Want to name columns based on year

[Anonymous]

I am trying to name headers based on the year.  I need to count work for an area for a year.  in 2019 that was 2019, 2018, 2017 and 2016.  now in 2020 I want the columns to be 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017.  I don't want to have to rename them every year.  I am using this in a stacked column chart and a matrix.  Thanks for any help anyone can provide.

[dm-p]

Hi @Anonymous,

Without being able to see your data, I can't produce specific DAX relevant to your data model, but if you want your visuals to 'roll' the last few years, I'd approach it as follows:

1. Add a column to your date table that calculates difference in years between the current year and that date.
   • For your desired ranges, I would expect this to evalute to something like for the following for dates in each year as follows (using my date table as an example):
     
   • Every time I refresh my data, this will re-calculate. So, when 2021 rolls around, everything will shift so that 2021 = 0, 2020 = 1, etc.
2. Add this column as a filter to your visual (or page if you want all visuals on the page to work from it) and set it to filter where this is less than or equal to the value you want. Using your example, this would be less than or equal to 3 and greater than or equal to 0 e.g:
   

If I simulated the year to be 2019, the above visual would look as follows:

Another such approach could be to have the calculated column return TRUE/FALSE if the year falls inside your business logic. You could also implement with a measure rather than a calculated column, but I find this gives me more flexibility, particularly if I want to change the number of years using a what if paramater (which would allow my users to change the number of years dynamically).

Hopefully this gives you some ideas. Good luck!

Daniel

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[Anonymous]

Thank you for your reply.  My situation is a lot more complicated because I have many columns in my table which prevent me from using calendar year as a matrix column, so I have 3 rows and 12 values, 5 of which I am trying to make dynamic headers with.  I'm not sure it's possible, but I have a field in the data which has what I want to use as headers, I just don't know how to use it.