Flags Overview
All Soterre PBI Analyzer flags — automated checks that detect model quality, performance, and maintenance issues in Power BI semantic models and reports.
Soterre PBI Analyzer scans your Power BI semantic models and reports and surfaces flags for conditions that may hurt performance, waste resources, or make models harder to maintain.
Each flag page documents what the flag detects, why it matters, exact trigger conditions, and what output you can expect.
Model Hygiene Flags
| Flag | What It Detects |
|---|---|
| Unused Tables | Tables whose name never appears in the report layout |
| Unused Columns | Columns not referenced by any visual in the report layout |
| Unused Measures | Measures not referenced by any visual in the report layout |
How "unused" is determined: detection is based on the report Layout only. An object counts as used when its name is found on a report visual — or is reached transitively through the DAX of a measure or calculated column that is itself placed on a visual. References that exist only through relationships or sort-by settings are not considered, so review each item before deleting it.
Duplication Flags
| Flag | What It Detects |
|---|---|
| Duplicate Tables | A table name that appears more than once in the model (rare) |
| Duplicate Columns | A column (short) name that appears on more than one table in the model |
| Duplicate Measures | A measure (short) name defined on more than one table in the model |
Name-based, single model: duplication checks compare object names within the one model being analyzed. They do not compare DAX expressions, schemas, or row counts, and they do not compare across datasets or models.
DAX Complexity Flags
| Flag | What It Detects |
|---|---|
| Calculated Columns | Calculated columns that could be replaced with measures or pushed to the source |
| Complex DAX Measures | Measures with deeply nested or excessively long DAX expressions |
| Complex DAX Columns | Calculated columns with complex DAX that increase model size and refresh time |
Report Design Flags
| Flag | What It Detects |
|---|---|
| Excessive Visuals | Report pages with too many visuals, causing slow rendering and high query volume |
| Non-Data Visuals | Decorative elements (images, shapes, text boxes) that do not display data |
| Merge Cards into Matrix | Groups of 6+ single-measure Card visuals sharing one filter context that could be consolidated into a single Matrix to cut DAX query count |
Automatic Metadata Flags
| Flag | What It Detects |
|---|---|
| Automatic Hidden Tables | System-generated hidden tables created by Power BI auto date/time or other automatic features |
| Auto Date Tables | LocalDateTable_* tables auto-generated by Power BI's Auto date/time feature, each linked to its source date column |