Tag: tips

  • Tableau + Git: Ignore default directories and preference files.

    Here’s a quick little item you might find handy. If you find it annoying that git keeps showing some of your default Tableau directories and files (which would probably only happen if you change your Tableau default repository) then you can set git to exclude those files and directories when it checks for modifications. In […]

  • Tableau: Custom Date Range Picker

    For Tableau requirements like: Allow user to choose “Last 7 Days”, “Last 30 Days”, etc. this is your ticket. It turns out one parameter and one calculated field are all you need.

  • How To Set Variables Using The SSIS Execute Package Utility

    Yay! There’s a GUI to execute SSIS packages! Boo! It’s really hard to figure out how to pass variables through it! You may have seen a message that looked something like this: TITLE: SSIS Execution Properties —————————— DTExec: Could not set Package.Variables[User::MyVarA].Value value to Data Source=DevServ1. —————————— BUTTONS: OK —————————— Here are the three most […]

  • SSDT – Pre and Post Deploy Script Markers And Flava Flav

    I admit, this post is primarily to provide a place for me to copy and paste my own code, but it’s so sweet I figured some of you other SQL Server Data Tool Users might find it handy. When troubleshooting the generated deployment scripts I’ve always added a PRINT statement to indicate the beginning and […]

  • SSDT – The object reference differs only by case from the object definition warning

    Well here’s a Visual Studio SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT) warning I haven’t come across before. I suspect the problem occurs only when performing a join to an external database reference dacpac. Luckily, the fix is simple (although a bit time consuming if you have very many of these warnings). First, the warning message will […]

  • SSDT VS 2012 – Bringing an existing database under source control

    Alright! You are the hero of your database team! You’ve received the okay to start using SQL Server Data Tools to manage one of your existing databases. You think to yourself: “Within a few minutes I’ll have the project up and running and I can move on to phase 2 of my plan to save […]

  • Preventing Failed SSRS Subscriptions: Which user created your subscriptions?

    Check it out my friends. You need to keep an eye on which accounts are creating your SSRS subscriptions. Why? Because buried inside the ReportServer database (with no way to change it from the front end) SQL Server Reporting Services  is keeping track of this information. And when one of those user’s account is disabled strange […]

  • Get The MAX Date From A Cube Using MDX

    Here’s the goal: populate a sql variable with the max date from one of the dimensions in a cube. It takes a little bit of unusual code but it’s relatively simple so pay attention! It’s probably important to note this code is assuming you are using a smart key for your date dimension (e.g. the […]

  • SQL Job Steps And Run_Duration: The query that formats run_duration correctly and doesn’t make you want to shoot your eye out

    Ever tried to figure out how long a step for a particular SQL Server job takes? You can of course get it from the Management Studio, but we’re database people! We want to see the trend over time not just a point in time! We want to write queries! Hooray for data! You do a […]

  • DAX Formulas To Know And Love

    PowerPivot this. PowerPivot that. Blah, blah, blah. Sorry folks, I don’t have time to learn your new Excel plugin because I’m writing SQL! I’m hardcore! Well, I finally started using PowerPivot a few days ago and I’m pretty impressed (although I seem to be able to make Excel crash pretty frequently). So I’m starting a […]