?? Power BI Quick Tip: Displaying Data Refresh Time with Time Zone Adjustment

Power BI dashboards offer dynamic insights, but how do you keep track of when your data was last updated? ??

For anyone working with frequent updates or time-sensitive reports, it's crucial to have a "Last Refreshed" timestamp displayed prominently.

Here’s a simple solution using Power Query to account for time zones!

By adding a data refresh timestamp adjusted for your region, you provide your users with real-time information they can trust.

Steps shown here will help you achieve that!

Step 1: Open Power Query Editor

• In your Power BI desktop, go to the Home tab.
• click on New Source → Blank Query.

On the Query editor right click on the blank query and advanced editor as shown below

Step 2: Add a New Query for Refresh Time

• In the formula bar (or the Advanced Editor), paste the following code:

let

    RefreshTime = DateTimeZone.SwitchZone(DateTimeZone.FixedUtcNow(), 3)

in

    RefreshTime
        

Step 3: Name Your Query

• Rename your query to something meaningful like "Datetime" by right-clicking on the query and selecting Rename.

Step 4: Load the Query into Your Report

• Click Close & Apply to load the data into your Power BI model.

Step 5: Add the Time to Your Dashboard

• Create a new measure and paste the code below to show the refreshed time
• Create a Card visual in your report.
• Drag and drop the Refresh Time field into the card visual.
• Format the card to display the timestamp clearly.

RefreshTimeMessage = 
"Data refreshed on " & FORMAT(SELECTEDVALUE(Datetime[Datetime]), "dd mmm yyyy hh:mm:ss AM/PM")        

Incorporating this into your dashboard gives users confidence in the freshness of the data, which is essential for any data-driven decision-making.

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