Almanac
Microsoft/power-biPower Platform

Consultant KB for Microsoft Power BI: semantic models, DAX and modelling, Power Query and dataflows, reports and visuals, the service and workspaces, capacity and performance, embedding and integration, governance and security, ALM and deployment, and licensing, plus cross-cutting decision guides. Scoped to Power BI, with Microsoft Fabric covered where it touches Power BI directly. Implementation notes, configuration decisions and the gotchas that bite on real projects. Populated by the daily author agent from the Power BI release plans, docs repo and product blog, plus the author's own consultant notes.

power-bi/FEATURES.md/history
7 versions · FEATURES.md
v7🤖 markdown-import22 hours agomarkdown import
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  | Date | Change |
  | ---- | ------ |
+ | 2026-10-31 | New: **String indexing** (Semantic Models) — preview substring-search index for CONTAINSSTRING/SEARCH; compat level 1707, auto/full/explicit/off, XMLA-only indexes refresh. |
+ | 2026-10-31 | New: **APPROXIMATEDISTINCTCOUNT** (Semantic Models) — HyperLogLog estimate (~1.6% error) now in preview for Import and Direct Lake. |
  | 2026-10-28 | New: **Copilot in Power BI** (Service & Workspaces) — report pane GA, standalone/app agents and web-modelling Copilot in preview, data answers in Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat GA (Sept 2026); F2+/P1+ capacity, tenant and cross-geo settings, new semantic-model control blocking read-only users from Copilot and MCP access. |
  | 2026-10-28 | New: **Agentic development with skills for Fabric** (ALM & Deployment) — `powerbi-authoring` plugin: semantic-model and report authoring skills on PBIP/PBIR, Desktop Bridge, custom-visual support (Oct 2026). |
  | 2026-10-28 | New: **Power BI Authoring MCP server** (ALM & Deployment) — local server GA, hosted server preview; permissions, XMLA Read Write, tenant setting, 100k-row DAX cap. |
v6🤖 markdown-import3 days agomarkdown import
- Published docs in the Power BI KB: semantic models, DAX and modelling, Power Query and dataflows, reports and visuals, the service and workspaces, capacity and performance, embedding and integration, governance and security, ALM and deployment, and licensing, plus cross-cutting decision guides. The daily monitor task adds a row here when it publishes or updates a doc. Browse the live KB at https://apps.pr1vacy.cloud/almanac/kb/power-bi.
+ Published docs in the Power BI KB: semantic models, DAX and modelling, Power Query and dataflows, reports and visuals, the service and workspaces, capacity and performance, embedding and integration, governance and security, ALM and deployment, and licensing, plus cross-cutting decision guides. The daily monitor task adds a row here when it publishes or updates a doc. Browse the live KB at https://365-almanac.app/kb/power-bi.
  
  ## 🆕 New & Updated
  
  | Date | Change |
  | ---- | ------ |
+ | 2026-10-28 | New: **Copilot in Power BI** (Service & Workspaces) — report pane GA, standalone/app agents and web-modelling Copilot in preview, data answers in Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat GA (Sept 2026); F2+/P1+ capacity, tenant and cross-geo settings, new semantic-model control blocking read-only users from Copilot and MCP access. |
+ | 2026-10-28 | New: **Agentic development with skills for Fabric** (ALM & Deployment) — `powerbi-authoring` plugin: semantic-model and report authoring skills on PBIP/PBIR, Desktop Bridge, custom-visual support (Oct 2026). |
+ | 2026-10-28 | New: **Power BI Authoring MCP server** (ALM & Deployment) — local server GA, hosted server preview; permissions, XMLA Read Write, tenant setting, 100k-row DAX cap. |
+ | 2026-10-28 | New: **New Power Query experience** (Power Query & Dataflows) — ⚠️ Preview. Modern Get Data and editor in Desktop; key gaps (ODBC, OLE DB, SAP, Snowflake key-pair, Change source). |
+ | 2026-10-28 | Updated: **Core visuals** (Gantt preview, date picker and list-slicer dropdown), **Direct Lake** (user-context calculated columns and convert-to-Import, preview), **DirectQuery** (create and edit in the service). Sourced from the Aug–Oct 2026 feature summaries. |
  | 2026-09-16 | New: **ODBC to ADBC driver transition** (Power Query & Dataflows) — Databricks, Snowflake, BigQuery, Dremio, Impala and Spark move from embedded ODBC to Apache Arrow ADBC drivers; Hive is deprecated outright. Tenant/workspace setting, per-connection `Implementation` pin, gateway refreshes stay on ODBC, service cutover late Q3/early Q4 2026 and drivers gone from Desktop and gateway spring 2027. |
  | 2026-08-21 | New: **OneLake Image and Map Files in Reports** (Reports & Visuals) — store image/shape-map files in a Fabric lakehouse and reference their OneLake URLs in visuals; loaded per viewer's Entra identity, so files stay authenticated. |
  | 2026-08-18 | New: Editing PBIP Files Externally (ALM & Deployment) — edit report/model files in VS Code and reload into Desktop; ⚠️ Preview. |
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  | -------- | ---- |
  | Semantic Models | 7 |
  | DAX & Modelling | 7 |
- | Power Query & Dataflows | 7 |
+ | Power Query & Dataflows | 8 |
  | Reports & Visuals | 9 |
- | Service & Workspaces | 6 |
+ | Service & Workspaces | 7 |
  | Capacity & Performance | 6 |
  | Embedding & Integration | 6 |
  | Governance & Security | 7 |
- | ALM & Deployment | 7 |
+ | ALM & Deployment | 9 |
  | Licensing | 5 |
  | Decision & Selection Guides | 6 |
- | **Total** | **73** |
+ | **Total** | **77** |
v5🤖 markdown-importlast monthmarkdown import
    … 3 unchanged lines …
  
  | Date | Change |
  | ---- | ------ |
+ | 2026-09-16 | New: **ODBC to ADBC driver transition** (Power Query & Dataflows) — Databricks, Snowflake, BigQuery, Dremio, Impala and Spark move from embedded ODBC to Apache Arrow ADBC drivers; Hive is deprecated outright. Tenant/workspace setting, per-connection `Implementation` pin, gateway refreshes stay on ODBC, service cutover late Q3/early Q4 2026 and drivers gone from Desktop and gateway spring 2027. |
  | 2026-08-21 | New: **OneLake Image and Map Files in Reports** (Reports & Visuals) — store image/shape-map files in a Fabric lakehouse and reference their OneLake URLs in visuals; loaded per viewer's Entra identity, so files stay authenticated. |
  | 2026-08-18 | New: Editing PBIP Files Externally (ALM & Deployment) — edit report/model files in VS Code and reload into Desktop; ⚠️ Preview. |
  | 2026-08-05 | New: Conditional Formatting for Chart Lines and Legends (Reports & Visuals). |
    … 5 unchanged lines …
  | -------- | ---- |
  | Semantic Models | 7 |
  | DAX & Modelling | 7 |
- | Power Query & Dataflows | 6 |
+ | Power Query & Dataflows | 7 |
  | Reports & Visuals | 9 |
  | Service & Workspaces | 6 |
  | Capacity & Performance | 6 |
    … 2 unchanged lines …
  | ALM & Deployment | 7 |
  | Licensing | 5 |
  | Decision & Selection Guides | 6 |
- | **Total** | **72** |
+ | **Total** | **73** |
v4🤖 markdown-import2 months agomarkdown import
    … 3 unchanged lines …
  
  | Date | Change |
  | ---- | ------ |
+ | 2026-08-21 | New: **OneLake Image and Map Files in Reports** (Reports & Visuals) — store image/shape-map files in a Fabric lakehouse and reference their OneLake URLs in visuals; loaded per viewer's Entra identity, so files stay authenticated. |
  | 2026-08-18 | New: Editing PBIP Files Externally (ALM & Deployment) — edit report/model files in VS Code and reload into Desktop; ⚠️ Preview. |
  | 2026-08-05 | New: Conditional Formatting for Chart Lines and Legends (Reports & Visuals). |
  | 2026-07-22 | Initial backfill — 69 docs published across all eleven categories. |
    … 5 unchanged lines …
  | Semantic Models | 7 |
  | DAX & Modelling | 7 |
  | Power Query & Dataflows | 6 |
- | Reports & Visuals | 8 |
+ | Reports & Visuals | 9 |
  | Service & Workspaces | 6 |
  | Capacity & Performance | 6 |
  | Embedding & Integration | 6 |
    … 1 unchanged line …
  | ALM & Deployment | 7 |
  | Licensing | 5 |
  | Decision & Selection Guides | 6 |
- | **Total** | **71** |
+ | **Total** | **72** |
v3🤖 markdown-import2 months agomarkdown import
    … 3 unchanged lines …
  
  | Date | Change |
  | ---- | ------ |
+ | 2026-08-18 | New: Editing PBIP Files Externally (ALM & Deployment) — edit report/model files in VS Code and reload into Desktop; ⚠️ Preview. |
  | 2026-08-05 | New: Conditional Formatting for Chart Lines and Legends (Reports & Visuals). |
  | 2026-07-22 | Initial backfill — 69 docs published across all eleven categories. |
  
    … 9 unchanged lines …
  | Capacity & Performance | 6 |
  | Embedding & Integration | 6 |
  | Governance & Security | 7 |
- | ALM & Deployment | 6 |
+ | ALM & Deployment | 7 |
  | Licensing | 5 |
  | Decision & Selection Guides | 6 |
- | **Total** | **70** |
+ | **Total** | **71** |
v2🤖 markdown-import2 months agomarkdown import
    … 3 unchanged lines …
  
  | Date | Change |
  | ---- | ------ |
+ | 2026-08-05 | New: Conditional Formatting for Chart Lines and Legends (Reports & Visuals). |
  | 2026-07-22 | Initial backfill — 69 docs published across all eleven categories. |
  
  ## By category
    … 3 unchanged lines …
  | Semantic Models | 7 |
  | DAX & Modelling | 7 |
  | Power Query & Dataflows | 6 |
- | Reports & Visuals | 7 |
+ | Reports & Visuals | 8 |
  | Service & Workspaces | 6 |
  | Capacity & Performance | 6 |
  | Embedding & Integration | 6 |
    … 1 unchanged line …
  | ALM & Deployment | 6 |
  | Licensing | 5 |
  | Decision & Selection Guides | 6 |
- | **Total** | **69** |
+ | **Total** | **70** |
v1🤖 markdown-import3 months agomarkdown import
Initial version.