A DAX time intelligence function giving every date of the month that comes before the earliest date in the current context; it usually sits inside CALCULATE to build last-month measures.
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In the Ultra Transcenders books
Each book explains PREVIOUSMONTH 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.
- Time intelligence
Covers DAX functions (TOTALYTD, DATEADD, SAMEPERIODLASTYEAR and others) that shift or accumulate filtered dates. Classic versions require a contiguous, marked date table; calendar-based versions, still in preview, rely on defined calendars.
- MONTH
A DAX date function giving a date's month as a whole number, where 1 is January and 12 is December.
- CALCULATE
A DAX function that computes an expression after changing the filter context with filter modifiers, Boolean filters or table filters. Called with no filters, it still turns any row context into filter context, which is known as context transition.