Leveraging query parameters
Parameters are a primary component in building flexible, manageable query retrieval processes, as well as enabling simple filter selections. Hardcoded values in queries can be replaced with parameters, and a single parameter can be leveraged by multiple queries, thereby reducing development time and maintenance. Parameters are required to configure incremental data refresh policies on datasets and are commonly used to limit the volume of data loaded to a local instance of Power BI Desktop relative to the published Power BI dataset.
Parameters can also be useful during development in order to filter fact tables or large dimension tables to only a subset of data. Very large Power BI files can become slow and difficult to work with and thus the dataset author can add a filter via a parameter so that only a subset of rows are loaded locally. The dataset author can then simply revise the parameter such that all rows are loaded. This can be done just prior...