Book Image

Microsoft Tabular Modeling Cookbook

By : te Braak
Book Image

Microsoft Tabular Modeling Cookbook

By: te Braak

Overview of this book

Business Intelligence Semantic Models (BISM) is a technology that is designed to deliver analytical information to users through a variety of mechanisms that include model structure, definition, and design. This book demonstrates how to create BISM models so that information can be presented to users in an intuitive and easy-to-use format. Once the model is defined, we also show you how it can be managed and maintained so that the data in it remains current and secure. Microsoft Tabular Modeling Cookbook is an all-encompassing guide to developing, managing, creating, and using analytical models using the Business Intelligence Semantic Model (BISM). This title covers a range of modeling situations and common data analysis related problems to show you the techniques required to turn data into information using tabular modeling. Microsoft Tabular Modeling Cookbook examines three areas of tabular modeling: model development, model management and maintenance, and reporting. This book is a practical guide on how to develop semantic models and turn business data into information. It covers all phases of the model lifecycle from creation to administration and finally reporting. It also shows you how to create models which are designed to analyze data. All sections of BISM modeling from development to management and finally reporting are covered. The sections on development examine a wide range of techniques and tricks required to build models, including moving data into the model, structuring the model to manipulate the data, and finally the formulas required to answer common business questions; all of these are discussed in this book in detail. Finally, the book examines methods of reporting on the data within the model, including the creation of data-driven workbooks and reports for a powerful end user experience.
Table of Contents (13 chapters)
12
Index

Installing PowerPivot

In Excel 2010, PowerPivot is an add-in that must be downloaded and installed. In Office 365 Pro and Excel 2013 Pro Plus, the add-in is a part of the default Excel installation setup (which means there is no requirement to install PowerPivot). However, the add-in must be activated before it can be used (see Chapter 10, Visualizing Data with Power View, for details on enabling the add-in in Excel 2013).

The 2010 add-in can be downloaded from the Microsoft download center (free of charge) using the following URL:

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=29074

Although the installation is relatively straightforward once the installation file is obtained, the downloaded file must match the installed version of Excel (that is, whether Excel is operating in 32-bit or 64-bit mode). This can be checked by selecting the Help option from the File tab (in Excel), as shown in the following screenshot:

Installing PowerPivot

In the About Microsoft Excel section, we can see that this version...