Forum Discussion
Unused column
Have some dashboards to increase performance.
i see alot of measures and columns and i wanted to know which unused.
i ran the tool 'Measure Killer' and got the details.
* Unused meausers i deleted.
for the columns, what is the best practice?
- to remove them for the data? for the modeling?
- to remove them from Power Query editor?
- just to hide them?
thank you
Hi Anonymous ,
It is best practice to not import columns of data that you do not need. To avoid deleting columns in Power Query Editor, you should try to deal with them at the source when loading data into Power BI Desktop. However, if it is impossible to remove redundant columns from the source query or the data has already been imported in its raw state, you can always use Power Query Editor to examine each column. Ask yourself if you really need each column and try to identify the benefit that each one adds to your data model. If you find that a column adds no value, you should remove it from your data model. For example, suppose that you have an ID column with thousands of unique rows. You know that you won't use this particular column in a relationship, so it will not be used in a report. Therefore, you should consider this column as unnecessary and admit that it is wasting space in your data model.
When you remove an unnecessary column, you will reduce the size of the data model which, in turn, results in a smaller file size and faster refresh time. Also, because the dataset contains only relevant data, the overall report performance will be improved.
For more information, see Data reduction techniques for Import modeling.
Optimize a model for performance in Power BI - Training | Microsoft Learn
Best Regards,
Gao
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!
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3 Replies
Hello,
you could unselect then from the table in Power Query, by going to choose columns and unselecting the ones you dont need.
check this link for further description https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-query/choose-remove-columns
If I answered your question, please mark my post as solution, Appreciate your Kudos👍
Hi Anonymous ,
Hiding columns doesn't improve performance in terms of performance, on the contrary, if you have an operation that uses that column or calculation, hiding it will slow it down.
I don't know the number of your columns, but in terms of performance, the calculations or the images themselves should be the priority. Removing calculated columns will relieve the file load, so the columns lead to redirection results.
I tried all the details you mentioned before. I would say that transferring your calculations to the power query side will improve performance.
Apart from that, you can check out my article in the link for more comprehensive solution methods.
https://medium.com/@ezginazaslankara/improving-the-performance-of-power-bi-reports-ff85b75e4f35Best regards,
Ezgi Naz Aslankara
If this post helps, then please consider Accept it as the solution to help the other members find it more quickly
Hi Anonymous ,
It is best practice to not import columns of data that you do not need. To avoid deleting columns in Power Query Editor, you should try to deal with them at the source when loading data into Power BI Desktop. However, if it is impossible to remove redundant columns from the source query or the data has already been imported in its raw state, you can always use Power Query Editor to examine each column. Ask yourself if you really need each column and try to identify the benefit that each one adds to your data model. If you find that a column adds no value, you should remove it from your data model. For example, suppose that you have an ID column with thousands of unique rows. You know that you won't use this particular column in a relationship, so it will not be used in a report. Therefore, you should consider this column as unnecessary and admit that it is wasting space in your data model.
When you remove an unnecessary column, you will reduce the size of the data model which, in turn, results in a smaller file size and faster refresh time. Also, because the dataset contains only relevant data, the overall report performance will be improved.
For more information, see Data reduction techniques for Import modeling.
Optimize a model for performance in Power BI - Training | Microsoft Learn
Best Regards,
Gao
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!
How to get your questions answered quickly -- How to provide sample data in the Power BI Forum
