GENERATESERIES in DAX: Create Continuous Number Ranges

September 23, 2026 111 visits

In this article, we will learn how to use GENERATESERIES in DAX to create a continuous range of numbers and generate a sequence with a custom step value.
This function is useful when you need to dynamically generate numeric series for analysis, calculations, and other DAX table expressions.

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What Is GENERATESERIES in DAX?

GENERATESERIES is a DAX function used to generate a table containing a sequence of numbers.
You can specify a starting value, an ending value, and optionally a step value.

The basic syntax is:

DAX Syntax
GENERATESERIES(
    <StartValue>,
    <EndValue>,
    [<StepValue>]
)

The StepValue is optional. If you do not specify it, DAX uses a default step of 1.

1. Create a Continuous Range

Let’s start by creating a simple sequence of numbers from 1 to 12.

Query

DAX Query
// Generate

// 1. Create Continuous Range

EVALUATE
    GENERATESERIES(1, 12)

Step-by-step explanation

Step 1: EVALUATE
EVALUATE is used to return the result of a table expression.
Since GENERATESERIES returns a table, we use it with EVALUATE.

Step 2: GENERATESERIES
GENERATESERIES(1, 12) tells DAX to generate a sequence starting from 1 and ending at 12.

Step 3: Default Step Value
Since we have not specified a third argument, DAX automatically increments the value by 1.

What will you get?

The query generates a single-column table containing the numbers from 1 through 12.

Value
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Key takeaway:
When the step value is not specified, GENERATESERIES increments the values by 1.

2. Create a Range with Custom Steps

We can also control how much the value should increase between each row by specifying a third argument.

Query

DAX Query
// 2. Create Range with Custom Steps

EVALUATE
    GENERATESERIES(1, 52, 2)

Step-by-step explanation

Step 1: Start Value
The first argument, 1, specifies where the sequence should begin.

Step 2: End Value
The second argument, 52, specifies the maximum value up to which the sequence should be generated.

Step 3: Step Value
The third argument, 2, tells DAX to increase the value by 2 for every row.

What will you get?

The generated sequence will contain odd numbers starting from 1 and continuing up to 51.

Value
1
3
5
7
9
…
47
49
51

Notice that 52 is not included because the sequence progresses in steps of 2:
1, 3, 5, 7, …, 49, 51.

Key takeaway:
The third argument of GENERATESERIES controls the interval between consecutive values.

Understanding the GENERATESERIES Arguments

Argument Example Purpose
Start Value 1 Specifies where the sequence starts
End Value 52 Specifies the upper limit of the sequence
Step Value 2 Specifies how much the value increases between rows

Comparing the Two Queries

Query Generated Sequence
GENERATESERIES(1, 12) 1, 2, 3, 4, …, 11, 12
GENERATESERIES(1, 52, 2) 1, 3, 5, 7, …, 49, 51

Important Notes

1. GENERATESERIES returns a table

GENERATESERIES returns a table containing a single column of generated values.
Therefore, it can be used wherever a table expression is expected.

2. The step value is optional

If you omit the third argument, the sequence increases by 1.

3. Custom steps give you more control

By specifying a step value, you can generate sequences such as every 2nd number, every 5th number, or any other appropriate interval.

4. The ending value depends on the sequence

The generated series continues according to the specified step value and does not necessarily include the exact ending value.
For example, GENERATESERIES(1, 52, 2) ends at 51.

📝 Practice Exercise

Try creating the following sequences using GENERATESERIES:

  1. Create numbers from 1 to 100 with a step of 5.
  2. Create numbers from 10 to 50 with a step of 10.
  3. Create numbers from 0 to 1 with a step of 0.1.

Example

DAX Query
EVALUATE
    GENERATESERIES(10, 50, 10)

This generates the sequence:
10, 20, 30, 40, 50.

Conclusion

In this article, we learned how to use GENERATESERIES to dynamically generate numeric sequences in DAX.

  • GENERATESERIES creates a table containing a sequence of values.
  • The first argument defines the starting value.
  • The second argument defines the ending value.
  • The optional third argument defines the step value.
  • When the step value is omitted, the default increment is 1.

GENERATESERIES is a useful table-generating function for creating numeric ranges dynamically and can become especially powerful when combined with other DAX table functions.

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