ISBLANK vs ISEMPTY in Power BI DAX

When I need to detect empty or missing values in a dataset, I use DAX functions in Power BI. In DAX, we have two functions, ISBLANK and ISEMPTY, and at first, they look like they do the same thing.

Both functions return TRUE when something is empty and FALSE when data exists. Because of this, many people get confused about when to use ISBLANK and when to use ISEMPTY.

In this tutorial, I will explain ISBLANK and ISEMPTY along with their syntax. I will show how to check whether a column value is missing using the ISBLANK DAX function, and how to check whether a table has no rows using the ISEMPTY function.

ISBLANK in Power BI DAX

The ISBLANK function in Power BI DAX is used to check whether a value is blank or missing. It works on single values, such as a column value, a calculated column, or a measure result.

If the value being checked is blank, ISBLANK returns TRUE. If the value contains any data, ISBLANK returns FALSE.

Syntax:

ISBLANK(<value>)

Here, <value> can be:

• Any DAX expression that returns a single value
• A column value
• A measure

Check Column Value Blank Using ISBLANK() in Power BI

In this example, I will use a sample dataset named Products Ordered. This dataset contains order-related information such as:

Now, I want to create a new column that checks whether the Ship to Zip Code column is blank or not. The new column will return TRUE if the value is blank and FALSE if the value is not blank.

Follow the steps below:

1. Open Power BI Desktop. Load the Products Ordered dataset.

2. Go to Table View and select New Column from the Table tools tab.

3. Enter the following DAX formula and click Enter:

Check Zip Code Blank = ISBLANK('Products Ordered'[Ship to Zip Code])

After this, a new column is added to the table. This column shows TRUE for rows where the Ship to Zip Code value is missing and FALSE where the value exists.

This way, you can check column value blank using ISBLANK() in Power BI.

Check Measure Result Blank Using ISBLANK() in Power BI

In this example, we will check whether a measure returns a blank value using the ISBLANK() function in Power BI.

Check the Excel below, which I will use in this example:

Follow the steps below:

1. Open Power BI Desktop and load the Products Ordered dataset.
2. Go to Table View and select the column. Click on New Measure from the Table tools tab.

3. Enter the following DAX formula and press Enter:

Total Sales = SUM('Products Ordered'[Sales Amount])

4. Click on New Measure. Enter the following DAX formula:

Check Measure Blank = ISBLANK([Total Sales])

5. To check the result, add a Table visual and add the Sales ID, Product Check Measure Blank, and Sales Amount column.

Then, the way you can check a measure result blank using ISBLANK() in Power BI.

Check DAX Expression Result Blank Using ISBLANK() in Power BI

In this example, we will check whether the result of a DAX expression is blank using the ISBLANK() function in Power BI.

For this example, I will use the same table:

Now follow the steps below:

1. Open Power BI Desktop and load the Data dataset.
2. Go to Table View. Select New column from the Table tools tab.
3. Create a measure to calculate the DAX expression:

Check Expression Blank = 
ISBLANK(
    DIVIDE(
        SUM('Products Ordered'[Sales Amount]),
        SUM('Products Ordered'[Quantity])
    )
)

After this, a new column is added to the table. This column shows TRUE for rows where the multiplication of sales amount and quantity value is missing and FALSE where the value exists.

This is how you can check whether the result of a DAX expression is blank using the ISBLANK() function in Power BI.

ISEMPTY Function in Power BI

The ISEMPTY function in Power BI DAX is used to check whether a table or table expression contains any rows.

• It returns TRUE if the table is empty (has no rows).
• It returns FALSE if the table contains at least one row.

Unlike ISBLANK, which works on single values, ISEMPTY works only with tables.

Syntax:

ISEMPTY(<table_expression>)

Here, <table_expression> Can be:

• A table name
• A filtered table
• Any DAX expression that returns a table

Check Table Name Empty Using the ISEMPTY Function in Power BI

In this example, we will check whether the Products Ordered table contains any rows.

1. Open Power BI Desktop
2. Load the Products Ordered dataset
3. Go to Table View
4. Click New Measure from the Table tools tab
5. Enter the following DAX formula:

Check Table Empty = ISEMPTY('Products Ordered')

To check the result, go to the report view and add a card visual.

This way, you can check whether the Products Ordered table contains any rows.

Check Filtered Table Empty Using ISEMPTY() in Power BI

In this example, we will check whether a filtered table returns any rows. I want to check whether there are any orders where the Quantity is greater than 1000.

1. Go to Table View
2. Click New Measure
3. Enter the following DAX formula:

Check Filtered Table Empty =
ISEMPTY(
    FILTER(
        'Products Ordered',
        'Products Ordered'[Quantity] > 1000
    )
)

Now, to check the result, go to the Report view, add a card visual, then add the above measure to it.

Check DAX Table Expression Empty Using ISEMPTY() in Power BI

In this example, we will check whether a DAX table expression returns any rows.

So here we will check whether the summarized Products Ordered table returns data.

To do this, follow the steps below:

1. Go to Table View
2. Click New Measure
3. Enter the following DAX formula:

Check Table Expression Empty =
ISEMPTY(
    SUMMARIZE(
        'Products Ordered',
        'Products Ordered'[Product],
        "Total Sales", SUM('Products Ordered'[Sales Amount])
    )
)

To check the result, go to the report view and add a card visual.

This is how to check whether a DAX table expression returns any rows.

ISBLANK() vs ISEMPTY()

ISBLANK() is used in Power BI DAX to check whether a single value is blank or missing. It works with column values, measures, and DAX expressions that return one value. ISBLANK returns TRUE when the value is blank and FALSE when data exists. It is commonly used to detect missing data in columns, handle empty measure results, or control calculations when a value is not available.

ISEMPTY(), on the other hand, is used to check whether a table or table expression has any rows. It returns TRUE when the table contains no rows and FALSE when at least one row exists. ISEMPTY is mostly used with filtered tables, summarized tables, or virtual tables created using DAX functions like FILTER or SUMMARIZE. Unlike ISBLANK, it does not work on single values.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, I explained the difference between ISBLANK and ISEMPTY in Power BI DAX. Also, I showed how ISBLANK() is used to check missing or empty values in columns, measures, and DAX expressions with real examples.

I also explained how ISEMPTY() is used to check whether a table contains no rows, using examples with a table name, a filtered table, and a DAX table expression.

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