PL-300 Visualize and analyze the data Practice Test 12 — 15 Questions

Question 1

You want to create a custom visual that is not available in the default Power BI visuals pane. What should you do?

Accepted Answer

Download the visual from AppSource and import it.. Custom visuals can be imported from AppSource or a file. The option to get from AppSource is standard.

Answer

Write the visual in Python and add it to the report.

Answer

Use the R script visual to create the visual.

Answer

Create a custom visual using Power BI Desktop's built-in editor.

Question 2

Which TWO of the following are valid ways to share a Power BI report with external users who do not have a Power BI license?

Accepted Answer

Embed in a secure portal using Power BI Embedded. Publish to web makes the report public (no license needed). Embed in a secure portal (using Power BI Embedded) also allows external access without licenses if capacity is used.

Answer

Export to PDF and email

Answer

Share via Power BI service with a direct link

Answer

Create a Power BI app and grant access

Question 3

Which THREE of the following are best practices for designing Power BI reports for mobile devices?

Accepted Answer

Use a single column of visuals. Mobile screens have limited width, so a single-column layout ensures visuals scale properly without horizontal scrolling, which is a core recommendation in Microsoft's mobile report design guidelines. This approach maintains readability and touch interaction by stacking visuals vertically, avoiding the need for users to pinch or zoom.

Answer

Include many small text tables

Answer

Place visuals side by side to maximize space

Question 4

Which TWO of the following are valid ways to create a calculated table in Power BI?

Accepted Answer

DATATABLE(...). A, C, and E are all valid DAX functions that return tables and can be used to define calculated tables in Power BI. DATATABLE creates a static table with specified data, SUMMARIZE groups and aggregates data, and CALENDARAUTO returns a date range. Options B and D are not valid DAX functions.

Answer

CREATE TABLE FROM (SELECT ...)

Answer

TABLE.COLUMNS()

Question 5

You have the above DAX measure. When you add it to a table visual with Year and Month, the values are correct for each month. However, when you add a slicer for Year and select 2023, the measure shows blank for all months. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The Date table is not marked as a date table.. The SAMEPERIODLASTYEAR function requires a continuous date range. If the Date table does not have a relationship to Sales or if the date table is missing dates (e.g., only dates where sales occurred), the function may return blank. However, a common issue is that the Date table must be marked as a date table. Another cause could be that the date table does not contain dates for the previous year. But given the symptom 'shows blank for all months when slicer is applied', it suggests the date table is not continuous or not marked as date table. In Power BI, if a date table is not marked as a date table, time intelligence functions may not work correctly with slicers.

Answer

The measure uses DIVIDE instead of a simple division.

Answer

The Sales table has a many-to-many relationship with Date.

Answer

The slicer is filtering the Sales table directly.

Question 6

You have the above M query. You need to load only the top 10 customers by sales. What should you add to the query?

Accepted Answer

Add Table.FirstN(#"Sorted Rows", 10) after sorting.. The query already sorts by Total Sales descending. To get top 10, you need to add a step to keep the first 10 rows, using Table.FirstN.

Answer

Add a step to use Table.SelectRows with a condition on rank.

Answer

Add a filter to keep only rows where [Total Sales] is in the top 10 values.

Answer

Add a step to use Table.StopAfter(#"Sorted Rows", 10).

Question 7

You see the above XMLA response when querying a Power BI dataset. You want to create a measure that calculates the difference between current sales and previous year sales, but you want to use the calculation group to avoid writing multiple measures. Which measure expression should you use?

Accepted Answer

SELECTEDMEASURE() - CALCULATE(SELECTEDMEASURE(), 'Time Intelligence'[Name] = "PY"). With a calculation group, you can define a measure that references the calculation items. The expression 'SELECTEDMEASURE() - CALCULATE(SELECTEDMEASURE(), 'Time Intelligence'[Name] = "PY")' will compute the difference between the current measure (e.g., Total Sales) and its previous year version.

Answer

CALCULATE([Total Sales], 'Time Intelligence'[Name] = "Current") - CALCULATE([Total Sales], 'Time Intelligence'[Name] = "PY")

Answer

SUM(Sales[Amount]) - CALCULATE(SUM(Sales[Amount]), SAMEPERIODLASTYEAR('Date'[Date]))

Answer

SUM(Sales[Amount]) - [Sales YoY]

Question 8

You need to design a Power BI report that displays sales trend over time. The data includes dates with missing values for weekends and holidays. Which visualization type and approach should you use to ensure accurate trend representation?

Accepted Answer

Line chart with a continuous date axis. A line chart with a continuous date axis properly handles gaps in dates by not connecting across missing points, ensuring accurate trend representation. Option A is wrong because a line chart with a categorical date axis treats dates as discrete labels and would connect across missing dates, potentially skewing the trend. Option B is wrong for the same reason as A, with a bar chart being less suitable for trend visualization. Option D is wrong because a bar chart with a continuous axis can create misleading gaps and is not optimal for showing trends.

Answer

Line chart with a categorical date axis

Answer

Bar chart with a categorical date axis

Answer

Bar chart with a continuous date axis

Question 9

You have a Power BI report with a matrix that shows sales by region and product category. Users complain that the matrix is too cluttered and hard to read. Which best practice should you apply to improve readability?

Accepted Answer

Apply conditional formatting using data bars or color scales.. Applying conditional formatting with data bars or color scales helps users quickly identify patterns without adding extra text or hierarchy, reducing visual clutter. Option A is incorrect because removing subtotals and grand totals removes valuable context for comparison. Option B is incorrect because adding more hierarchy levels would increase clutter, not reduce it. Option C is incorrect because a table with all detail rows would show every data point, making the report even more cluttered.

Answer

Remove all subtotals and grand totals.

Answer

Add more hierarchy levels to the rows to provide granularity.

Answer

Change the matrix to a table with all detail rows.

Question 10

You are building a report for executives to monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) against targets. You have a KPI visual for revenue. The target is stored in a separate table. Which approach should you use to configure the KPI visual correctly?

Accepted Answer

Create measures for actual and target, then assign them to the KPI visual.. The KPI visual requires a single value for actual, a goal, and a trend axis. By creating measures that retrieve the target from the separate table, you can assign them to the KPI visual fields. Option A is wrong because merging tables would denormalize the model unnecessarily. Option B is wrong because the KPI visual cannot directly use a column from a related table without measures. Option C is wrong because calculated columns are static and not suitable for dynamic targets.

Answer

Create a calculated column in the sales table that references the target.

Answer

Merge the target table into the sales table in Power Query.

Answer

Use the target column directly from the related table in the KPI visual.

Question 11

You want to create a report that allows users to select a product category and see the top 5 products by sales within that category. Which approach should you use?

Accepted Answer

Add a slicer for category and apply a Top N filter on product to the visual.. Adding a slicer for category and applying a Top N filter on product to the visual allows dynamic filtering: as the user selects a category, the Top N filter recalculates to show the top 5 products by sales within that category. Option A is incorrect because a waterfall chart does not support Top N filtering; it is used for showing cumulative changes. Option C is incorrect because using a measure to rank products and filtering to top 5 could work, but it would require more complex DAX and may not perform as well as the built-in Top N filter; however, the question asks for the approach that should be used, and the slicer + Top N filter is the simplest and most efficient. Option D is incorrect because a calculated column for rank would be static and not update based on slicer selection; rankings need to be calculated dynamically.

Answer

Use a waterfall chart with category on the breakdown axis.

Answer

Use a measure to rank products and filter visual to top 5.

Answer

Create a calculated column for rank and filter to top 5.

Question 12

You have a Power BI report that uses a date hierarchy (Year, Quarter, Month) on the axis of a line chart. Users want to drill down from year to quarter to month. However, the drill-down feature is not working. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The date field is placed in the Axis field well without creating a hierarchy.. Drill-down functionality in Power BI requires a hierarchy to be created in the Axis field well. If only the raw date field is used without explicitly creating a hierarchy (Year, Quarter, Month), the drill-down feature will be disabled. Option B is incorrect because line charts do support drill-down when a hierarchy is present. Option C is incorrect because marking the date table is not required for drill-down to work. Option D is incorrect because cross-filtering does not disable drill-down.

Answer

The line chart does not support drill-down functionality.

Answer

The date table is not marked as a date table in the model.

Answer

Cross-filtering from another visual is interfering.

Question 13

You need to create a measure that calculates the total sales for the previous month, regardless of any filters on the date slicer. The data model includes a separate date table with a relationship to the sales table. Which DAX expression should you use?

Accepted Answer

CALCULATE(SUM(Sales[Amount]), PREVIOUSMONTH('Date'[Date]), ALL('Date')). It uses PREVIOUSMONTH to return the set of dates for the previous month relative to the current filter context, and ALL('Date') removes any filters applied to the Date table (e.g., from a slicer), ensuring the calculation always returns the total sales for the previous month regardless of slicer selections. Option A (DATEADD) also shifts dates but does not remove slicer filters unless combined with ALL; Option B (DATESMTD) returns month-to-date dates, not the previous month; Option D uses a hardcoded date string that is not dynamic and depends on Today(), which may not align with the date table.

Answer

CALCULATE(SUM(Sales[Amount]), DATEADD('Date'[Date], -1, MONTH))

Answer

CALCULATE(SUM(Sales[Amount]), DATESMTD(DATEADD('Date'[Date], -1, MONTH)))

Answer

CALCULATE(SUM(Sales[Amount]), 'Date'[Month] = FORMAT(TODAY()-30, 'MMMM'))

Question 14

You have a report with a map visual showing store locations by city. However, some cities are not displaying on the map. You verified that the city names are correct. What should you check first?

Accepted Answer

Add latitude and longitude fields to the map visual.. Power BI map visuals require latitude and longitude coordinates for accurate placement. If only city names are provided, Power BI attempts to geocode them using Bing Maps, which may fail for less-known or ambiguous cities. Providing coordinates ensures precise mapping. Option A is incorrect because switching to ArcGIS Map does not guarantee successful geocoding; it also may need coordinates. Option C is incorrect because changing to a filled map does not resolve missing location data. Option D is incorrect because the data type of the city column (text) is fine; the issue is the lack of coordinates, not the data type.

Answer

Use ArcGIS Map visual instead of the built-in map.

Answer

Change the map visual to a filled map.

Answer

Ensure the city column is set to the Text data type.

Question 15

Which TWO measures will correctly calculate the total sales for the current year, ignoring any filters on the date column? (Assume a proper date table with relationship.)

Accepted Answer

CALCULATE(SUM(Sales[Amount]), DATESYTD('Date'[Date]), ALL('Date')). Correct answers are B and E. Option B uses DATESYTD with ALL to compute year-to-date for the current year, ignoring any date filters. Option E uses ALL to remove all date filters and then applies a filter for the current year. Option A is incorrect because FILTER(ALL('Date'), ...) does not properly ignore filters on the date column; it only filters the Date table to current year but does not fully remove other date-related filters. Option C is incorrect because VALUES only returns distinct years from the current filter context, not all years. Option D is incorrect because it sums sales without any year context.

Answer

CALCULATE(SUM(Sales[Amount]), FILTER(ALL('Date'), YEAR('Date'[Date]) = YEAR(TODAY())))

Answer

CALCULATE(SUM(Sales[Amount]), VALUES('Date'[Year]))

Answer

SUM(Sales[Amount])