A DAX function returning how many non-blank numbers, dates or text values a column contains. Boolean columns need COUNTA instead, and for counting the rows of a table COUNTROWS is the better choice.
Read more: Microsoft Learn
In the Ultra Transcenders books
Each book explains COUNT in context, with comparison tables and the common traps.
Terms in this definition
- DAX
Short for Data Analysis Expressions, the formula language you write measures, calculated columns and row-level security rules in, within tabular semantic models in Power BI, Excel Power Pivot or Analysis Services.
- VALUES
Returns in DAX the distinct column values, or table rows, still visible after filters are applied, sometimes with an extra blank entry. CALCULATE often takes the result as a table filter.
- CONTAINS
Searches columns with a full-text index for words, phrases, prefixes, inflected forms or synonyms; you use it as a predicate in
WHERE. - COUNTA
Returns how many cells in a column are not blank, whatever the data type, so Boolean columns are handled too.
- Event
Table in Log Analytics where entries from Windows event logs are kept.
- COUNTROWS
Returns how many rows are in a table or a table expression. When counting rows is the goal, this DAX function is the recommended choice over COUNT.
Related terms
- Always ready instances
To avoid cold starts, a baseline of instances can be kept running and billed, either for chosen functions or function groups on Flex Consumption or for the whole app on Premium. Flex Consumption doesn't count them toward its maximum instance limit.
- App Service plan
Billing unit providing the compute, defined by region, OS, pricing tier and instance size and count, on which one or more apps run. Separate plans are needed for Linux and Windows apps.
- Autoscaling
A classic compute option where you give a minimum and maximum worker count and Azure Databricks adjusts the number of workers within that range to match the load.
- Bounded staleness
Cosmos DB consistency setting where reads may trail writes, but never by more than a configured count of versions or time interval; it is the strongest level that carries a write-latency SLA for multi-region accounts.
- Certificate-based authentication
Lets people authenticate to Microsoft Entra by presenting an X.509 certificate from your organisation's PKI. Scoped to a group, it becomes an extra option, can count as passwordless MFA and doesn't stop anyone using other methods.
- Compliance score
Shown as a percentage in Compliance Manager, it grows as improvement actions are finished, with each worth points according to risk; mandatory preventative actions count most. The Microsoft 365 data protection baseline gives the starting point.
- COUNTBLANK
A DAX function giving the number of empty cells in a column. Zero values do not count as blank, and if the column has no rows at all the result is BLANK rather than zero.
- Custom totals
Lets a table or matrix column total show something other than the default, such as an average, minimum, maximum, count, distinct count or no total, based on the rows shown; you pick Customize total calculation. Power BI builds this with a visual calculation and appends _Base to the source column's name.