KPI Measure Builder
Connect your model, describe the measures you need, copy the prompt into Copilot, then paste its answer back to get TMDL with correct tab indentation and your display folder applied.
Export your model from Power BI Desktop
One query lists every table, column, relationship and existing measure. It uses the built-in DAX query view, so no extra tools are needed.
- Open your report in Power BI Desktop.
- Select DAX query view on the left rail. It's the icon below Model view.
- Paste the query below into a new query tab and select Run.
- Above the results grid, select Copy. It copies every row with the column headers.
Also works in the Power BI service: open the semantic model and choose Write DAX queries (needs write permission on the model). Auto date/time tables and row-number columns are dropped automatically.
Paste the query results
Paste straight from the Copy button. The summary below confirms what was read.
Measures that aren't in the export
In a composite model, measures that live in a remote semantic model may not show up in the export. List them here, one name per line, so Copilot can reuse them and the checks in Step 4 recognize them. Copy the names from the Data pane.
Describe the measures
One measure per line, in plain English. Mention the grain or filter if it matters, for example "excluding returns" or "for the selected fiscal year".
Copilot sees names, not data. It knows a column called [Segment] exists, not that its values are Consumer and Corporate. When a measure filters on specific values, name them in the request (“Sales for each customer Segment: Consumer, Corporate, Home Office”) or load them under Column values below.
Detailed measures
For measures a single line can't describe: ones that loop over rows (SUMX, MAXX), use a different date window for each row, or reach across several tables. The page works out how the tables connect and tells Copilot.
Column values (optional)
For measures that filter on specific values. List the columns, run the query in DAX query view, and paste the results. The values go into the prompt so Copilot can write one measure per value and spell them exactly.
Columns
Choose what Copilot sees and copy the prompt
Where the new measures go, and which tables the prompt describes. Fewer tables make a shorter prompt.
Tables to include
Fewer tables means a shorter prompt. Keep every table your measures touch.
Paste the prompt into Copilot. It's asked to answer inside one code block, in labeled blocks that need no escaping. The prompt always ends with === END OF PROMPT ===; long existing formulas are shortened on purpose and marked [formula shortened]. If Copilot's input box doesn't show the end line after pasting, the prompt is too long: clear tables you don't need or turn off existing formulas.
Paste Copilot's reply and get TMDL
In Copilot, use the Copy button on the code block rather than selecting the text; selecting rendered text can add stray backslashes. Paste the whole reply here. Text around the code block is ignored, and JSON replies still work.
| Measure | Status | Format | Checks |
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Apply it
- In Power BI Desktop, select TMDL view on the left rail and open a new tab.
- Paste, then select Preview to see exactly what changes.
- Select Apply. Only the measures listed are created or replaced; the rest of _Measures is untouched.
Apply it
- Close Power BI Desktop. It only reads TMDL files when it opens.
- Open definition/tables/_Measures.tmdl in your project's SemanticModel folder.
- Paste the snippet below the table's own properties (after the table line and its lineageTag), with a blank line before it.
- Save and reopen the project. Power BI adds lineage tags itself.
Run the test query in DAX query view. Each new measure should return a value or blank. An error names the measure to fix.