Island table with no key to the model, used by expressions

Data islands (disconnected tables) in Power BI

A Qlik data island is a table with no field in common with the model; expressions read its selection. Power BI has the same idea: a disconnected table without relationships, used in a slicer and read with SELECTEDVALUE inside measures.

Direct equivalent Modeling DAX

Short answer: For a numeric input, use Modeling → New parameter → Numeric range (a what-if parameter), which creates the table, a slicer and a SELECTEDVALUE measure. For a list of options, create a small table (Enter data or DATATABLE) and don't relate it to anything.

What it does in Qlik

Island fields are used for scenario inputs (growth %), measure pickers, dynamic buckets and "compare to" selectors. Selecting a value doesn't filter the data model, because there is no association.

Qlik example

Qlik script

Growth:
LOAD RecNo() / 100 AS GrowthPct AUTOGENERATE 20;   // island, no shared field

// Chart measure
Sum(Sales) * (1 + Only(GrowthPct))

Power BI equivalent

What-if parameter (generated)

DAX

Growth = GENERATESERIES ( 0, 0.2, 0.01 )   // column is [Value]; the what-if dialog renames it to [Growth]
Growth Value = SELECTEDVALUE ( Growth[Growth], 0 )

Sales forecast = [Sales] * ( 1 + [Growth Value] )

Dynamic buckets from a disconnected table

DAX

// Buckets: Bucket, Min, Max (no relationship)
Customers in bucket =
COUNTROWS (
    FILTER (
        VALUES ( Customer[CustomerID] ),
        VAR s = [Sales]
        RETURN NOT ISBLANK ( s ) && s >= MIN ( Buckets[Min] ) && s < MAX ( Buckets[Max] )
    )
)

Put Buckets[Bucket] on the axis. Each row of the visual filters the bucket table, so MIN and MAX return that bucket's bounds. The NOT ISBLANK test keeps customers with no sales in the selection out of the bucket that starts at 0. If you type GENERATESERIES yourself rather than using the what-if dialog, its column is called [Value].

Gotchas and behaviour differences

If Power BI's "Autodetect new relationships" links the island to the model because column names match, it stops being an island. Check the model view.
SELECTEDVALUE returns the default (or BLANK) when nothing or several values are selected. Make the slicer single-select, or handle multi-select explicitly.
Visuals that mix island columns with model columns but have no measure show every combination, because nothing relates them. Add a measure.

Official documentation

Selection states (Qlik Help)
Create and use what-if parameters (Microsoft Learn)
SELECTEDVALUE (Microsoft Learn)
GENERATESERIES (Microsoft Learn)

Cyclic master dimension, or a variable-driven dimension/measure Cyclic dimensions and dynamic measures A Qlik cyclic dimension lets the user cycle a chart through several fields. Power BI field parameters do the same: a slicer switches the field (or measure) a visual uses. Direct equivalent Only(Region) Only Only() returns a value when exactly one value is possible and null otherwise. In DAX that is SELECTEDVALUE, which also accepts an alternate result. Direct equivalent SET vSales = Sum(Sales); LET vToday = Today(); Variables (SET, LET and $-expansion) Qlik variables hold expressions, values and settings, and are expanded as text. Power BI splits these roles: measures for reusable logic, Power Query parameters for load settings, what-if and field parameters for user input, calculation groups for logic applied to many measures, and VAR inside DAX. Partial / different approach IntervalMatch(value) LOAD start, end ... IntervalMatch IntervalMatch links values (dates or numbers) to the intervals that contain them. Power BI relationships only match equal values. Do it in Power Query, in a DAX calculated column, or by expanding intervals into one row per day. Partial / different approach

Spotted an error or a better pattern? QlikToDax is maintained by a working BI consultant; corrections are welcome via the About page. Last reviewed 2026-10-25.