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B_Real's avatar
B_Real
Advocate IV
9 years ago
Solved

if then else

Most languages have a structure that allows multiple conditions to be met in an IF statement, like this:

 

IF condition1 THEN result1 Else If condition2 THEN result2 ELSE result3.

 

Except for DAX. Using DAX you have to nest your IF statements instead, like this:

 

=IF(condition1,result1,IF(condition2,result2,result3))

 

This gets really messy when the number of conditions you require to meet increase to say 5, 10, 20 or more.

 

Can anyone explain why DAX cannot perform 'if then else' and whether it is likely to expand in the near future to be able to do so? Or are there any other tips n tricks to look at here to make it easier?

  • Cool my dear friend.

     

    We can do anything in DAX cool.

     

    Try this,

     

    Measure =

    Switch ( True(),

     condition1,"Result1"  ,

        condition1,"Result1"  ,

    etc...                     ) 

     

     

    let me if any help in DAX.

     

     

11 Replies

  • Baskar's avatar
    Baskar
    Resident Rockstar

    Cool my dear friend.

     

    We can do anything in DAX cool.

     

    Try this,

     

    Measure =

    Switch ( True(),

     condition1,"Result1"  ,

        condition1,"Result1"  ,

    etc...                     ) 

     

     

    let me if any help in DAX.

     

     

    • B_Real's avatar
      B_Real
      Advocate IV

       

      Measure =
      Switch ( True(),
       condition1,"Result1"  ,
          condition1,"Result1"  ,
      etc...                     ) 

       

      Yaas! Great shout on Switch()! I don't think I need need the True() function here tho, the Switch() function seems to take care of everything:

       

       

      SWITCH(<expression>, <value>, <result>[, <value>, <result>]…[, <else>])  

       

       

      Also cheers for pointing out difference between DAX and M. Here's a link that describe the difference in more detail:

       

      http://stackoverflow.com/documentation/powerbi/6980/power-query-m-and-dax-whats-the-difference#t=201609300341275121819

       

      Essentially:

       

      First you use M to query data sources, clean and load data. Then you use DAX to analyze & visualise the data in Power BI. 

      • MarcelBeug's avatar
        MarcelBeug
        Community Champion

        So as a rule of thumb: :smileylol:

         

        if extract then M if transform then (if not aggregate then M else DAX) else DAX

    • Ramakrishna's avatar
      Ramakrishna
      Regular Visitor

      Hi Bhaskar,

       

      can you help me with this query how to achive with DAX.

       

      IF [repair information ] = "Repeat Repair"

      THEN

      IF COUNTD([VIN]) / TOTAL(COUNTD([VIN])) > 0.1
      THEN round(COUNTD([VIN]) / TOTAL(COUNTD([VIN])),4) END

      ELSE

      IF COUNTD([Strata Claim Id]) / TOTAL(COUNTD([Strata Claim Id])) > 0.1
      THEN round(COUNTD([Strata Claim Id]) / TOTAL(COUNTD([Strata Claim Id])),4) END

      END

       

      any quick response would be appriciated.

       

      Regards,

      Ram.

    • Anonymous's avatar
      Anonymous
      Not applicable

      I tried to use the above query but not excusted.

       

      I wanted to split the condition into the three different statement.

       

      • Avg time from purchase request[PR->DATE1] to Inquiry floated to supplier(active request)[TENDER->DATE3] (days) 
      • Avg time from {Inquiry floated to supplier}[TENDER->DATE3] to {Commercial approval done [TENDER->DATE10] (days)}
      • Average time from Commercial approval done[TENDER->DATE10] to PO issue [PO->DATE4](days).
      • Anonymous's avatar
        Anonymous
        Not applicable

        For this, I think we can use a case statement how we use in SQL

  • Update. 

     

    'If then else' is possible in Power BI, but not using freehand DAX. It only seems to be available using menus, like so:

     

    Go to Edit Queries

     

     

    Then Add Column -> Conditional Column

     

     

    Et voila.... your if then else statements are available...

     

     

    I'm still not sure why you can't just type these freehand in the DAX editor to save you all that menu work.

     

     

    • MarcelBeug's avatar
      MarcelBeug
      Community Champion

      B_Real when editing queries you are not in the DAX environment, but in M (a.k.a. Power Query).

      These are completely different: Power Query is aimed at getting and transforming data into tables, while DAX is mainly focussed on aggregating data into measures.

      However, some tasks can be done in both environments and both environments reside in Power BI..

  • Hi All, 
    Please if anyone can help, this is the general logic: 

    IF BU selected THEN select Row that has "All" in Grade

    IF Grade selected THEN select Row that has "All" in BU

    IF Nothing selected THEN Select Row that has "All" in BU and "All" in Grade 

    IF Both BU and Grade Selected THEN keep rows as it is 

    RETURN SUM(Value)/DISTINCTCOUNT([Date])