top of page
Search

⚡Power BI’s New User Defined Functions: 10 Must-Have You’ll Use in Every Report

Fast, consistent DAX — packaged once, reused forever.


ree

Introduction

Power BI recently introduced (in Preview) DAX User-Defined Functions (UDFs) — a way to package DAX logic once and call it anywhere, just like reusable helpers.

Why they matter

  • ♻️ Reusability: Write once, reuse across visuals, pages, and PBIX files.

  • 🧭 Consistency: One source of truth for logic (time intelligence, colors, formats).

  • 🚀 Speed: Fewer one-off measures → faster build, easier maintenance.


Here is a short demo on how they work:


They can be defined in Power BI Desktop using the DAX query view (DQV) or TMDL view. I personally prefer the DQV view and will show next how you can simply create one that lives in your model afterwards. For a deeper dive into syntax and current limitations, the official Microsoft documentation is the best place to start.

Injae Park’s tutorial helped me get started in using them — I highly recommend watching it or any other Youtube tutorial when working for the first time with them 🤓.


🛠️ How to Use These UDFs

ree

The sections that follow showcase 10 practical UDFs that can be dropped directly into report! For each UDF, open the DAX Query View → paste a DEFINE ... FUNCTION ... block → Update model with changes → call the function from your measures. Anything marked // 🔧 CONFIG in this article is what you might adapt for your model (table/column names, thresholds, colors).


 
 
 
bottom of page