CALCULATE function in DAX

Question

What is the CALCULATE function in DAX

Emily Foster · Answer

Certainly! The CALCULATE function in DAX is a powerful and versatile function used for manipulating filter context in DAX expressions within Power BI, Power Pivot, and Analysis Services Tabular models. At its core, CALCULATE allows you to modify or override the filters applied to your data, enabling you to perform complex calculations based on specific conditions or criteria. By using CALCULATE, you can control which filters are applied to your measures, customize calculations, and create dynamic and advanced calculations in your data models. Here's a basic example to illustrate how CALCULATE works: TotalSales := SUM(Sales[Amount]) TotalSalesIn2019 := CALCULATE( [TotalSales], FILTER(ALL('Calendar'), 'Calendar'[Year] = 2019) ) In this example, we first define a measure `TotalSales` that calculates the sum of sales amount. Then, we use the CALCULATE function to create a new measure `TotalSalesIn2019` that calculates the total sales amount only for the year 2019 by modifying the filter context using the FILTER function. Overall, the CALCULATE function in DAX empowers users to perform complex calculations, apply context-specific filters, and gain deeper insights into their data. Its flexibility and functionality make it a fundamental tool for creating dynamic and sophisticated analyses in Microsoft's Business Intelligence tools.