After publishing a dashboard to Power BI Service using Power BI, many users schedule updates to ensure that the data is real-time.
However, Power BI Service doesn’t directly display when the dashboard was last refreshed, and can only confirm the refresh date from the workspace or from the lower-right corner of the dashboard, but this incomplete information makes it difficult for readers to confirm the latest status and accuracy of the report data.
To solve this problem, this article will teach you how to use a simple formula to present the last refresh time in the dashboard to ensure that readers can grasp the real-time nature of the data and further improve the reliability and user experience of the report.
Demonstration of technical operation
In order to display the last refresh time in a Power BI dashboard, we can do this by creating a blank query and using specific functions. Here’s how to do it:
Step 1: Add a blank query
First, in Power BI Desktop, click on the Data Transformation option, and then choose Add New Blank Query. This blank query will serve as the basis for us to capture the current time.
Step 2: Enter the time capture function
In the formula column of the blank query, enter the following function to capture the current time, the function of this function is to extract the local current time and convert it to the format we want to display – “year-month-day hour:minute:second”. where +8 means set to UTC+8 time zone to conform to Taiwan’s standard time.
Step 3: Refresh and check the output
Once you’ve entered the function, press Enter, and then refresh the data, and you should see the current timestamp in the query results. Once you’ve confirmed that everything is correct, select Close and apply to save the results of this query to the data model.
Step 4：Add a card
Back in the main report screen in Power BI Desktop, select Cards from the Visuals panel, and drag and drop the time field you just created into the card. This will allow the last refresh time to be displayed on the dashboard.
Step 5: Adjust the time display format
Finally, you can format the datetime to suit your needs with the Data Row Tool, such as showing the full date and time or only the date part.
Frequently Asked Questions & Comparisons
When adding the last refresh time feature, many people will consider using the DAX function NOW() to display the time. However, there is a significant difference between using the NOW() function and adding a new blank query：
- Refresh timing: The time captured through a blank query will be saved in the data model when the data is refreshed. The NOW() function, on the other hand, dynamically displays the current time every time the visual effect loads.
- Save time: The refresh time established by a blank query accurately reflects the last update time of the data model, which is suitable for scenarios that need to ensure the rendering time after the data is updated, while NOW() is more suitable for displaying the real-time time.
Conclusion
By adding a “Last Refresh Time Card” to the Power BI dashboard, we can let users know exactly what the latest status of the data is. This technology is suitable for dashboards that need to be updated regularly, such as factory production schedules or reports that involve manually updating data sources. In addition, this is also perfect for the following scenarios：
- Sales data reports: Refresh the sales performance and trends of the business team on a daily basis.
- Financial statement analysis ensures that management is using the latest financial data when making decisions on a monthly basis.
- Supply chain management, especially in the case of frequent logistics and inventory changes, ensures that all data is updated in real time.
- Campaign reports to monitor real-time performance of advertising campaigns and consumer behavior data.
In a few simple steps, you can easily visualize the last refresh time of the dashboard. Hopefully, this article will help you better grasp the new technologies of Power BI and bring more convenience and benefits to your data analysis work.
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