The SWITCH() Function: Replacing Complex Nested IF-ELSE

The SWITCH function evaluates an expression against a list of values and returns the result for the first matching value. Combined with TRUE() as the expression, it acts like a readable chain of IF conditions—ideal for bucketing, labeling, and status mapping.

SWITCH(TRUE(), ...) is often cleaner than nested IFs when you have three or more mutually exclusive conditions evaluated in order.

SWITCH(
    TRUE(),
    <condition1>, <result1>,
    <condition2>, <result2>,
    ...
    [, <else>]
)

• TRUE(): Forces each condition to be evaluated as a logical test until one matches.
• Conditions are checked top to bottom; the first TRUE condition wins.
• Optional final argument is the else/default result when no condition matches.

A CustomerReviews table with numeric ratings (1–5):

Create a calculated column or measure that maps ratings to sentiment labels using SWITCH with TRUE():

Sentiment Label =
SWITCH(
    TRUE(),
    CustomerReviews[Rating] >= 4, "Positive",
    CustomerReviews[Rating] = 3, "Neutral",
    CustomerReviews[Rating] <= 2, "Negative",
    "Unknown"
)

A table visual with Rating, Comment, and [Sentiment Label]: