A DAX expression on a measure that works out which format string to apply depending on context, for example a different currency for each country. The measure stays numeric, whereas the FORMAT function would convert the result to text.
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In the Ultra Transcenders books
Each book explains Dynamic format string 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.
- Measure
A figure like total revenue, worked out by aggregating fact table data wherever dimensions intersect within a semantic model.
- FORMAT
A DAX function that turns a value into text according to a format string, for instance "MMMM" to show a month's name. Since the output is text, numeric operations can't use it, and dynamic format strings were introduced to get around that.
- APPLY
Evaluates a table-valued expression for every row on its left, inside
FROM. Think ofOUTER APPLYas a left outer join andCROSS APPLYas an inner join. - CONVERT
Works much like
CAST, changing a value's data type in T-SQL, with the addition of an optional style number; 126, for instance, gives ISO 8601 dates.