Power BI January 2025 updates

Power BI introduces its latest updates this January 2025, designed to enhance users' data exploration experiences. These updates include exciting new features in Copilot and AI, Reporting, Modeling, Visualization, and Certification. With these innovations, users can unlock deeper insights and streamline their analytics like never before.

Here are some of the new updates:

Copilot and AI: Simplify data exploration with Copilot, which now offers suggested questions from standard prompts to help you uncover insights effortlessly.

Reporting: The Power BI Desktop file picker has been updated, making it easier to access recent files, OneDrive, and SharePoint locations seamlessly.

Modeling: A public preview of semantic model version history is now available, empowering self-service users to recover from critical mistakes while editing semantic models.

Visualizations: New tools like the Drill Down Scatter Pro, Lollipop Chart, and more are here to elevate your reporting visuals.

Certification: The Fabric Data Engineer Certification (DP-700) is now generally available, offering professionals an opportunity to showcase their expertise.

Power BI Desktop file picker has been enhanced for easier file navigation

Microsoft has introduced the public preview of an updated file picker for saving Power BI reports directly to OneDrive and SharePoint. This enhancement simplifies file management, offering a more seamless way to organize and collaborate on Power BI content. Explore how this update boosts productivity and streamlines workflows.

Benefits of using the enhanced Power BI Desktop file picker:

• Streamlined file access: Quickly switch between recent files, OneDrive, and SharePoint via the updated Open button in Power BI backstage.

• Improved organization: Pin and unpin files or folders directly from OneDrive and SharePoint for faster access.

• Easy setup: Enable the feature by navigating to File Menu > Options and Settings > Options > Preview Features. Check "Show the new file saving and open experience", then click OK.

• Coming soon: These updates will be enabled by default in early 2025, eliminating the need for manual activation.

Model-driven apps can now be customized in Copilot Studio

Microsoft has announced the public preview of Copilot chat extensibility for model-driven apps. This innovative feature enables partners and customers to customize and enhance in-app chat functionality, creating a more context-aware experience tailored to meet the unique needs of their organization.

Here's how you can customize your model-driven apps:

- Leverage additional topics, knowledge sources, connectors, custom prompt guides, and more to tailor the Copilot experience to your organization's unique needs.

- Navigate to https://make.preview.powerapps.com/ in an early release environment.

- Open the model-driven app where you want to enhance Copilot chat.

- Click the ellipsis (...) in the left navigation bar and select Configure in Copilot Studio.

- You’ll be redirected to Copilot Studio with the appropriate agent ready for customization.

Visual Studio 2022 introduces Meter Histogram to analyze applications

Microsoft has introduced the Meter Histogram feature in the Visual Studio Profiler, offering developers a powerful way to analyze application performance. This new addition provides detailed insights into metrics, helping teams identify trends and optimize their code.

Capture & analyze data: Quickly understand application data distribution with histogram insights

Spot patterns & issues: Visualize data to identify and resolve performance anomalies.

Detailed Metrics: Simplify complex data with segmented graphs and metrics for pinpointing bottlenecks.

Empower Developers: Enable your team to optimize performance for efficient, high-quality software.

Code search in Visual Studio 2022 is now available for more efficiency

The new Code Search in Visual Studio 2022 makes navigating codebase faster and more efficient.

Jump to a specific line in any file: Quickly move to a specific line in your current file or another file with ease.

Navigate within the current document: Type : followed by the line number to instantly jump to that line in your active document.

Navigate across files: Specify a file name followed by : and the line number to locate a specific line in another document.

December 2024 update of Power Automate for desktop is now available

Stay up to date with the latest advancements in automation! The December 2024 update for Power Automate for desktop introduces exciting features and enhancements, empowering users to streamline workflows more efficiently than ever. Explore these updates and unlock new ways to boost productivity with automation.

Preview: Repair Flow Automation Errors

- Easily fix flow errors related to missing UI element selectors when running flows in attended or unattended mode from the cloud.
- Choose between Copilot-suggested fixes or manual repairs during the flow run.
- The feature is currently available in US-based environments for work or school accounts.

Preview: Dark Mode

- Power Automate for desktop now supports Dark Mode, giving your workflows a sleek new look.
- Enable it via the Settings menu in the console.

Download Power Automate for Desktop here.

Creating internal GitHub repositories for teams is now available in Visual Studio 2022

Collaboration just got easier for development teams with the ability to create internal GitHub repositories. This new feature allows teams to securely share and collaborate on projects within their organization, streamlining workflows and enhancing productivity. Discover how this capability can transform your team's development processes in Visual Studio.

Here’s what you need to know about this new feature:

- Seamless Integration: Developers can now align with their GitHub organization's guidelines more effectively while staying within the Visual Studio environment.

- New Visibility Option: In the "Create a Git Repository" dialog, a new Internal visibility option appears when using an account that supports internal repositories.

- Enhanced Guidance: Visual Studio now provides detailed explanations for each repository visibility type, helping you select the correct settings and ensure proper configuration from the start.

- Error Prevention: If you attempt to create a repository with incorrect visibility, the system will prevent the action—protecting your source code from unintended sharing.

- Streamlined Workflow: This feature eliminates the need to leave Visual Studio for repository creation, enabling developers to focus more on coding and less on managing repository settings.

Multilingual voice agents are now available in Dynamics 365 Contact Center

Microsoft simplifies customer support for multilingual audiences with the introduction of multilingual voice agents for contact centers. These advanced agents eliminate the need for separate bots for each language, reducing complexity and speeding up deployment. With seamless integration across messaging and voice interactions, businesses can now handle calls in multiple languages using a single, versatile bot, enhancing efficiency and improving customer experiences.

Here's what you can achieve with the new multilingual voice agents:

- Seamless Language Switching: Use a single phone number and effortlessly switch languages mid-call based on customer input.

- Unified Bot Management: Build and manage one bot in Copilot Studio that handles multiple languages, simplifying operations.

- Lower Total Cot of Ownership: Reduce maintenance complexity with centralized updates, eliminating the need for language-specific bots.

- Faster Deployment: Deploy updates and new features across all supported languages simultaneously, accelerating rollout times.

- Enhanced Customer Satisfaction: Provide a personalized experience by enabling customers to switch languages mid-call—no need to dial multiple phone numbers.

Visual Studio releases new non-blocking Code Cleanup feature

Microsoft Visual Studio continues to enhance developer productivity with its latest update, introducing non-blocking code cleanup for seamless workflows. This feature allows developers to maintain focus on coding while automatically applying style and formatting improvements in the background. With these updates, Visual Studio ensures a smoother, more efficient coding experience.

Experience a more streamlined workflow with the new non-blocking Code Cleanup feature in Visual Studio 22. Here’s how it enhances your productivity:

• Work Without Delays: Code Cleanup now runs in the background as you work, so you no longer need to wait for it to finish every time you save your progress.

• Responsive IDE: The cleanup process no longer locks up your IDE, ensuring it remains fully responsive for a smoother and uninterrupted user experience.

• Quick Edits on the Fly: Need to make changes mid-cleanup? Simply stop the process, edit, and save again to restart the cleanup on the updated code.

• Easy Setup: Enable Code Cleanup on save by navigating to Tools > Options > Text Editor > Code Cleanup and turning on Run Code Cleanup profile on Save for your preferred profile.