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PL-300 study guide

All 78 topics as a feed, in exam order. Swipe through a topic, say whether you know it, and answer its question. What you miss comes back later.

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What the guide covers

The topics follow the official skills outline of April 20, 2026, one study card per exam objective. Each links to its card, if you would rather look something up.

1 Prepare the data

25-30%
  1. Connect to data sources Connect through settings, authentication, preview, and destination. Shared semantic models instead create a live connection.
  2. Data source settings Data source settings controls stored credentials and privacy levels without changing query steps.
  3. Choose a storage mode Choose Import for speed, DirectQuery for source freshness, and Direct Lake for OneLake data.
  4. Query parameters Parameters store reusable values that queries and custom functions can reference.
  5. Data profiling Profiling reveals validity, distribution, and statistics before cleaning data.
  6. Fix data quality issues Match each quality problem to the right Power Query cleanup operation.
  7. Resolve import errors Step errors stop a query; cell errors affect only individual values.
  8. Column data types Choose explicit data types to avoid rounding, conversion, and aggregation problems.
  9. Create and transform columns Add Column creates new values; Transform changes existing columns in place.
  10. Group and aggregate rows Group By collapses rows by key and applies aggregates or preserves detail with All Rows.
  11. Pivot, unpivot and transpose Pivot creates columns; unpivot creates attribute-value rows; transpose rotates the whole table.
  12. Semi-structured data to a table Use connectors for whole JSON sources; use Parse then Expand for JSON or XML stored in a column.
  13. Fact and dimension tables Dimensions describe entities; facts record measurable events and reference dimensions by key.
  14. Reference or duplicate queries Duplicate makes an independent copy; Reference stays dependent on the original query.
  15. Merge and append queries Merge joins columns by keys; Append stacks rows and aligns columns by name.
  16. Keys for relationships Relationships require uniqueness on at least one side; create a surrogate key when needed.
  17. Configure data loading for queries Enable Load controls model output; Include in Report Refresh controls later refreshes.

2 Model the data

25-30%
  1. Table and column properties Table and column properties control display, sorting, categorization, and field behavior without changing stored data.
  2. Role-playing dimensions A role-playing dimension represents multiple business roles, such as order date and ship date.
  3. Cardinality and cross filter Cardinality defines uniqueness; cross-filter direction defines how filters propagate between related tables.
  4. Common date table Use one shared date table so time filters behave consistently across the model.
  5. Calculated columns and tables Calculated columns and tables store DAX results in the model and recalculate during refresh.
  6. Single aggregation measures Single aggregation measures apply one DAX aggregation and recalculate within the current filter context.
  7. The CALCULATE function CALCULATE evaluates an expression after modifying its filter context.
  8. Time intelligence measures Time intelligence shifts or accumulates date context to compare periods or calculate running totals.
  9. Basic statistical functions Use DAX statistical functions for medians, spread, percentiles, and ranking.
  10. Semi-additive measures Semi-additive measures aggregate across some dimensions but require special handling across time.
  11. Quick measures Quick measures generate common DAX calculations through a guided dialog and create normal reusable measures.
  12. Writing calculated tables, columns Create calculated columns for row values and calculated tables for stored table expressions.
  13. Calculation groups Calculation groups apply reusable calculation items to explicit measures, reducing duplicate measure definitions.
  14. Reduce rows and columns Remove unused rows and columns to shrink Import models and improve refresh and query performance.
  15. Performance Analyzer Performance Analyzer separates visual load time into query, rendering, and other components.
  16. Reduce granularity Aggregating fact data to a coarser grain reduces model size but permanently removes lower-level detail.

3 Visualize and analyze the data

25-30%
  1. Selecting a visual type Choose visuals by the reader's task: comparison, trend, composition, relationship, KPI, or exact values.
  2. Formatting and configuring visuals Visual formatting overrides theme defaults until you reset the affected visual settings.
  3. Narrative visual with Copilot Copilot narrative visuals summarize selected report visuals, including supported hidden bookmark visuals, and are refined through prompts.
  4. Apply and customize a theme Themes define report-wide defaults, while custom JSON, organizational themes, and visual-level overrides control how those defaults are extended.
  5. Conditional formatting Conditional formatting maps values to colors, bars, icons, or links using gradients, rules, or field values.
  6. Slicing and filtering Filters work at visual, page, or report scope; slicers expose filtering controls directly on the canvas.
  7. Create a report page with Copilot Copilot can build and modify report pages from plain-language prompts against the selected semantic model.
  8. Copilot suggested report content Copilot can propose a report outline when you need ideas before choosing which pages to generate.
  9. Configuring the report page Canvas settings control page dimensions; Page view controls only how that page fits the window.
  10. When to use paginated reports Use paginated reports for fixed printable layouts; use Power BI reports for interactive exploration.
  11. Visual calculations Visual calculations run on aggregated visual data rather than on the underlying semantic model.
  12. Configure bookmarks Bookmarks save report state so readers can return to selected filters, visibility, page, and drill context.
  13. Custom report page tooltips Report page tooltips show a designed page filtered to the data point under the pointer.
  14. Edit visual interactions Edit interactions controls whether one visual filters, highlights, or ignores another visual on the page.
  15. Report navigation Use navigators and button actions to move between pages, bookmarks, drillthrough targets, and external destinations.
  16. Sort visuals Sort visuals interactively, or define model-level Sort by Column when business order differs from alphabetical order.
  17. Sync slicers Sync slicers share one selection across report pages, even when the slicer is hidden on some pages.
  18. Group and layer visuals The Selection pane controls object visibility, grouping, naming, and layer order on a report page.
  19. Drillthrough navigation Drillthrough opens a detail page filtered to the selected value from a source visual.
  20. Configure export settings Report export settings control summarized, underlying, or blocked data export, subject to tenant-level restrictions.
  21. Mobile layout Mobile layout creates a separate phone-friendly arrangement while preserving the standard desktop report layout.
  22. Personalize visuals Personalize visuals lets readers change visual fields, aggregation, and type without editing the report itself.
  23. Accessible reports Accessible reports combine alt text, logical tab order, sufficient contrast, and non-color cues.
  24. Automatic page refresh Automatic page refresh re-queries supported live data; fixed interval and change detection have different source and capacity support.
  25. Analyze feature (explain a change) Analyze explains changes or distribution differences for selected data points and can add generated insights to reports.
  26. Grouping, binning and clustering Group manually combines categories, bins create equal ranges, and clustering automatically finds similar observations.
  27. AI visuals Choose AI visuals by task: drivers, decomposition, natural-language questions, or generated narrative summaries.
  28. Reference lines, error bars, forecasting The Analytics pane adds reference lines, error bars, and forecasting when supported by the selected visual.
  29. Detect outliers and anomalies Use outlier techniques for unusual points and anomaly detection for unexpected values in time-series line charts.
  30. Copilot summary of the model Copilot can summarize a semantic model to help report authors understand its data before building reports.

4 Manage and secure Power BI

15-20%
  1. Create and configure a workspace Workspaces are service-side collaboration areas for building and managing Power BI content.
  2. Configure and update an app Workspace apps package selected content for audiences and publish controlled updates from the workspace.
  3. Publish, import or update items Publish or import workspace items carefully because republishing can replace an existing semantic model.
  4. Create dashboards Dashboards are service-only one-page canvases built from pinned report visuals or live pages.
  5. Choose a distribution method Choose sharing, workspaces, apps, guest access, or public publishing based on audience and collaboration needs.
  6. Subscriptions and data alerts Subscriptions send scheduled snapshots; data alerts notify you when supported dashboard tiles cross thresholds.
  7. Promote or certify content Promotion signals creator confidence; certification requires an authorized reviewer and provides stronger organizational endorsement.
  8. When a gateway is required Use a gateway when the Power BI service cannot directly reach a source or required connector environment.
  9. Configure scheduled refresh Scheduled refresh reloads Import semantic models and depends on valid credentials plus any required gateway.
  10. Assign workspace roles Workspace roles control permissions across every item: Admin, Member, Contributor, and Viewer.
  11. Configure item-level access Item-level sharing grants access to one item without assigning a workspace role.
  12. Configure access to semantic models Semantic model permissions separate reading, building, resharing, and writing from workspace role membership.
  13. Implement row-level security roles Row-level security uses DAX role filters to restrict model rows for Viewer users.
  14. Configure RLS group membership Assign users or supported groups to published RLS roles in the Power BI service.
  15. Apply sensitivity labels Sensitivity labels classify Power BI content and can protect supported exports without replacing access controls.