Error Handling - Case Study 2 - Power BI Visual Showing an Error because of a new Measure?

nitin rungta
Feb 12
2 min read

It Might Be a Text-to-Number Issue!

Have you ever created a measure or calculated column in Power BI, only to see your visual display an error instead of actual data? One common culprit is that Power BI might be treating your numbers as text. Let’s break down why this happens and how to fix it.

Why Does This Happen?

Power BI is case-sensitive when it comes to data types. If a column looks like a number but is stored as text, calculations won’t work as expected, and visuals might throw an error.

Some common reasons why this happens:

Data was imported as text from an external source (Excel, CSV, SQL, etc.).
Power Query didn’t correctly detect the column type.
A transformation step changed the data type unintentionally.

How to Fix It?

To resolve this, follow these steps:

Step 1: Check the Data Type in Power Query

Go to Power Query Editor (Transform Data from the Home tab).
Find the column that’s causing the issue.
Look at the data type (shown in the top-left next to the column name).
If it’s set to Text, change it to Whole Number or Decimal Number, depending on your needs.
Click Close & Apply to save changes.

Step 2: Verify in Data View

After applying changes:

Go to Data View in Power BI.
Check if the column is now recognized as a number.
Try using it in a visual again.

Step 3: Ensure Calculations Work

If the column is used in a measure, ensure DAX functions like SUM(), AVERAGE(), or MAX() now work correctly.
If it still shows an error, refresh the dataset and verify all transformations.

Final Thoughts

This simple fix can save you a lot of debugging time. Always ensure numerical columns are properly formatted before using them in calculations and visuals. Setting up Power Query data types correctly at the start helps prevent these issues down the road.

Have you faced this issue before? Let me know in the comments!