A data type, shown as Currency.Type in Power Query, that always keeps four places after the decimal point and up to 19 significant digits. It stores values exactly, unlike the floating-point Decimal number, and cuts off any extra places.
Also called Currency type.
Read more: Microsoft Learn
In the Ultra Transcenders books
Each book explains Fixed decimal number in context, with comparison tables and the common traps.
Terms in this definition
- Data type
A rule limiting what a column may contain, for example INT for integers, DECIMAL for numbers with fractions or VARCHAR for text of varying length. Which types exist depends on the database product.
- DECIMAL
Use
DECIMAL(p,s)for money or any figure where floating-point rounding would be wrong. Precisionpcan be 1 to 38 and is 10 if left out; scalesis 0 if left out. - 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.
- Decimal number
A numeric type in Power BI and Power Query holding 64-bit floating-point values with roughly 15 significant digits, which means some decimals are stored only approximately. For money, Fixed decimal number is the better fit.
Related terms
- IEEE 754
The floating-point standard used by Power BI's Decimal number type. Because values are stored approximately, comparing for equality, ranking with RANKX or adding up large mixed numbers can behave oddly; Whole number or Fixed decimal number sidestep the problem.