Power BI DAX Tutorial for Beginners

IF — Simple Rule

Classify each row (calculated column) or dynamic result (measure) based on a condition.

-- Calculated Column (row-by-row)
High Discount? = IF('Superstore'[Discount] >= 0.2, "High", "Normal")

-- Measure (dynamic, context aware)
Total Sales = SUM('Superstore'[Sales])
Sales Flag = IF([Total Sales] > 200000, "Target Met", "Below Target")

Use a column when the logic is fixed per row; use a measure when it must respond to filters.

IFERROR & DIVIDE — Safe Math

Avoid errors (e.g., division by zero) with IFERROR or DIVIDE.

Total Quantity = SUM('Superstore'[Quantity])
Total Profit   = SUM('Superstore'[Profit])

Profit per Unit (safe) =
DIVIDE([Total Profit], [Total Quantity], 0)

-- Equivalent with IFERROR (less preferred)
Profit per Unit (iferror) =
IFERROR([Total Profit] / [Total Quantity], 0)

Best practice: prefer DIVIDE for readability and built-in error handling.

SWITCH(TRUE()) — Range Buckets

Use SWITCH(TRUE()) to test multiple conditions in order.

Total Sales = SUM('Superstore'[Sales])

Sales Performance =
SWITCH(
  TRUE(),
  [Total Sales] > 500000, "Excellent",
  [Total Sales] > 200000, "Good",
  [Total Sales] > 100000, "Average",
  "Poor"
)

Order matters: the first TRUE condition returns the result.

SWITCH — Exact Mapping

Best for one-to-one label mapping.

Shipping Speed =
SWITCH(
  'Superstore'[Ship Mode],
  "Same Day",      "Instant",
  "First Class",   "Fast",
  "Second Class",  "Normal",
  "Standard Class","Slow",
  "Unknown"
)

Great for friendly labels in visuals or tooltips.

AND / OR / NOT

-- Row-level (calculated column)
Profitable & High Sales? =
IF( AND('Superstore'[Profit] > 0, 'Superstore'[Sales] > 500), TRUE(), FALSE() )

-- Measure-level (context aware)
High Margin or High Sales =
IF( OR([Total Profit] > 80000, [Total Sales] > 300000), "Yes", "No")

Use AND/OR for compound rules; NOT to invert a condition.

IN — Membership Test

Focus Regions =
IF( 'Superstore'[Region] IN {"East","West"}, "Focus", "Other" )

Cleaner than chaining multiple OR conditions.

TRUE() / FALSE()

Always True  = TRUE()
Always False = FALSE()

Useful for default states or debugging filters.

ISBLANK / COALESCE

Handle missing values gracefully.

Avg Discount = AVERAGE('Superstore'[Discount])

Avg Discount (no blank) =
COALESCE([Avg Discount], 0)

Discount Label =
IF( ISBLANK([Avg Discount]), "No Data", FORMAT([Avg Discount], "0.0%") )

COALESCE returns the first non-blank — simpler than nested IFs.

Show/Hide with BLANK()

Return BLANK() to hide values in visuals.

Total Profit = SUM('Superstore'[Profit])

Profit (hide negative) =
IF([Total Profit] < 0, BLANK(), [Total Profit])

Great for decluttering charts with negative outliers.

CONTAINSSTRING / STARTSWITH / ENDSWITH

Create segments from names and categories.

Tech Product? =
IF( CONTAINSSTRING('Superstore'[Category], "Technology"), TRUE(), FALSE() )

Starts with A? =
STARTSWITH('Superstore'[Customer Name], "A")

Ends with ra? =
ENDSWITH('Superstore'[Customer Name], "ra")

Use these in filters/conditional formatting for instant segmentation.

Combine Logic for Badges

Total Sales = SUM('Superstore'[Sales])
Total Profit = SUM('Superstore'[Profit])

Account Badge =
SWITCH(
  TRUE(),
  AND([Total Sales] > 300000, [Total Profit] > 60000), "⭐ Key Account",
  [Total Sales] > 150000, "Growth",
  [Total Profit] < 0, "At Risk",
  "Regular"
)

Drop this in a table alongside Customer/Region to highlight focus accounts.