Power BI in Fabric provides developers with multiple options for selecting a semantic layer. Various considerations can help you choose the appropriate semantic modelling strategy to meet your business objectives. The choice of semantic modelling strategy involves several factors. This discussion will examine the implications of each mode for both BI and Excel users.

You’ve built a Power BI report, and you have two distinct audiences. Each group expects to see different default slicer/filter selections when they open the report. 

With the new TMDL View introduced in Power BI, creating reusable and powerful time intelligence logic is easier than ever.

In this blog, I'll walk you through how to create a Calculation Group with just one click using the TMDL syntax – no need to go through Tabular Editor or external tools anymore.

What is a Calculation Group?

A Calculation Group allows you to create reusable logic for commonly used calculations like:

• Year-to-Date (YTD)
• Quarter-to-Date (QTD)
• Month-to-Date (MTD)
• Current Value (no filter applied)

These can be dynamically applied to any measure, drastically reducing duplication and making your model more maintainable.

One-Click Script to Create Time Intelligence Calculation Group

Simply paste the following TMDL script (Copy/ download from here for correct indentation) into the TMDL View.

This script will instantly add a calculation group named Time Intelligence with commonly used items like YTD, QTD, MTD, and Current.

Want to See It In Action?

I've created a detailed step-by-step video walking you through the entire process, including how to use the calculation group in your reports.

📺 [Watch the full video here]

I Hope you find this helpful !!
Regards
Anmol Malviya

Proud to be a Microsoft Fabric community super user

Let's Connect on LinkedIn

Subscribe to my YouTube channel for Microsoft Fabric and Power BI updates.

In today’s blog, we’ll explore a powerful and time-saving feature in Power BI Desktop: creating multiple measures at once using the TMDL view.

If you work with large datasets or enterprise-level reports, then this trick will definitely boost your productivity.

Why Use TMDL to Create Measures?

Creating measures in Power BI manually one by one can be time-consuming, especially in large datasets or complex models. For example, if you’re building a report that requires 10+ similar measures, switching to the DAX editor for each one can feel repetitive and slow.

Problem with Traditional Method:

• Click on New Measure
• Wait for the model to load (especially slow in large datasets)
• Write the DAX
• Repeat this process multiple times

Solution: Use TMDL (Tabular Model Definition Language) View to create multiple measures in one go!

What is TMDL View?

TMDL is a new feature in Power BI Desktop that lets you edit model metadata (like measures, calculated columns, relationships, etc.) using a simple code editor. It’s like having access to the back-end definition of your model, making it much easier to bulk create or edit logic.

Steps to Create Multiple Measures Using TMDL

Open TMDL View in Power BI Desktop

• Go to the Model view
• Click on the TMDL icon from the ribbon

Locate Your Measure Table

• If you don't have one, create a dedicated Measure Table
• You can also organize measures using folders

Create One Measure as a Template

measure Demo_Measure1 = 1

Add Multiple Measures

• Press Enter to go to the next line
• Use the same structure to add more:

measure Demo_Measure2 = 2

measure Demo_Measure3 = 3

measure Total_Sales = CALCULATE(SUM(Sales[Amount]))

⚠️ Note:

Spaces in measure names are not yet supported in TMDL, so use underscores (_) instead.

Click on the “Apply” Button

• Found on the top-left corner of the TMDL editor
• All your measures will now be created at once in the model

Pro Tip

Let’s say you need to calculate sales by categories (e.g., Electronics, Clothing, Furniture). Just create the logic for one:

measure Sales_Electronics = CALCULATE(SUM(Sales[Amount]), FILTER(Sales, Sales[Category] = "Electronics"))

Then copy-paste and change the category name accordingly. Apply the changes, and you’re done!

Final Thoughts

This method can save a lot of time, especially in enterprise-scale projects or when building demo reports with repeated logic. It’s a great example of how Power BI continues to evolve and empower developers with flexible and efficient tools.

Regards
Anmol Malviya
Sr. Data Analyst | Addend Analytics

Proud to be a Microsoft Fabric community super user

Let's Connect on LinkedIn

Subscribe to my YouTube channel for Microsoft Fabric and Power BI updates.

In today's blog, we're going to explore a powerful tip: how to organize your measures efficiently by bulk moving them into folders or subfolders using the TMDL view in Power BI Desktop.

Why Organize Measures into Folders?

When working on large-scale Power BI reports, you may end up creating 50 to 100+ measures. Managing them in a single list becomes difficult and messy. Organizing these into logical folders or subfolders based on their purpose (e.g., Sales, Revenue, Time Intelligence, etc.) makes your model cleaner and improves maintainability.

Method 1: Using the Table View (Manual)

This is the traditional method:

• Go to the Data view or Model view.
• Click on an individual measure.
• In the Properties pane, locate the Display Folder option.
• Type a folder name (e.g., Demo) and press Enter.
• All selected measures will be grouped under that folder.

📝 Tip: You can also multi-select measures in the Model view and set the Display Folder property in one go.

Method 2: Using the TMDL View (Advanced & Efficient)

For bulk operations and better control, TMDL (Tabular Model Definition Language) view offers a smarter approach.

🔧 Step-by-Step:

1. Go to the TMDL view in Power BI Desktop.
2. Select all the desired measures using Ctrl + Click.
3. Drag and drop them into the TMDL script editor — a code script will auto-generate.
4. Below the format string section of each measure, insert the line: display folder = "Demo_TMDL"
   
5. Once all measures have this line added, click Apply from the top-left corner.

Result:

All your selected measures are now organized into a folder named Demo_TMDL, visible in the Data/Model view.

Bonus: You Can Organize Columns Too!

This functionality isn't limited to measures. You can also create folders for columns using the same method:

1. Go to the TMDL view.
2. Locate the column definitions.
3. Add the line: display folder = "ColumnFolder"
4. Click Apply, and the columns will be grouped into the folder.

Final Thoughts

Organizing your Power BI model is a best practice that boosts readability, reduces errors, and improves collaboration — especially in large-scale projects. The TMDL view gives you the power to manage this efficiently.

Regards

Anmol Malviya

Proud to be a Microsoft Fabric community super user

Let's Connect on LinkedIn

Subscribe to my YouTube channel for Microsoft Fabric and Power BI updates.