Database Reference
In-Depth Information
Click the fx button and the Insert Function dialog box opens, as shown in Figure 3-15.
Figure 3-15: The Insert Function dialog box shows you all available DAX functions.
As you look through the list of DAX functions, notice many of them look like the Excel
functions you're already familiar with. But make no mistake; these aren't Excel functions.
Where Excel functions work with cells and ranges, these DAX functions are designed to
work at the table and column levels.
Note
To see how these DAX functions work, add a calculated column on the Invoice Details tab. Enter the
SUM function SUM([UnitCost]) in the formula bar. The result you get is shown in Figure 3-16.
Figure 3-16: The DAX SUM function can only sum the column as a whole.
As you can see, the SUM function sums the entire column. This is because Power Pivot and DAX are
designed to work with tables and columns. Power Pivot has no construct for cells and ranges. It
doesn't even have column letters and row numbers on its grid. So where you would normally refer-
ence a range (such as in an Excel SUM function), DAX basically takes the entire column.
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