How to Practice DAX and Relationships with Large Excel Datasets

Open Excel, go to the Data tab on the ribbon, and click on Get Data. Choose your data source type, such as From File > From Workbook or From Database.

In the Navigator window, check the box for Select multiple items, then check all the tables you need for your relationship practice.

Click the small dropdown arrow next to the Load button at the bottom and select Load To... from the menu.

In the Import Data dialog box, select Only Create Connection, and check the box labeled Add this data to the Data Model. Click OK.

Navigate to the Power Pivot tab and click Manage to open the Data Model window, where you can now build relationships and practice DAX without worksheet limits.

Import your dataset via the Data tab (Get Data). In the Navigator dialog, select your table and click Transform Data to open the Power Query Editor.

Click the filter dropdown arrow on a date or category column header. Uncheck older years or irrelevant categories to significantly reduce the total row count.

Select any columns you do not plan to use in your DAX measures, right-click the header, and choose Remove.

Click Close & Load To... on the Home tab, then choose whether to load this slimmed-down data into a standard Worksheet or the Data Model.

Search platforms like Kaggle, GitHub, or Microsoft's official Power BI documentation for beginner-friendly practice files (e.g., Financial Sample Excel workbook).

Download datasets provided in lightweight CSV or .xlsx formats that typically range from 1,000 to 50,000 rows.

Import these smaller files into your Excel environment. Because of their manageable size, you can instantly test table relationships and DAX concepts without any system lag.