EXCEPT DAX Function (Table manipulation)

Returns the rows of left-side table which do not appear in right-side table.

Syntax

EXCEPT ( <LeftTable>, <RightTable> )
Parameter Attributes Description
LeftTable

The Left-side table expression to be used for Except.

RightTable

The Right-side table expression to be used for Except.

Return values

Table An entire table or a table with one or more columns.

A table that contains the rows of the LeftTable minus all the rows of the RightTable.

Remarks

If a row appears at all in both tables, it and its duplicates are not present in the result set. If a row appears in only LeftTable, it and its duplicates will appear in the result set.

The column names will match the column names in LeftTable.

The returned table has lineage based on the columns in LeftTable, regardless of the lineage of the columns in the second table. For example, if the first column of first table_expression has lineage to the base column C1 in the model, the Except will reduce the rows based on the availability of values in the first column of second table_expression and keep the lineage on base column C1 intact.

The two tables must have the same number of columns.

Columns are compared based on positioning, and data comparison with no type coercion.

The set of rows returned depends on the order of the two expressions.

The returned table does not include columns from tables related to LeftTable. Therefore, when LeftTable corresponds to a base table, once applied to the filter context it does not involve the expanded table and it only filters columns of he base table.

The returned table is never an expanded table when applied to the filter context, it only includes the base table.

» 4 related articles
» 2 related functions

Examples

--  EXCEPT performs set subtraction: the second parameter rows are removed
--  from the first.
EVALUATE 
VAR Days        = VALUES ( 'Date'[Day of Week] )
VAR WeekendDays = { "Saturday", "Sunday" }
VAR WorkingDays = EXCEPT ( Days, WeekendDays )
RETURN 
    WorkingDays
Day of Week
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
--  EXCEPT keeps the data lineage of its first argument only.
EVALUATE 
VAR Days        = VALUES ( 'Date'[Day of Week] )
VAR WeekendDays = { "Saturday", "Sunday" }
VAR WorkingDays = EXCEPT ( Days, WeekendDays )
RETURN 
    ADDCOLUMNS ( 
        WorkingDays,
        "Sales Amount", [Sales Amount] 
    )
Day of Week Sales Amount
Monday 4,251,342.00
Tuesday 4,643,891.92
Wednesday 4,021,583.39
Thursday 4,653,030.30
Friday 4,433,004.10
--  EXCEPT keeps duplicates, if present in the first parameter.
EVALUATE 
VAR Days        = SELECTCOLUMNS ( 'Date', "Day of week", 'Date'[Day of Week] )
VAR WeekendDays = { "Saturday", "Sunday" }
VAR WorkingDays = EXCEPT ( Days, WeekendDays )
RETURN 
    ADDCOLUMNS ( 
        TOPN ( 10, WorkingDays ),
        "Sales Amount", [Sales Amount] 
    )
Day of week Sales Amount
Friday 4,433,004.10
Monday 4,251,342.00
Tuesday 4,643,891.92
Wednesday 4,021,583.39
Thursday 4,653,030.30
Friday 4,433,004.10
Monday 4,251,342.00
Tuesday 4,643,891.92
Wednesday 4,021,583.39
Thursday 4,653,030.30

The arguments of EXCEPT must have the same number of columns. The following query throws an error because Date contains many more columns than WeekendDays.

EVALUATE 
VAR Days        = 'Date'
VAR WeekendDays = { "Saturday", "Sunday" }
VAR WorkingDays = EXCEPT ( Days, WeekendDays )
RETURN 
    ADDCOLUMNS ( 
        WorkingDays,
        "Sales Amount", [Sales Amount] 
    )

Related articles

Learn more about EXCEPT in the following articles:

Related functions

Other related functions are:

Last update: Nov 7, 2024   » Contribute   » Show contributors

Contributors: Alberto Ferrari, Marco Russo, Kenneth Barber,

Microsoft documentation: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dax/except-function-dax

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Context Transition

This function performs a Context Transition if called in a Row Context. Click to read more.

Row Context

This expression is executed in a Row Context. Click to read more.

Iterator

Not recommended

The use of this function is not recommended. See Remarks and Related functions for alternatives.

Not recommended

The use of this parameter is not recommended.

Deprecated

This function is deprecated. Jump to the Alternatives section to see the function to use.

Volatile

A volatile function may return a different result every time you call it, even if you provide the same arguments. Click to read more.

Deprecated

This parameter is deprecated and its use is not recommended.

DirectQuery compatibility

Limitations are placed on DAX expressions allowed in measures and calculated columns.
The state below shows the DirectQuery compatibility of the DAX function.

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