need to solve this because I absolutely wish to avoid calculating this in etl.

2. Is there any way to change parameter behavior where after user setting value ex. min [500] sold pieces, paramter didnt automatically change the value closest to the entered one from the list [495]? User doesnt like this and althout it isnt a bug it aint very elegant.

Many thanks for all your super help!

[v-kpoloju-msft]

Hi @Ta_Weiss,

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft fabric community forum. Also, thanks to @Zanqueta, for his inputs on this thread. I reproduced the scenario, and it worked on my end. I used it as sample data and successfully implemented it.

outcome:

I am also including .pbix file for your better understanding, please have a look into it.

Hope this clears it up. Let us know if you have any doubts regarding this. We will be happy to help.

Thank you for using the Microsoft Fabric Community Forum.

[Ta_Weiss]

Hello @v-kpoloju-msft ,

The last step doesnt work for me: 

It says value rename operations is expected.

Also, could you advise on second part of my question?

[Ta_Weiss]

Hello @v-kpoloju-msft 

Update: Feel free to give update on the glitch I sent in my previous reaction for benefit of other users, but I managed to solve my issue by creating a field parameter containing my calculated measures and instead refering to their names in quiotation marks, I reffered to calculated field for the month or year. 

If you could advise on the parameter list behaviour described below, that would be also super useful. 

[v-kpoloju-msft · Accepted solution]

Hi @Ta_Weiss, 

Glad to hear you managed to resolve the dynamic column name part using Field Parameters and calculated measures that’s a smart DAX-based workaround. Regarding the Power Query step error (“Value rename operations is expected”), it usually occurs when the Table.RenameColumns syntax isn’t recognized correctly because of localization (for example, needing semicolons instead of commas).

The correct format is:

Table.RenameColumns(PreviousStepName, {{"OldColumnName", NewNameVariable}})

Make sure you use double braces { { } } and your regional delimiter settings match Power BI’s M language.

For your second question on parameter snapping this behaviour is expected with list-based parameters. In the latest Power BI Desktop, the What-If parameter has been renamed to Numeric range. You can create it from Modelling → New parameter → Numeric range.

Set your data type (Whole / Decimal), min, max, and increment values (e.g., 0 → 10 000 by 1). Click Create Power BI will add a parameter table, a slicer, and a measure. Place the slicer on your page. Users can now type or slide any numeric value freely (e.g., 500) without snapping to the nearest item.

This is the same functionality as the old What-If parameter, just with a new name. Microsoft documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-gb/power-bi/transform-model/desktop-what-if 

Thank you for using the Microsoft Fabric Community Forum.

[v-kpoloju-msft]

Hi @Ta_Weiss,

Just checking in to see if the issue has been resolved on your end. If the earlier suggestions helped, that’s great to hear! And if you’re still facing challenges, feel free to share more details happy to assist further.

Thank you.

[Zanqueta]

Hello @Ta_Weiss. 

About your first question:
Yes, you can create a column with a dynamic name in Power Query by leveraging a parameter or a variable for the current month. For example:

let
    Source = ...,
    CurrentMonth = Date.ToText(DateTime.LocalNow(), "MMMM"), // or a user-defined parameter
    AddDynamicColumn = Table.AddColumn(Source, "Sales " & CurrentMonth, each null)
in
    AddDynamicColumn

About the second:
Could you give an example to ilustrate?

[Ta_Weiss]

Hello @Zanqueta ,

I now looked at the solution and I think my problem is that my column is a metric, not an actual column. Is there any way to do that?

[Zanqueta]

Are you trying change a metric name contantly? It´s doesnt make sense. Can you imagine all visual can broken. If are you using in a visual, I recommend create a dimension calendar and include the name of current month in new field.

I need more detais about you nedded, put here an example of your file and explain exactly who you want include.

[Ta_Weiss]

Thank you @Zanqueta, gonna give it a try and will update you.

This is a screenshot, it is min value set that I want to be filtered out that has been automatically set to 4995 even though I set 5000:

[Zanqueta]

Ok, @Ta_Weiss.
If I undestood your screenshot, this behaviour occurs because Power BI parameters of type List of Values are designed to validate user input against the predefined list. When a user enters a value that does not exist in the list, Power BI automatically selects the closest match to maintain data integrity and prevent invalid queries.

How to avoid this behaviour: Use a parameter of type Number or Text instead of a fixed list. This allows users to enter any value without Power BI adjusting it to the nearest item.

Please, try and let me kwon if its worked

[Ta_Weiss]

Hi @Zanqueta - the field is already type number and there is no possibility to change it to a type string.

[Ta_Weiss]

Edit: It is absolutely crucial that the column name is also visible in case of report export to excel etc