Daily DAX : Day 402 USEROBJECTID

USEROBJECTID() – Power BI DAX Function

Definition

USEROBJECTID() is a DAX function available in Power BI and Analysis Services Tabular models that returns the Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) Object ID of the currently logged-in user.

Function USEROBJECTID()
Return Type Text (GUID string)
Category Security / Row-Level Security (RLS)
Availability Power BI Service, Power BI Report Server (with AAD), Azure Analysis Services

Common Use Case: Row-Level Security (RLS)

The primary and most powerful use of USEROBJECTID() is to implement dynamic Row-Level Security.

Example Scenario:
A company wants each sales rep to see only their own sales data in a Power BI report.

Step-by-step Implementation

  1. Create a table in your model (e.g., UserSecurity) that maps email or User Principal Name to Azure AD Object ID:
    2. UserPrincipalName             | AzureAD_ObjectID              | AllowedRegion
john@contoso.com              | a1b2c3d4-5678-90ab-cdef-1234567890ab | Europe
sarah@contoso.com             | x9y8z7w6-5432-10fe-dcba-9876543210fe | America
  2. In Power BI Desktop, go to Modeling → Manage Roles
  3. Create a role (e.g., "Sales Rep Role") and add a DAX filter like:
    4. [UserPrincipalName] = USERPRINCIPALNAME() || [AzureAD_ObjectID] = USEROBJECTID()
  4. Or directly filter the Sales table if you have the Object ID stored there:
    5. Sales[RepObjectID] = USEROBJECTID()

Related Useful Functions

FunctionReturns
USERPRINCIPALNAME()User's email (UPN), e.g., john@contoso.com
USERNAME()In Power BI Service = UPN, in Desktop = Windows login
USEROBJECTID()Azure AD Object ID (GUID)

Important Notes

  • USEROBJECTID() returns blank in Power BI Desktop (no live AAD session)
  • Works perfectly when the report is published to Power BI Service with Azure AD authentication
  • Most reliable for RLS because Object IDs never change (unlike emails that can be renamed)
  • Requires users to be in the same Azure AD tenant (or guest users properly mapped)

Best Practice: Store Azure AD Object IDs in your security table and filter using USEROBJECTID = USEROBJECTID() for the most robust RLS solution.

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