Microsoft Fabric & Power BI Glossary (100 Terms)

Below is a table of 100 “Microsoft Fabric and Power BI” terms and definitions, sorted alphabetically (except for the first two entries). You can use it as a reference to get a quick idea of what something is or means, and also as a way to identify topics to research.

#	Term	Definition & Example
1	Microsoft Fabric	Unified analytics platform combining data engineering, warehousing, science, and BI. Example: Building pipelines and dashboards in one workspace.
2	Power BI	Microsoft’s business intelligence visualization tool. Example: Sales dashboards.
3	Aggregations	Pre-summarized tables. Example: Faster queries.
4	Anomaly Detection	Highlights unusual values. Example: Sales spike.
5	App	Packaged Power BI content. Example: Sales app.
6	Bookmarks	Saved report states. Example: Guided navigation. Article on configuring bookmarks
7	Bronze Layer	Raw data. Example: Ingested CSVs.
8	Calculated Column	Static DAX column. Example: Profit category.
9	Calculation Group	Reusable DAX logic. Example: Time intelligence.
10	Capacity Metrics App	Performance insights. Example: CU spikes.
11	Capacity Unit (CU)	Measure of Fabric compute. Example: Performance scaling.
12	Certified Dataset	Official data source. Example: Finance semantic model.
13	Composite Model	Mix of Import + DirectQuery. Example: Hybrid datasets. Article about designing and building composite models
14	Composite Table	Mixed storage table. Example: Hybrid dimensions.
15	Custom Visual	Marketplace visuals. Example: Sankey diagram.
16	Dashboard	KPI overview page. Example: Executive metrics.
17	Data Catalog	Discover datasets. Example: Search semantic models.
18	Data Lineage	Shows data flow. Example: Source → report.
19	Data Mart	Self-service warehouse. Example: Analyst-owned SQL.
20	Data Model Size	Memory footprint. Example: Import limits.
21	Data Pipeline	Orchestrates data movement. Example: Copy from S3.
22	Data Source Credentials	Authentication info. Example: SQL login.
23	Data Warehouse	Structured analytical database. Example: T-SQL querying sales facts.
24	Dataflow Gen2	Fabric ETL artifact. Example: Cloud ingestion pipelines.
25	DAX	Formula language for measures. Example: Total Sales calculation.
26	Delta Lake	Transactional file format. Example: ACID parquet.
27	Deployment Pipeline	Dev/Test/Prod promotion. Example: CI/CD. Article on creating and configuring deployment pipelines
28	Dimension Table	Descriptive attributes. Example: Products. Article that describes fact and dimension tables and how to create them
29	Direct Lake	Queries OneLake directly without import. Example: Near real-time reporting.
30	DirectQuery	Queries source system live. Example: SQL Server reporting. Article on choosing between DirectQuery and Import in Power BI
31	Drill Down	Navigate deeper. Example: Year → Month. Article on Power BI drilldown vs drill-through
32	Drill Through	Jump to detail page. Example: Customer profile. Article on Power BI drilldown vs drill-through
33	Embedded Analytics	Power BI in apps. Example: Web portals.
34	Endorsement	Certified or promoted datasets. Example: Trusted models.
35	End-to-End Analytics	Full Fabric workflow. Example: Ingest → model → report.
36	Fabric Capacity	Compute resources. Example: F64 SKU.
37	Fabric CI/CD	Automated deployments. Example: Pipeline promotion.
38	Fabric Data Activator	Event-based alerts. Example: Trigger email on anomaly.
39	Fabric Item	Any asset. Example: Notebook, warehouse.
40	Fabric Monitoring Hub	Capacity tracking. Example: CU consumption.
41	Fabric Workspace	Container for Fabric assets. Example: Lakehouse + reports together.
42	Fact Table	Stores measurable events. Example: Orders. Article that describes fact and dimension tables and how to create them
43	Gateway	Connects on-prem data. Example: Local SQL Server.
44	Git Integration	Source control. Example: Azure DevOps.
45	Goals	Performance targets. Example: Revenue quota.
46	Gold Layer	Business-ready data. Example: KPI models.
47	Import Mode	Data loaded into Power BI memory. Example: Daily refresh model.
48	Incremental Refresh	Only refresh recent data. Example: Last 30 days.
49	Lakehouse	Combines data lake + warehouse features. Example: Spark + SQL analytics.
50	Lineage View	Dependency visualization. Example: Pipeline flow.
51	M Language	Language behind Power Query. Example: Transform steps.
52	Measure	Dynamic DAX calculation. Example: YTD Revenue.
53	Medallion Architecture	Bronze/Silver/Gold layers. Example: Curated analytics.
54	Metrics App	Goal tracking. Example: OKRs.
55	Microsoft Purview	Governance integration. Example: Catalog assets.
56	Mirroring	Replicates operational DBs. Example: Azure SQL sync.
57	Model Refresh Failure	Update error. Example: Credential expired.
58	Model View	Relationship design canvas. Example: Schema building.
59	Notebook	Spark coding environment. Example: PySpark transformations.
60	Object-Level Security	Hides tables/columns. Example: HR salary masking.
61	OneLake	Fabric’s centralized data lake. Example: Shared parquet storage.
62	Page-Level Filter	Applies to page. Example: Region filter.
63	Paginated Report	Pixel-perfect reporting. Example: Invoice PDFs.
64	Performance Analyzer	Measures visual speed. Example: DAX tuning.
65	Perspective	User-specific model view. Example: Finance vs Sales.
66	Power BI Desktop	Authoring tool. Example: Local report creation.
67	Power BI Service	Cloud hosting platform. Example: app.powerbi.com.
68	Power Query	ETL engine in Power BI/Fabric. Example: Cleaning CSV files.
69	Preview Feature	Early-access capability. Example: New visuals.
70	PySpark	Python Spark API. Example: Transform big data.
71	Query Folding	Pushes logic to source. Example: SQL filtering.
72	Refresh	Updating model data. Example: Nightly refresh.
73	Relationship	Link between tables. Example: CustomerID join.
74	Report	Collection of visuals. Example: Finance report.
75	Report-Level Filter	Applies everywhere. Example: Fiscal year.
76	REST API	Automates Power BI. Example: Dataset refresh trigger.
77	Row-Level Security (RLS)	Restricts data by user. Example: Region access. Articles on implementing RLS roles and configuring RLS group membership
78	Semantic Model	Logical layer for reporting (formerly dataset). Example: Measures and relationships.
79	Sensitivity Label	Data classification. Example: Confidential. Article on applying sensitivity labels
80	Share	Grant report access. Example: Email link.
81	Shortcut	Virtual data reference. Example: External ADLS folder.
82	Silver Layer	Cleaned data. Example: Standardized tables.
83	Slicer	Interactive filter. Example: Year selector.
84	Spark	Distributed compute engine. Example: Large joins.
85	SQL Analytics Endpoint	T-SQL interface to Lakehouse. Example: BI queries.
86	Star Schema	Fact table with dimensions. Example: Sales model.
87	Subscribe	Scheduled email snapshots. Example: Weekly KPIs.
88	Tabular Editor	External modeling tool. Example: Bulk measures.
89	Tenant Setting	Admin control. Example: Export permissions.
90	Themes	Styling reports. Example: Brand colors.
91	Tooltip	Hover info. Example: Exact sales value. Article on creating tooltips in Power BI
92	T-SQL	SQL dialect in Fabric. Example: SELECT statements.
93	Usage Metrics	Report adoption stats. Example: View counts.
94	Visual	Chart or table. Example: Bar chart.
95	Visual Interaction	Cross-filtering visuals. Example: Click bar filters table.
96	Visual-Level Filter	Applies to one visual. Example: Top 10 only.
97	Warehouse Endpoint	SQL access to Lakehouse. Example: SSMS connection.
98	Workspace App Audience	Targeted content. Example: Exec vs Sales.
99	Workspace Role	Access level. Example: Viewer, Member.
100	XMLA Endpoint	Advanced model management. Example: Tabular Editor.