PL-300 Practice Test 18 — 15 Questions

Question 1

You need to combine two tables from different sources: 'Orders' from SQL Server and 'Returns' from an Excel file. Both tables have a column named 'OrderID'. You want to include all orders and only matching returns. Which join type should you use in Power Query?

Choose an answer to begin — your selection is scored in the full session.

Accepted Answer

Left Outer Join. In Power Query, a Left Outer Join returns all rows from the first (left) table ('Orders') and only the matching rows from the second (right) table ('Returns'), based on the 'OrderID' column. This matches the requirement to include all orders and only matching returns, ensuring no order is dropped even if it has no corresponding return.

Answer

Inner Join

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Right Outer Join

Answer

Full Outer Join

Question 2

You have a Power BI dataset with a fact table and multiple dimension tables. You need to ensure that when a user filters by a dimension, the filter propagates correctly to the fact table. What type of relationship should you use?

Accepted Answer

One-to-many from dimension to fact.. The correct option is B: One-to-many from dimension to fact. In a star schema, the dimension table holds unique key values (the "one" side) and the fact table has many rows per key (the "many" side), so a one-to-many relationship from dimension to fact lets filter context propagate from the dimension down to the fact table correctly. Option A describes the same relationship from the opposite direction, which is not how Power BI models it, and it would also be a many-to-one from fact to dimension rather than the required propagation direction. Option C (one-to-one) is wrong because a fact table typically has multiple rows per dimension key, and option D (many-to-many) is unnecessary and would introduce ambiguous filter propagation unless a bridge table is involved.

Answer

Many-to-one from fact to dimension.

Answer

One-to-one between dimension and fact.

Answer

Many-to-many between dimension and fact.

Question 3

You are a Power BI administrator. A user reports that they are unable to share a dashboard with an external user from a partner organization. The external user has a Microsoft Entra ID account in their own tenant. What is the most likely reason?

Accepted Answer

The 'Share content with external users' tenant setting is disabled.. The correct answer is B: the 'Share content with external users' tenant setting is disabled. In Power BI, an administrator must enable the 'Share content with external users' setting in the Admin portal (Tenant settings) before users can share dashboards and reports with Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD) B2B guest users from other tenants, so if it is off, sharing attempts fail regardless of the external user's account. Option A is wrong because external users can view Power BI content once properly licensed and invited; a license may be required but that is not the most likely blocker described. Option C is wrong because RLS would only filter data for an already-authorized viewer, not prevent the share action itself. Option D is wrong because external users are added as B2B guest users in the host tenant, not as members, and this is not the reason sharing is blocked.

Answer

External users cannot view Power BI content; they need a Power BI license.

Answer

The dashboard is based on a dataset that uses RLS and the external user is not in the role.

Answer

External users must be added as members in the same tenant.

Question 4

You are designing a Power BI report that will be viewed on mobile devices. The report includes many visuals. What is the best practice for optimizing the report layout for mobile?

Accepted Answer

Create a mobile-optimized layout using the Phone layout view.. Create a mobile-optimized layout using the Phone layout view. Power BI Desktop provides a dedicated Phone layout view where you can rearrange, resize, and hide visuals specifically for portrait mobile screens, ensuring the report is readable and usable on phones without affecting the desktop layout. Options B, C, and D do not address mobile layout optimization: a single table visual is not a layout best practice, bookmarks are for navigation rather than responsive design, and limiting to one visual per page is an arbitrary restriction that does not optimize the mobile experience.

Answer

Use a table visual to display all data.

Answer

Use bookmarks to navigate between different views.

Answer

Reduce the number of visuals to one per page.

Question 5

Which THREE of the following are required to configure Microsoft Purview Information Protection sensitivity labels for Power BI? (Choose three.)

Accepted Answer

Users must have appropriate permissions (e.g., Azure Information Protection rights) to apply labels.. Option C is correct because applying a sensitivity label to a Power BI artifact requires the user to hold the appropriate usage rights, such as Azure Information Protection (AIP) rights, so the label's protection settings can be enforced on the item. Option D is correct because sensitivity labels must first be created and published to the relevant users from the Microsoft 365 Compliance Center (Microsoft Purview compliance portal) before they become available for use in Power BI. Option E is correct because an admin must enable sensitivity labels for Power BI in the Power BI admin portal tenant settings; otherwise the labeling feature remains unavailable in the service and Desktop. Option A is not required because sensitivity labels are not gated on a Power BI Pro license specifically, and Option B is not required because labeling works without assigning the workspace to a Power BI Premium capacity.

Answer

Each user must have a Power BI Pro license.

Answer

Have a Power BI Premium capacity assigned to the workspace.

Question 6

Which TWO visuals are most suitable for showing the distribution of a single numeric variable? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Box and whisker plot. A box and whisker plot (C) is correct because it summarizes the distribution of a single numeric variable using the median, quartiles, and potential outliers, making spread and skewness easy to see. A histogram (D) is also correct because it bins a single numeric variable and displays the frequency distribution across intervals, revealing shape, center, and spread. A pie chart (A) is not suitable because it shows parts of a whole for categorical data, not the distribution of a numeric variable. A scatter chart (B) is not suitable because it displays the relationship between two numeric variables. A bar chart (E) is not suitable because it compares categorical categories or discrete counts rather than showing the distribution of one numeric variable.

Answer

Pie chart

Answer

Scatter chart

Answer

Bar chart

Question 7

Which TWO of the following are best practices for designing Power BI reports for accessibility? (Select TWO.)

Accepted Answer

Provide alternative text for visuals.. Option A is correct because providing alternative text (alt text) for visuals lets screen readers announce a meaningful description of each chart, image, or shape, which is a core accessibility requirement in Power BI. Option C is correct because sufficient color contrast between text and background ensures that low-vision users and people viewing reports in bright environments can read content, and Power BI's Accessibility Checker flags insufficient contrast. Option B is not recommended because animations can distract users and may cause issues for people with cognitive or vestibular sensitivities, and they are not an accessibility best practice. Option D is not ideal because relying on color alone to differentiate data points excludes color-blind users; accessible designs should add labels, shapes, or patterns instead. Option E is wrong because small font sizes reduce readability; accessible reports should use legible font sizes rather than shrinking text to fit more data.

Answer

Use animations to draw attention.

Answer

Use a variety of colors to differentiate data points.

Answer

Use small font sizes to fit more data.

Question 8

Which TWO of the following are valid ways to create a calculated table in Power BI? (Select two.)

Accepted Answer

Using the CALENDAR function to generate a date table.. Option A is correct because the CALENDAR function is a DAX table-returning function that generates a contiguous date table, and calculated tables are created with DAX table expressions. Option B is correct because DAX table functions such as SUMMARIZE and ADDCOLUMNS return tables and are commonly used in the DAX formula bar to build calculated tables. Option C is incorrect because the 'New Table' button under the Modeling tab expects a DAX table expression, not a Power Query expression. Option D is incorrect because M language in Power Query Editor creates queries/imported tables, not calculated tables. Option E is incorrect because there is no such right-click 'New calculated table' command in the Fields pane.

Answer

Using the 'New Table' button under the 'Modeling' tab and writing a Power Query expression.

Answer

Using M language in Power Query Editor.

Answer

By right-clicking a table in the Fields pane and selecting 'New calculated table'.

Question 9

You are reviewing a Power Query query that loads data from a SQL Server database. The query includes multiple steps that perform data transformation. You want to ensure that the query is optimized by pushing as many transformations as possible to the SQL Server. What should you look for?

Accepted Answer

Check for the 'Query Folding' indicators in the query editor.. Query folding indicators in Power Query Editor show whether transformations are being pushed to the SQL Server source. When a step shows a 'folded' icon (a table with a down arrow), it means the transformation is translated into native SQL and executed on the server, reducing data transfer and improving performance. Checking these indicators directly confirms which steps are folded and which are not, allowing you to optimize the query by reordering or rewriting steps to maximize folding.

Option A is incorrect because viewing the native SQL query only shows the final aggregated SQL, not the folding status of each individual step. Option B is also incorrect as the Performance Analyzer helps measure overall report performance but does not indicate folding for each step. Option D is irrelevant because data previews do not show folding status.

Answer

View the native SQL query generated by Power Query.

Answer

Use the Performance Analyzer in Power BI Desktop.

Answer

Review the data preview for each step.

Question 10

Which TWO actions are best practices for designing accessible Power BI reports? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Provide descriptive alt text for all visuals. Option B is correct because providing descriptive alt text for all visuals lets screen-reader users understand the meaning and content of each chart, table, or image, which is a core accessibility requirement in Power BI. Option E is correct because every visual should have a clear, meaningful title so users of assistive technology and all readers can identify what the visual represents without relying on color or position alone. Option A is incorrect because a complex tab order makes keyboard navigation harder; accessible reports should use a logical, simple tab order. Option C is incorrect because using only high-contrast colors is not sufficient and can itself create issues; color should not be the sole means of conveying information, and sufficient contrast should be combined with other cues. Option D is incorrect because decorative images should generally be marked as decorative or have empty alt text, not given descriptive alt text, to avoid unnecessary screen-reader noise.

Answer

Use complex tab order to navigate quickly

Answer

Use only high-contrast colors

Answer

Add alt text to every image, including decorative ones

Question 11

You have a table with a column 'Date' in text format (e.g., '2024-01-15'). You need to convert it to a date type. In Power Query, what is the best approach?

Accepted Answer

Change the column data type to Date in Power Query Editor.. Power Query's Change Type > Date (or the Date.From/Table.TransformColumnTypes operation) natively parses ISO-formatted text like '2024-01-15' into a true date type using the locale's date-parsing rules, which is the intended, one-step approach for this scenario. Splitting into year, month, and day (A) is unnecessary and error-prone when the text is already in a recognizable date format. Using the Excel Power Query add-in (B) is irrelevant since Power Query is already the tool in use, and creating a DAX calculated column with DATEVALUE (C) works in the data model rather than transforming the column at query time, which is less efficient and doesn't change the underlying column type.

Answer

Split the column into year, month, day and then combine.

Answer

Use the Excel Power Query add-in.

Answer

Create a calculated column in DAX using DATEVALUE.

Question 12

Refer to the exhibit. You load the Sales table into Power BI. You need to calculate the total net sales after discount (SalesAmount * (1 - Discount)). However, some rows have Null in the Discount column. What is the correct DAX measure?

Accepted Answer

Net Sales = SUMX(Sales, Sales[SalesAmount] * (1 - COALESCE(Sales[Discount], 0))). It uses SUMX to iterate over each row of the Sales table, applying the calculation row-by-row, and uses COALESCE to replace any NULL in the Discount column with 0, ensuring the discount is correctly treated as zero for rows without a discount. This avoids the aggregation errors that occur when using SUM on the Discount column directly.

Answer

Net Sales = SUM(Sales[SalesAmount]) * (1 - SUM(Sales[Discount]))

Answer

Net Sales = SUMX(Sales, Sales[SalesAmount] * (1 - Sales[Discount]))

Answer

Net Sales = SUMX(Sales, DIVIDE(Sales[SalesAmount], 1 - Sales[Discount]))

Question 13

A Power BI report shows a line chart of monthly sales. The user wants to add a horizontal line representing the target sales of $100,000. Which approach should you recommend?

Accepted Answer

Use the analytics pane to add a constant line. The correct answer is D: use the Analytics pane to add a constant line, because in Power BI the Analytics pane is the built-in feature that lets you add a horizontal constant line to a line chart and set its value to 100,000 (with options for color, style, and data label). This directly produces the target reference line the user wants without altering the data model. Option A is incorrect because constant lines are not added from the Formatting pane. Option B is wrong because a gauge visual shows progress toward a target rather than overlaying a target line on the existing line chart. Option C is wrong because a calculated column adds a data field to the model and does not by itself render a horizontal target line on the chart.

Answer

Add a constant line from the formatting pane

Answer

Add a gauge visual to display the target

Answer

Create a calculated column with the target value

Question 14

Your organization uses row-level security (RLS) in Power BI. You have a table 'Sales' with a column 'Region'. You define a role 'RegionManagers' with the filter: [Region] = "North". A user named Alice is a member of this role. However, when Alice views a report that uses this dataset, she sees all regions. What is the most likely reason?

Accepted Answer

Alice is the dataset owner.. The correct answer is B: Alice is the dataset owner. In Power BI, members of the dataset's Admin/owner workspace role (or the dataset owner) bypass row-level security, so Alice sees all regions despite being assigned to the RegionManagers role with the filter [Region] = "North". RLS is enforced only for users who access the dataset with Viewer, Contributor, or read permissions, not for owners/admins. Option A is wrong because DirectQuery does support RLS. Option C is wrong because a static filter like [Region] = "North" is valid; USERNAME()/USERPRINCIPALNAME() is only needed for dynamic filtering. Option D is wrong because RLS is enforced in the Power BI service as well as in Desktop.

Answer

The dataset uses DirectQuery mode, which does not support RLS.

Answer

The filter must use USERNAME() or USERPRINCIPALNAME() function.

Answer

RLS is only applied in Power BI Desktop, not in the service.

Question 15

You are a Power BI administrator for a large organization. A team has published a shared dataset to a Premium workspace. They use an XMLA endpoint to programmatically refresh the dataset daily. Recently, the refresh started failing with the error: 'The operation was canceled because the session was terminated by a concurrent operation.' The dataset is not partitioned. You need to ensure the refresh completes without errors. What should you do?

Accepted Answer

Enable the 'Refresh conflict detection' setting on the dataset to prevent concurrent operations.. The error 'The operation was canceled because the session was terminated by a concurrent operation' indicates that two refresh operations are conflicting on the same dataset. Enabling 'Refresh conflict detection' on the dataset prevents concurrent refreshes by queuing or blocking overlapping operations, ensuring the XMLA-triggered refresh completes without interruption.

Answer

Remove all scheduled refreshes and rely solely on the XMLA script.

Answer

Change the XMLA script to run less frequently, e.g., once per week.

Answer

Partition the dataset and refresh partitions sequentially.