pbiplintRules / Maintenance
Remove unnecessary columns
What it checks
Hidden columns, or columns in hidden tables, that nothing references: no DAX expression, relationship, hierarchy, sort-by column, row-level security filter, or object-level security rule.
Why it matters
A hidden column that nothing uses is loaded, compressed, and refreshed for no reader. Key columns and helper columns pile up this way as a model evolves, and each one costs memory and refresh time in proportion to its cardinality. Removing them is the cheapest model diet there is.
How to fix it
Remove the column in Power Query with Choose Columns or Remove Columns, so it is never loaded.
Quirks
- DAX references are approximated by pattern matching: references inside strings or comments count, and a bare [Column] reference resolves measure-first, then the expression's own table, then the first table with that column.
- Report usage is not visible to this rule. A hidden column used only by a visual, a slicer, or a report-level filter is still flagged.