How to Format Dates in Power BI

This article explains how to Format Dates in Power BI with an example. Using these PowerBI formatting Date options, you can extract the Year, Month, Day, Day Number, Day name, Month Start and Month End, etc.

There are a couple of ways to format dates in power bi, and we explain most of them. To demonstrate these date formats, we are going to use the sql table that we imported in the enter data article.

Power BI Format Dates

To format dates in any Power BI table, please click the Edit Queries option under the Home tab. Please refer to enter data article.

Choose Edit Queries option 1

Clicking the Edit Queries option opens a new window called Power Query Editor.

From the screenshot below, you can see the HireDate column. To demonstrate the date formatting options, we are going to use this column.

View Query Editor with Columns in Edit Mode 2

The first approach to Format Dates in Power BI

Please select the Date Column and right-click on it to open the context menu. Select the Transform option and select the formatting option. For now, we are selecting the Year. It means this property extracts and displays the Years from the Hire date.

Choose Transform option and select year 3

From the screenshot below, you can see the date and Time in the Hire date column replaced by the Extracted Year.

How to Format Dates in Power BI 4

The second approach to Format Dates in Power BI Transform tab

First, go to Transform Tab. Under this tab, you can see the Date and Time options. You can use these drop-down lists to format the dates.

Transform Date and Time Options 5

Clicking the down arrow beside the Date show you the drop-down list of available Power BI date formats. For the demo purpose, we are selecting Days in Month.

Show the Days in a Month 6

From the below screenshot, you can see the date and Time in the Hire date column replaced by the total number of days in a month.

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The third approach to Format Dates from Add Column Tab

The above-specified approaches are replacing the existing column with the formatted date in Power BI. But, this approach adds an extra column for the formatted date.

First, go to Add Column Tab. Under this tab, you can see the Date, Time, and Duration options. You can use these drop-down lists to format the date and Time.

Go to Add Columns Tab 8

Let me select the Date Only option in Power BI.

Choose Date Only option 9

Now you can see the new column (extra column) displaying the date from the Hire date.

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Let me Select Time Only.

Choose Time Only 11

Now you can see the new column displaying the Time from Hire date

Format Time in Power BI 12

Let me select the name of the day

Change Name of the Day 13

Now you can see the extra column displaying the day name. Next, hit the Close & Apply option under the Home tab to apply these changes.

Check the Applied Steps 14

Please wait until the changes are applied.

Apply Query Changes 15

Now you can see the Formatted Date, Day Name, and Time columns under the SQL Employee table.

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