Daily DAX : DAy 377 OR

Power BI DAX: OR() Function

Overview

The OR() function in DAX (Data Analysis Expressions) is a logical function that evaluates two expressions and returns TRUE if either of them is true.

Syntax

OR(<expression1>, <expression2>)

• <expression1>: First logical expression to evaluate
• <expression2>: Second logical expression to evaluate

Returns: TRUE if either expression is true; otherwise FALSE.

How It Works

Truth Table:

Expression 1	Expression 2	OR Result
TRUE	TRUE	TRUE
TRUE	FALSE	TRUE
FALSE	TRUE	TRUE
FALSE	FALSE	FALSE

Use Cases

1. Conditional Calculations

Scenario: Flag sales as "High Value" if amount > 1000 or quantity > 50.

High Value Sale = 
IF(
    OR(
        Sales[Amount] > 1000,
        Sales[Quantity] > 50
    ),
    "Yes",
    "No"
)

2. Filtering in Measures

Scenario: Count customers from USA or Canada.

US or Canada Customers = 
CALCULATE(
    COUNTROWS(Customers),
    OR(
        Customers[Country] = "USA",
        Customers[Country] = "Canada"
    )
)

3. Row Context in Calculated Columns

Scenario: Categorize products as "Priority" if discontinued or low stock.

Priority Product = 
IF(
    OR(
        Products[Discontinued] = TRUE(),
        Products[Stock] < 10
    ),
    "Priority",
    "Standard"
)

Alternative: Using || Operator

DAX allows using the || operator as a shorter alternative:

OR(Sales[Amount] > 1000, Sales[Quantity] > 50)
-- is equivalent to --
Sales[Amount] > 1000 || Sales[Quantity] > 50

Recommendation: Use || for cleaner, more readable code.

Best Practices

• Use || instead of OR() for better readability
• Avoid nesting too many OR conditions — consider IN() or SWITCH()
• Use in FILTER(), CALCULATE(), or calculated columns as needed

Better with IN():

OR(Customers[Country] = "USA", Customers[Country] = "Canada")
-- Better as --
Customers[Country] IN { "USA", "Canada" }