If you’ve been using Excel since the Stone Age (like me!), you might be avoiding Power Query, Power BI, and all those other “Power-y” tools that the kids are using now. However, those tools aren’t going away, and pretty soon your employer, or your clients, will expect you to know something about them. Here’s how you can learn more about Power BI, to see what all the fuss is about.
Power BI Dashboards
To show us why people are so excited about Power BI, Mynda Treacy built two impressive dashboards, in less than an hour. She only used free tools, and dragged and dropped the charts onto the dashboard.
It was really impressive, and I’m not going to complain (much) about Mynda’s reference to “North America and Canada.” Those aren’t two different things!
Anyway, she focused on Australian data, and here’s one of the dashboards. You can see the total amount changing, when I apply a filter by clicking on the chart data.
Power BI Webinar
Learn how to build Power BI dashboards like this one, using free tools, in Mynda Treacy’s free Power BI Webinar. See how to go from raw data in Excel, to a sophisticated set of dashboards, in a few simple steps.
Imagine how much time you can save, if you have to do this with your own data every month! Just add your latest data, click Refresh, and all the charts update automatically.
Save the Video and Files
Mynda covers lots of material in her webinar, very quickly. When she says that she doesn’t dawdle, she’s not kidding!
Don’t worry about the fast pace though. Just try to get the big picture while you watch the webinar. Sit back and be dazzled!
Then, after you attend the webinar:
- Download the Power BI webinar video, to watch it again, at your own pace. You won’t need to be online to watch it.
- Get the sample files too, so you can see how they work, and follow along with the video.
Then, dig in, to learn more about Power BI and Excel. Review all the steps, as often as you need too.
Webinar and Free Tools
If you want to attend this webinar, to learn more about Power BI and Excel, don’t delay! Mynda’s webinars are only available until Thursday, July 13th. After that, it will be a few months until the webinar is offered again.
To register for Mynda’s webinar:
- Click this link: Free Power BI Webinar.
To get the free Power BI tools (for Window only):
- Go to this Power BI page on Mynda’s website.
- Scroll down a bit, to the section links, just below the big animated graphic.
- In the Power BI FAQs section, click on “Q5: Where can I Get Power BI?”