The Ultimate

Guide to Functions
in Power Query
Turn Raw Data into
Actionable Insights
—
Omid Motamedisedeh
The Ultimate Guide to
Functions in Power
Query
Turn Raw Data into
Actionable Insights

Omid Motamedisedeh
The Ultimate Guide to Functions in Power Query: Turn Raw Data into
Actionable Insights

Omid Motamedisedeh
Brisbane, QLD, Australia

ISBN-13 (pbk): 978-1-4842-9753-7 ISBN-13 (electronic): 978-1-4842-9754-4

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-9754-4

Copyright © 2024 by Omid Motamedisedeh

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To my dear mom and dad, in heartfelt appreciation for
your invaluable support and assistance
Table of Contents
About the Author������������������������������������������������������������������������������xvii

About the Technical Reviewer�����������������������������������������������������������xix

Acknowledgments�����������������������������������������������������������������������������xxi

Introduction�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������xxiii

Chapter 1: Introduction to Power Query�����������������������������������������������1

Introduction to Power Query���������������������������������������������������������������������������������2
Power Query in Excel��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������4
Power Query in Power BI������������������������������������������������������������������������������������13
Power Query Interface�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������15
M Code����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������16
Conclusion����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������21

Chapter 2: Data Types�������������������������������������������������������������������������23

Data Types in Power Query���������������������������������������������������������������������������������23
Null����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������25
Logical Values������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������25
Numbers��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������26
Time and Date�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������27
Text����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������30
Binary������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������30
List�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������30
Record�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������31

v
Table of Contents

Table��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������31
Function���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������31
Type Conversion��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������32
Converting Values to the Number Format������������������������������������������������������33
Converting Values to the Text Format������������������������������������������������������������34
Converting Values to the Date and Time Format�������������������������������������������35
Converting Values to the Record Format�������������������������������������������������������35
Conclusion����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������36

Chapter 3: Number Functions�������������������������������������������������������������37

Constant Values��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������37
Information Functions�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������38
Rounding Operation��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������39
Mathematical Operations������������������������������������������������������������������������������������43
Random Generation��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������45
Trigonometry�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������45
Conclusion����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������45

Chapter 4: Text Functions�������������������������������������������������������������������47

Extracting Part of a Text��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������48
Text.At������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������48
Text.Start�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������49
Text.End���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������50
Text.Range�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������51
Text.AfterDelimiter�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������52
Text.BeforeDelimiter��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������55
Text.BetweenDelimiters���������������������������������������������������������������������������������57
Text.Select�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������59
Text.Split��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������60

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Removing, Replacing, and Combining Texts��������������������������������������������������������61

Text.Remove��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������61
Text.RemoveRange����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������62
Text.PadEnd���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������63
Text.PadStart�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������65
Text.Replace��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������66
Text.ReplaceRange����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������67
Text.Insert������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������68
Text.Repeat����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������69
Text.Combine�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������69
Text Correction����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������70
Searching for Characters������������������������������������������������������������������������������������72
Text.StartsWith����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������72
Text.EndsWith������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������74
Text.Contains�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������75
Text.PositionOf�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������76
Text.PositionOfAny�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������78
Text Conversion���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������79
Summary������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������81

Chapter 5: Date and Time Functions���������������������������������������������������83

Date Information�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������84
DateTime Information�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������87
Adding a Value to a Date�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������89
Shifting Dates�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������90
Conversion to Record������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������93
Date Specifications���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������94

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Date.Day��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������94
Date.DayOfWeek��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������94
Date.DayOfWeekName�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������95
Date.WeekOfMonth����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������95
Date.WeekOfYear�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������96
Date.Month����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������96
Date.MonthName�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������97
Date.DayOfYear����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������97
Date.Year�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������98
Summary������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������98

Chapter 6: List Functions��������������������������������������������������������������������99

Defining a List in Power Query��������������������������������������������������������������������������100
List.Numbers�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������103
List.Generate�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������104
List.Times����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������108
List.Dates�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������109
List.DateTimes���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������110
List.Random�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������111
Sorting Values in a List��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������112
List.Reverse�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������112
List.Sort�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������113
Extracting from a List����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������115
List.First and List.Last���������������������������������������������������������������������������������115
List.FirstN and List.LastN����������������������������������������������������������������������������116
List.Range����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������118
List.Max and List.Min����������������������������������������������������������������������������������119
List.MaxN and List.MinN������������������������������������������������������������������������������120

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List.Select����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������122
List.FindText������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������123
Removing Values in a List���������������������������������������������������������������������������������124
List.RemoveNull�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������124
List.Distinct��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������125
List.RemoveFirsN and List.RemoveLastN����������������������������������������������������126
List.RemoveRange���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������127
List.RemoveItems����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������128
List.Skip�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������129
List.Alternate�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������129
List Merging������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������131
List.Combine������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������131
List.InsertRange������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������132
List.Zip���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������133
List.Union�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������133
List.Intersect������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������134
List.Difference���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������135
Mathematical Calculations on the Data of a List����������������������������������������������136
List Information Functions��������������������������������������������������������������������������������139
List.IsEmpty�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������140
List.IsDistinct�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������140
List.Contains������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������141
List.ContainsAll��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������142
List.ContainsAny������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������143
List.AllTrue���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������144
List.AnyTrue�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������144

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Positions in a List����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������144
List.Positions�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������145
List.PositionOf���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������145
List.PositionOfAny����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������147
Replacing and Transforming Values������������������������������������������������������������������148
List.ReplaceValue����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������148
List.ReplaceMatchingItems�������������������������������������������������������������������������149
List.ReplaceRange���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������151
List.Transform����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������152
List.TransformMany�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������153
Other Functions�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������154
List.Single����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������154
List.SingleOrDefault�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������154
List.Repeat���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������155
List.Split�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������156
Summary����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������157

Chapter 7: Records���������������������������������������������������������������������������159
Defining a Record���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������159
Record Properties���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������162
Record.FieldCount���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������162
Record.FieldNames�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������163
Record.FieldValues��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������163
Record.ToList�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������164
Record.Field������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������164
Record.FieldOrDefault���������������������������������������������������������������������������������165
Record.HasFields�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������166

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Record Correction���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������167
Record.AddField������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������167
Record.Combine������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������168
Record.SelectFields�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������168
Record.RemoveFields����������������������������������������������������������������������������������170
Record.RenameFields����������������������������������������������������������������������������������172
Record.ReorderFields����������������������������������������������������������������������������������173
Record.TransformFields�������������������������������������������������������������������������������174
Record Conversion��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������175
Record.FromList������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������175
Record.FromTable����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������176
Record.ToTable��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������177
Summary����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������177

Chapter 8: Tables������������������������������������������������������������������������������179
Creating a Table������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������180
Table.FromColumns�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������180
Table.FromRows������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������182
Table.FromRecords��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������185
Table.FromValue������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������187
Table Conversion�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������189
Table.ToRecords�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������190
Table.ToColumns������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������190
Table.ToRows�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������191
Table.ToList��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������192
Table.Column�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������193
Table.TransformRows����������������������������������������������������������������������������������194
Table.Split����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������195
Table.SplitAt�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������196

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Information��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������197
Selecting Table Rows����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������200
Table.FirstValue�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������201
Table.First and Table.Last����������������������������������������������������������������������������201
Table.FirstN and Table.LastN������������������������������������������������������������������������202
Table.Max and Table.Min�����������������������������������������������������������������������������204
Table.MaxN and Table.MinN�������������������������������������������������������������������������206
Table.Range�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������208
Table.SelectRows����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������209
Table.SelectRowsWithErrors������������������������������������������������������������������������212
Deleting Table Rows������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������214
Table.RemoveFirstN and Table.RemoveLastN����������������������������������������������214
Table.Distinct�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������217
Table.Skip����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������219
Table.RemoveRows��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������221
Table.AlternateRows������������������������������������������������������������������������������������222
Table.RemoveRowsWithErrors���������������������������������������������������������������������224
Table.RemoveMatchingRows�����������������������������������������������������������������������225
Insert and Replace Table Rows�������������������������������������������������������������������������227
Table.InsertRows�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������228
Table.ReplaceRows��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������229
Table.ReplaceMatchingRows�����������������������������������������������������������������������231
Table.Repeat������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������232
Order of rows����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������234
Table.ReverseRows�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������234
Table.Sort�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������235
Checking a Condition in All Rows����������������������������������������������������������������������238

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Table.IsDistinct��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������238
Table.MatchesAllRows���������������������������������������������������������������������������������239
Table.MatchesAnyRows�������������������������������������������������������������������������������241
Table.Contains���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������242
Table.ContainsAll and Table.ContainsAny����������������������������������������������������244
Table.SingleRow������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������245
Column Names��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������246
Table.ColumnNames������������������������������������������������������������������������������������246
Table.DemoteHeaders����������������������������������������������������������������������������������246
Table.PromoteHeaders���������������������������������������������������������������������������������247
Table.HasColumns���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������249
Table.ColumnsOfType����������������������������������������������������������������������������������250
Table.PrefixColumns������������������������������������������������������������������������������������251
Table.RenameColumns��������������������������������������������������������������������������������252
Modifing columns���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������255
Table.RemoveColumns��������������������������������������������������������������������������������256
Table.SelectColumns�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������259
Table.DuplicateColumn��������������������������������������������������������������������������������263
Table.TransformColumnTypes����������������������������������������������������������������������265
Table.TransformColumns�����������������������������������������������������������������������������267
Table.AddIndexColumn��������������������������������������������������������������������������������271
Table.AddColumn�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������274
Table.AddRankColumn���������������������������������������������������������������������������������277
Table.SplitColumn����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������281
Table.CombineColumns�������������������������������������������������������������������������������285
Table.CombineColumnsToRecord����������������������������������������������������������������288
Table.ReorderColumns���������������������������������������������������������������������������������290
Table.Pivot���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������291

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Table of Contents

Table.Unpivot�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������294
Table.Group��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������297
Table.Transpose�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������301
Combining Tables����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������303
Table.Combine���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������303
Table.Join����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������308
Table.NestedJoin�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������317
Expanding Columns������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������319
Table.ExpandListColumn������������������������������������������������������������������������������320
Table.ExpandRecordColumn������������������������������������������������������������������������322
Table.ExpandTableColumn���������������������������������������������������������������������������326
Table.AggregateTableColumn����������������������������������������������������������������������329
Replacing Column Values����������������������������������������������������������������������������������330
Table.FillDown and Table.FillUp�������������������������������������������������������������������331
Table.ReplaceErrorValues����������������������������������������������������������������������������334
Table.ReplaceValue��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������337
Finding a Value in a Table����������������������������������������������������������������������������������340
Table.FindText����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������340
Table.PositionOf�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������341
Table.PositionOfAny�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������344
Summary����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������345

Chapter 9: Extracting from Data Sources�����������������������������������������347

Folder.Contents�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������348
Csv.Document���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������349
Excel.Workbook������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������353
Pdf.Tables����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������355
Sql.Database�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������356

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 Table of Contents

Excel.CurrentWorkbook�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������357
Summary����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������357

Chapter 10: Other Functions�������������������������������������������������������������359

if������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������360
Combining Conditions����������������������������������������������������������������������������������362
The try Function������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������366
The let-in Command������������������������������������������������������������������������������������368
Defining a New Function�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������375
Using Defined Function in Other Queries�����������������������������������������������������380

Index�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������383

xv
About the Author
Omid Motamedisedeh is a freelance data and
business intelligence analyst with a PhD in
Industrial Engineering. He’s currently working
towards his second PhD at Queensland
University of Technology. Omid is the author
of several articles in industry journals (Electric
Power Systems Research, Journal of Building
Engineering, Energy, Neural Computing and
Applications, and others), and seven books (all
in Farsi) namely Managing Data Entry in Excel by Data Validation, Data
Analysis by Excel’s Pivot Table, Power Query as The Magic of Excel, 222
Most Useful Functions in Excel 2016, Useful Excel Functions in Excel 2019,
Reference of Functions in Excel 2021, and From Drawing Charts to Creating
Dashboards in Excel 2016.

xvii
About the Technical Reviewer
Bo Rydobon (a.k.a. Excel Wizard) is a Microsoft Excel expert and YouTuber
from Thailand who is known for his speed and mastery of Excel. He is also
the creator of the Excel Wizard YouTube channel, where he shares tips and
tricks on how to use advanced dynamic arrays. He actively contributes
on Excelforum.com and became a Top 5 reputation within a few years.
His participation in the Excel BI LinkedIn Excel Challenge drew notable
attention due to his impressive response. In 2022, Bo Rydobon won the
Excel Esports Speedrun organized by the Financial Modeling World Cup.
Bo Rydobon is an inspiration to Excel users all over the world.
He shows that anyone can learn Excel and become an expert, regardless of
their background or experience.

xix
Acknowledgments
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the individuals who have
played an indispensable role in supporting me throughout the process
of writing this book. My appreciation extends to both those within my
professional circle and those who hold a personal place in my life.
First and foremost, I extend heartfelt thanks to Faranak, whose
unwavering belief in me and encouragement provided the catalyst for
embarking on this writing journey.
I am equally grateful to Bo Rydobon, my esteemed technical reviewer,
whose invaluable insights and motivating feedback have significantly
enriched the quality of this work.
Furthermore, I wish to extend my thanks to the Apress team, including
Susan McDermott (Editorial Director), Shobana Srinivasan (Book
Coordinator), and Shaul Elson (Editorial Manager), for their commendable
professionalism and collaborative approach. Their contributions have
transformed working with Apress into a truly gratifying experience.
Lastly, my profound and enduring appreciation goes to Professor
Hamid Reza Irani, who imparted foundational knowledge of Excel during
my undergraduate years, and to Mike Girvin, a cherished Excel mentor.
Mike's prolific Excel tips shared on the ExcelIsFun YouTube channel have
been a wellspring of learning for all Excel fans like me.

xxi
Introduction
In today's data-driven landscape, the ability to seamlessly transform raw
data into meaningful insights is a skill of paramount importance. The
Ultimate Guide to Functions in Power Query stands as a beacon for Excel
and Power BI enthusiasts, equipping them with the tools to unlock the full
potential of their data manipulation endeavors.
In this comprehensive guide, you will delve into the world of Power
Query functions, the building blocks that empower users to effortlessly
manipulate, cleanse, and refine their data. Whether you're a seasoned
data professional or a novice user, this book is designed to elevate your
proficiency in harnessing the capabilities of Power Query functions,
ultimately enabling you to convert seemingly complex datasets into
actionable insights.
Join me on a journey through the intricacies of Power Query functions
as I demystify their functionalities, explore real-world use cases, and
provide step-by-step guidance on their application. With a meticulous
balance of theory and hands-on practice, The Ultimate Guide to Functions
in Power Query is not just a book; it's your indispensable companion in
mastering the art of data transformation.
Chapters include

1. “Introduction to Power Query:” Build a foundation

by learning what Power Query is, its role in data
transformation, and the fundamental concepts that
underpin its functionality.

xxiii
Introduction

2. “Formatting:” Explore the nuances of formatting

data, from standardizing text and numbers to
customizing visual elements.

3. “Number Functions:” Discover a wealth of functions

designed to manipulate and analyze numerical
data, from basic arithmetic operations to advanced
mathematical calculations.

4. “Text Functions:” Uncover the power of text

manipulation with functions that enable you
to extract, concatenate, and transform text in
various ways.

5. “Date and Time Functions:” Navigate the

complexities of date and time data with functions
that facilitate calculations, comparisons, and
conversions, ensuring accuracy in temporal
analysis.

6. “List Functions:” Learn how to work with lists

(ordered collections of values) using functions that
allow you to manipulate, filter, and transform list-­
based data structures.

7. “Record Functions:” Dive into the world of records

(structures that hold multiple fields of data) and
harness functions to modify, extract, and manage
record information.

8. “Table Functions:” Master the art of working with

tables, the heart of data manipulation in Power
Query, using functions that facilitate aggregation,
filtering, and transformation.

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 Introduction

9. “Extracting from Sources:” Explore how to gather

data from various sources (databases, files, and
folders) using functions that ensure a smooth
extraction process.

10. “Other Functions:” Delve into a collection of

miscellaneous functions that offer specialized
capabilities, expanding your toolkit for handling
unique data manipulation tasks.

Empower yourself with the expertise needed to navigate the challenges

of data manipulation and unlock the true potential of your raw data.
Whether you're seeking to enhance your analytical capabilities, streamline
business processes, or simply gain a competitive edge, this guide is your
gateway to turning data into actionable insights.

xxv
CHAPTER 1

Introduction to
Power Query
In the dynamic landscape of modern data analysis, the ability to turn
raw information into meaningful insights is a cornerstone of success.
Welcome to the world of Power Query, an invaluable tool that empowers
data professionals to tame, reshape, and amplify data, unveiling its hidden
potential. This chapter serves as your gateway to understanding the
essence of Power Query, its significance, and the journey you are about to
embark upon.
In a data-driven era, information is abundant, sprawling across
spreadsheets, databases, cloud storage, and beyond. But this information
is often disparate, inconsistent, and unstructured. This is where Power
Query steps in as a guiding light, enabling you to navigate through
these complexities and emerge with knowledge that fuels smarter
decision-making.
Your exploration begins with a foundational understanding of what
Power Query truly is: a powerful data transformation tool embedded
within familiar environments such as Microsoft Excel and Power BI. I’ll
unveil its intuitive interface, its versatile functions, and its innate ability to
streamline even the most intricate data manipulation tasks.

© Omid Motamedisedeh 2024 1

O. Motamedisedeh, The Ultimate Guide to Functions in Power Query,
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Chapter 1 Introduction to Power Query

As you delve deeper, you’ll grasp the essence of data transformation.

Power Query empowers you to shape data to your needs, from cleaning
and merging to filtering and aggregating. These transformations form
the bedrock of insightful analysis, turning data from a puzzle into a clear
picture.
Moreover, Power Query serves as a bridge between disparate data
sources. Whether you’re dealing with Excel sheets, databases, web APIs, or
CSV files, Power Query offers a unified interface to access, transform, and
consolidate these sources into cohesive narratives.
So, let’s embark on this journey through the world of Power Query.
After you navigate through the chapters to come, you’ll emerge with the
prowess to wield Power Query as a transformative tool, transcending
data challenges and unveiling insights that lead to better, more informed
decisions.

Introduction to Power Query

Power Query is a powerful tool for refining and cleaning data in Excel and
Power BI. It covers the three main tasks of ETL: extract, clean, and load
tables. These tasks involve
• Extracting data from various databases including
SQL, Access, Microsoft Azure, and other sources like
websites, Excel files, text files, and more

• Cleaning data by removing extra columns, changing

value formats, adding new columns, combining tables,
and so on

• Loading data (in Excel, Power Pivot, or Power BI)

This tool was introduced as an add-in for Excel 2010 and later for 2013.
In these versions, by installing the add-in, a new tab called Power Query
was added to Excel, as shown in Figures 1-1 and 1-2.

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 Chapter 1 Introduction to Power Query

Figure 1-1. Power Query tab in Excel 2010

Figure 1-2. Power Query tab in Excel 2013

In Excel 2016 and later, this tool was added to the main Excel
commands in the Data tab. In Excel 2021 and also 365, the commands
related to Power Query are available in the Get & Transform Data group
under the Data tab, and users can perform data extraction, modification,
and loading processes using these commands (Figure 1-3).

Figure 1-3. Power Query in Excel 365

In Power BI, the commands related to Power Query are located in the
Data section of the Home tab, as shown in Figure 1-4.

Figure 1-4. Power Query in Power BI

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Chapter 1 Introduction to Power Query

Power Query in Excel

In Excel, to extract values from various sources such as other Excel files,
simply select the Get Data command in the Get and Transform Data
section of the Data tab (Figure 1-5).

Figure 1-5. Extracting data from an Excel file

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 Chapter 1 Introduction to Power Query

As you can see in Figure 1-5, different options are provided to extract
the tables from different data sources. To extract values from another Excel
file, select From File, and then From Excel File. The window shown in
Figure 1-6 will appear and you can navigate the desired Excel file.

Figure 1-6. Addressing the Excel file

By addressing the desired Excel file (in this example, 06-Inventory.

xlsx) and clicking Open, a new window will open, as shown in Figure 1-7.

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Chapter 1 Introduction to Power Query

Figure 1-7. Table selection window

You’ll see a list of all tables and sheets in the selected Excel file on the
left side of this window. Depending on the user’s needs, one or more tables
can be selected and called in Power Query for the cleaning process. In this
example, by selecting the 05-Inventory table and selecting the Transform
button, the data is loaded in Power Query, as shown in Figure 1-8. (Now
the data extraction process is completed.)

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 Chapter 1 Introduction to Power Query

Figure 1-8. Data extraction in Power Query

Now you can perform the cleaning process via various commands. For
example, to remove the first row of the table (empty row), simply select the
Remove Top Rows command from the Reduce Rows section of the Home
tab. The window shown in Figure 1-9 will appear to determine the number
of rows that you want to remove from the top of the table.

Figure 1-9. Selecting the number of rows to remove

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Chapter 1 Introduction to Power Query

Enter 1 in the field and confirm it. As you can see in Figure 1-10, the
first row of the table gets removed.

Figure 1-10. Removing the first data row

In the next step, to replace the column headers with the first row,
select the Use first row as header command from the Transform tab. See
Figure 1-11 for the result.

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 Chapter 1 Introduction to Power Query

Figure 1-11. Replacing column headers with the first data row

The Product ID Column in the table shown in Figure 1-11 consists of

two parts, the main part (before the dash) and a subpart (after the dash).
Say you want to separate these two parts. Select the Product ID column
and choose the Split By delimiter command from the Split Column section
of the Home tab. See the results in Figure 1-12.

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Chapter 1 Introduction to Power Query

Figure 1-12. Separating data in a column

Then, by selecting the Custom mode according to Figure 1-12, entering

a dash in the lower box, and confirming it, you’ll get the result shown in
Figure 1-13.

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 Chapter 1 Introduction to Power Query

Figure 1-13. Separated columns

Finally, to change the names of the first and second columns to

Primary ID and Secondary ID, just right-click the column headers, select
Rename, and enter the desired names. See the results in Figure 1-14.

Figure 1-14. Changing column names

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Chapter 1 Introduction to Power Query

You’ve reached your desired result, so at this stage, the data cleaning
process in this example is complete (the data cleaning process is not
limited to the mentioned commands and will be explained further). For
the final step, load the data as a table in Excel (or Power Pivot, which is
considered the data model). Select the Close & Load To command from
the File tab, and the loading window will appear as shown in Figure 1-15.

Figure 1-15. Selecting the loading location

In this window, you can specify how the final table should be loaded
into Excel. If you select Table, the result will be visible in Excel, as seen in
Figure 1-16.

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 Chapter 1 Introduction to Power Query

Figure 1-16. The final table in Excel

So, in this example, values from other Excel files were extracted,
cleaned, and finally loaded as a table in the Excel file.

Power Query in Power BI

The process of using Power Query in Excel and Power BI is the same
and includes the same commands. For example, to perform the process
mentioned in the previous section in Power BI, just select the Excel
Workbook command from the Data section of the Home tab, and then
enter the address of the relevant Excel file in the opened window to see the
page shown in Figure 1-17.

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Chapter 1 Introduction to Power Query

Figure 1-17. Selecting a table in Power BI

In this window, by selecting the desired table(s) from the left window
and selecting the Transform Data command, the data will be transferred to
Power Query, as you can see in Figure 1-18.

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 Chapter 1 Introduction to Power Query

Figure 1-18. Power Query window in Power BI

The extraction part is finished. The data cleaning and loading

processes in Power BI are like Excel, and a similar result can be obtained
by performing the process explained in the previous section.

Power Query Interface

As shown in Figure 1-19, the Power Query window (in both Excel and
Power BI) consists of six different parts:

1. Queries pane: The list of queries in the Excel or

Power BI file is displayed in this section, and the
user can select, modify, or group them from this
section.

2. Tabs: The Power Query commands are displayed in

this section.

3. Formula bar: This section is used to write a formula

in Power Query, after entering the equal sign.

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Chapter 1 Introduction to Power Query

4. Query setting: This section contains the query

name in the top part and the Applied Steps section
in the bottom part.

5. Applied Steps: In this section of Power Query,

the list of all commands applied to data tables in
the selected query is visible. The user can rename
(by right-clicking them), reorder (by dragging and
dropping on the desired location), modify (by
clicking the gear sign beside the name of each step)
or delete (by right-clicking them) these commands.

6. Preview pane: In this section, the result of the selected

command from the Applied Steps section is displayed.

Figure 1-19. Different parts of the Power Query window

M Code
To reopen the Power Query window and modify the created query in the
Excel file, the Queries & Connections mode from the Data section of the
Home tab in the Excel should be activated. A list of active queries will be

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 Chapter 1 Introduction to Power Query

shown in the Queries and Connections section (Figure 1-20). The queries
can be modified by right-clicking them and selecting the Edit option.

Figure 1-20. Queries & Connections command

The result of query will be shown, as you can see in Figure 1-21.

Figure 1-21. Changing column names

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Chapter 1 Introduction to Power Query

The query can be modified step by step in the Applied Step section or
can be modified altogether by selecting the Advanced Editor command in
the Home tab, which will lead to the result shown in Figure 1-22.

Figure 1-22. Advance Editor

The Advanced Editor window contains all the steps taken in extracting
and cleaning the data, written in the M language, which is shown below.
(If it is not clear to you, don’t worry. You are going to learn about these
commands and be able to write them yourself by the end of this book)

Let
    Source = Excel.Workbook(File.Contents("C:\Users\omid_\
OneDrive\Desktop\Data\05-Inventory.xlsx"), null, true),
    #"06-Inventory_Sheet" = Source{[Item="06-­
Inventory",Kind="Sheet"]}[Data],
    #"Promoted Headers" = Table.PromoteHeaders(#"06-­Inventory_
Sheet", [PromoteAllScalars=true]),
    #"Changed Type" = Table.TransformColumnTypes(#"Promoted
Headers",{{"last update on 2018/02/19", type text},
{"Column2", type text}, {"Column3", type any}}),
    #"Removed Top Rows" = Table.Skip(#"Changed Type",1),

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 Chapter 1 Introduction to Power Query

    #"Promoted Headers1" = Table.PromoteHeaders(#"Removed Top

Rows", [PromoteAllScalars=true]),
    #"Changed Type1" = Table.TransformColumnTypes(#"Promoted
Headers1",{{"Product ID", type text}, {"Color ID", type
text}, {"inventory", Int64.Type}}),
    #"Split Column by Delimiter" = Table.SplitColumn(#"Changed
Type1", "Product ID", Splitter.SplitTextByDelimiter("-",
QuoteStyle.Csv), {"Product ID.1", "Product ID.2"}),
    #"Changed Type2" = Table.TransformColumnTypes(#"Split
Column by Delimiter",{{"Product ID.1", Int64.Type},
{"Product ID.2", Int64.Type}}),
    #"Renamed Columns" = Table.RenameColumns(#"Changed
Type2",{{"Product ID.1", "Primary ID"}, {"Product ID.2",
"Secondary ID"}})
in
    #"Renamed Columns"

By performing each of the commands in the cleaning process (e.g.,

renaming columns, splitting the Product ID column, or removing the
first row), a line is added to the previous commands. Each command line
consists of two parts separated by an equal sign. The variable name (which
is also shown in the Applied Steps section) is on the left side of the equal
sign, and the calculation formula for that variable is on the right side. For
example, in the following command, the variable name is #"Removed Top
Rows" and the Table.Skip function is used to calculate it as follows:

#"Removed Top Rows" = Table.Skip(#"Changed Type",1)

In this example, the Table.Skip function receives the table with the
name #"Changed Type" (which was calculated in the previous step) and
removes the first row. Then it displays the new table as output. Therefore,
the value of the variable #"Removed Top Rows" is equal to a table.

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Chapter 1 Introduction to Power Query

Generally, Table.Skip is defined in Power Query as follows:

Table.Skip(
       table as table,
       optional countOrCondition as any
       ) as table

This function has two inputs (separated by a comma). The first input
is a table as table, which means that the first input is in the table format
which is called Table (the input type is specified after the as), and the
second input is optional (because of the use of the word Optional) and
is named countOrCondition with a format of any. Finally, since the table
expression is registered at the end of the function, the output of this
function is always a table.
In another line of this code, the variable #"Changed Type2" is defined
as follows:

#"Changed Type2" = Table.TransformColumnTypes(#"Split Column

by Delimiter",{{"Product ID.1", Int64.Type}, {"Product ID.2",
Int64.Type}})

To increase the readability of this command, it can be displayed in

several lines as follows:

#"Changed Type2" = Table.TransformColumnTypes(

#"Split Column by Delimiter",
{{"Product ID.1", Int64.Type}, {"Product ID.2", Int64.Type}}
)

As you can see in this command, the Table.TransformColumnTypes

function uses two different arguments; the first is in the type of table, and
the second variable is in the type of list.

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 Chapter 1 Introduction to Power Query

Conclusion
In this chapter, you were introduced to Power Query, an essential tool
for data transformation and manipulation in various data analysis and
visualization contexts. This is the beginning of your Power Query journey.
In this chapter, a simple example of a Power Query application was
provided so you could get familiar with the basic features of Power Query
and the M language. You also learned the role of the M language in data
transformations. You also saw the use of commands to clean the values in
a table. In the rest of this book, all of the main functions will be explained
in depth.
The next chapter delves deeper into the types of data in Power Query
including, null, logical values, number, text, list, records, and binary.

21
CHAPTER 2

Data Types
Like any other software, Power Query supports different data types
(formats) and provides a wide range of functions for modifying values
based on their types. Power Query supports simple data types such as
numbers, text, and time/date as well as complex data types like lists, tables,
and binary. This chapter focuses on understanding the fundamental data
types used in Power Query and their characteristics plus handling type
conversions. By the end of this chapter, you will have a solid understanding
of how to effectively manage and manipulate different data types within
Power Query, setting the stage for more advanced data transformation and
analysis in subsequent chapters.

Data Types in Power Query

Since each function in Power Query can be applied on the values with a
specific data format, the value’s type is very important in this software.
To describe the importance of data types, consider a simple function like
Text.Start. It is used to extract the first characters of a text. If the first
input is text, the output of this function will be equal to some of the initial
characters of that text, but if the first input is not in the text format, the
output will be an error. Therefore, based on the type of input, the result
of this function will be different and may lead to an error, as shown in
Table 2-1.

© Omid Motamedisedeh 2024 23

O. Motamedisedeh, The Ultimate Guide to Functions in Power Query,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-9754-4_2
Chapter 2 Data Types

Table 2-1. Samples of Text.Start

Formula Result

=Text.Start(“Hello”,3) “Hel”
=Text.Start(“1232”,2) “12”
=Text.Start(1232,2) Error

Therefore, knowing the format of your data and how to convert

different data formats into others is very important. Table 2-2 shows the
types of data along with their definitions in Power Query.
Table 2-2. Power Query Data Types
Definition Data type

Null Null
true/false Logical
0 1 -1 1.5 2.3e-5 Number
#time(09,15,00) Time
#date(2013,02,26) Date
#datetime(2013,02,26, 09,15,00) DateTime
#datetimezone(2013,02,26, 09,15,00, 09,00) DateTimeZone
#duration(0,1,30,0) Duration
“hello” Text
#binary(“AQID”) Binary
{1, 2, 3} List
[ A = 1, B = 2 ] Record
#table({“X”,“Y”},{{0,1},{1,0}}) Table
(x) => x + 1 Function
type { number } type table [ A = any, B = text ] Type

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 Chapter 2 Data Types

Null
The value of null is used instead of missing values in Power Query and is
defined as null. Some mathematical operations can be done on the null
values. Assuming that the variable x is equal to null and y is a none null
value, various mathematical operations and their results are shown in
Table 2-3.

Table 2-3. Operations on Null Values

Formula Result

x>y null
x >= y null
x<y null
x <= y null
x=y null
x <> y null
x ?? y y
y ?? x y

Logical Values
The logical value type of data, with the symbol of , includes two states:
true or false. To compare the values in this group, true can be considered
equivalent to the number 1 and false can be considered equivalent to the
number 0.
Generally, logical values are obtained by comparing one value with
another (for example, 2>3) or the output of information functions such as
Number.IsOdd.

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Chapter 2 Data Types

If x and y are equal to logical values, the use of mathematical operators

as well as logical operators (including and, or, and not) as x and y, x or y,
and not x are the main operations on these values.

Numbers
The numbers type includes a large range of numerical values (integer and
decimal). In addition to numbers, there are two values named #infinity
(obtained from dividing a positive number by zero) and #-infinity
(obtained from dividing a negative number by zero) that represent positive
infinity (the largest possible number) and negative infinity (the smallest
possible number) and they are also included in this group of data.
The #nan value, equal to dividing zero by zero, is also included in
this group of data type. Generally, any mathematical and comparison
operations such as x > y, x >= y, x < y, x <= y, x = y, x <> y, x + y, x - y, x * y, x /
y, x ?? y, and +x can be performed on numbers x and y in Power Query.
Different number formats are provided in Table 2-4.

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 Chapter 2 Data Types

Table 2-4. Number Formats

Description Symbol Data
Format

This data format represents decimal numbers and is one of Decimal

the most used formats for numbers. This format can include number
all negative decimal numbers within the range of -1.79E+308
to -2.23E-308, as well as all positive decimal numbers
within the range of 2.23E-308 to 1.79E+308, including the
number 0.
This format, known as Currency in Excel, has a specific Fixed
decimal place and can display numbers with four decimal decimal
places and 19 digits before the decimal point. number

This format is used to display integer numbers, and the Whole

decimal part is not displayed. This format can display all number
numbers in the range of -9,223,372,036,854,775,807
(-2^63+1) to 9,223,372,036,854,775,806 (2^63-2).
This format is very like the format used to display decimal Percentage
numbers, except that numbers are displayed with
percentage symbol.

Time and Date

There are different formats of data for displaying information as time and
date in Power Query. Times in Power Query are defined as #time(Hour,
Minute, Second), where the first input must be between 0 and 23, and the
second and third inputs must be between 0 and 59.
Along with time, dates in Power Query are defined as #date(Year,
Month, Day), where the input value for Year is between 1 and 9999, and
the other two parameters accept numbers between 1 and 12 and 1 and 31,
respectively.

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Chapter 2 Data Types

To enter the value of date and time simultaneously, #datetime(year,

month, day, hour, minute, second) can be used. In a more
comprehensive form of this type of data, datetimezone can be used as
shown here:

#datetimezone(
       year, month, day,
       hour, minute, second,
       offset-hours, offset-minutes)

in which the allowed range for each input is as follows:

1≤ year ≤ 9999

1≤ month ≤ 12

1≤ day ≤ 31

0≤ hour ≤ 23

0≤ minute ≤ 59

0≤ second ≤ 59

-14≤ offset-hours ≤ 14

-59 ≤ offset-minutes ≤ 59

Another type of data in this group represents a duration, which is equal

to the difference between two time or date values. This data type is defined
as #duration(day, hour, minute, second) in Power Query. Generally,
in addition to the date and time functions, any mathematical calculations
or comparison operations can be performed on this type of data.
The features of date-related formats are covered in Table 2-5.

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 Chapter 2 Data Types

Table 2-5. Date Formats

Description Symbol Data
Format

This format is used to display dates, and it can display any Date
date in the range of year 1900 to 9999.

Each date value can be determined by an integer

number where the date January 1, 1900 is considered
equivalent to 1; January 2, 1900 is equal to 2; and so on.
So, by converting the number 365 to the date value, the
equivalent date will be provided as January 1, 1901.
This format is used to express time. Time is equivalent Time
to a positive decimal number less than 1. Therefore, by
considering 24 hours equivalent to the number 1, 12 noon
is equivalent to 0.5 and 6 am is equivalent to 0.25.
This format is used for values to show the date and time Date/Time
beside each other. Each Date/Time value is equivalent to a
decimal number where the date part is determined by an
integer and the time part is determined by decimal number.
This format is like the date and time format. The difference Date/Time
is that the time zone is also considered during calculations. /Timezone
However, after loading the data into the data model and
considering the effective value of the time zone, the result
is presented as a simple date and time format.
This format represents the time interval between two dates Duration
or times.

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Chapter 2 Data Types

Text
The text format, with the symbol of , includes a wide range of values
and must be enclosed in double quotes (“ ”) to define them, such as “ABC”
or even “2.” The text format is used in Power Query for text with a length of
up to 268 million characters. When a number is entered inside double
quotes, its format is converted to text and mathematical operations are no
longer performed on it. Among the types of operators, comparison
operators (<=>), the operator for checking null values, and & operator for
concatenating two texts can be used for text values.

Binary
In Power Query, a binary value, with the symbol of , is equal to a string
of bits contained in files with a special format. For example, to call
information from an Excel file as tables within Power Query, first the
information is called up as binary values and then it is converted to tables
using various functions.

List
Lists include a set of values (with different data types) in a specific order.
For simplicity, a list can be considered as a column in a table without
a title. In Power Query, to define a list, simply place the desired values
inside { } and separate them from each other using commas. For example,
different examples of lists are given here:

={1,2,3,4}

={1,2,3,{4,5}}

={1,“a”,2,“B”,{“C”,“D”}}

={[a=1,b=2],2,{1},{1,2},[c=2],[d={1,2,3,}]}

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 Chapter 2 Data Types

Record
Another type of data in Power Query is the record. For simplicity, records
can be considered as a single row of a table, where each value has a header
(or title) and there is just a value for each title. To define a record, it is
sufficient to enter the field title and its value inside [ ], separating different
fields with a comma, such as [a=1,b=2]
In the previous example, the record has two fields with the names a
and b, and their values are 1 and 2, respectively. There are no limitations in
the type of values in a record, and they can include various types such as
lists, records, and tables. Here are different examples of records:

[a=1,v={1,2,3,4}]

[a=[b=1,c=2],d=[e={1,2,3,4},f=null]]

[a=“xyz”,b={1,2,3}]

Table
A table is a data format in which values are organized in rows with specific
column titles. The data in a table can have various formats, and there are
different functions in Power Query to manage tables. Tables can be created
directly in Power Query or called from other sources.

Function
Another type of data is a function, which will be explained in detail in
future chapters.

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Chapter 2 Data Types

Type Conversion
There are several functions in Power Query for converting different data
formats into another, but before getting familiar with them, it should be noted
that not every data format can be converted to another format. For example,
you cannot convert the text format “Hello” to a number with any function.
The possibility of converting between different data formats in Power
Query is shown in Figure 2-1.

Conversion is possible, Conversion is possible, There are no

Conversion is not
but a value is removed but a value is added to limitations on the
possible.
from the original data. the original data. conversion.

Figure 2-1. Data conversion in Power Query

There are multiple functions in Power Query to convert different data

formats to each other, and the most important ones are provided in the rest
of this chapter.

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 Chapter 2 Data Types

Converting Values to the Number Format

The functions related to converting values with different formats to the
number format are listed in Table 2-6. All of these functions receive an
input of a specific type, and their output is a value in the format of number.

Table 2-6. Converting Values to the Number Format

Function Description

Number.FromText(text as Using this function, numerical values that are stored in

text) as number text format can be converted to numbers. For example,
if the number 123 is stored as text, this function can be
used to convert it to a number.
Number.From(value as This function is used to convert a numerical value stored
any) as number in other formats to a number format.
Int32.From(value as any) This function is used to convert a value to a 32-bit
as number integer representation.
Int64.From(value as any) This function is used to convert a value to a 64-bit
as number integer representation.
Single.From(value as This function returns a single number value from the
any) as number given value.
Double.From(value as This function returns a double number value from the
any) as number given value.
Decimal.From(value as This function returns a decimal number from the given
any) as number value.
Currency.From(value as This function returns a currency value from the given
any) as number value.

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Chapter 2 Data Types

Converting Values to the Text Format

The list of functions for converting values with a different format to the text
format is provided in Table 2-7. All of these functions receive an input of a
specific type, and their output is in the format of text.

Table 2-7. Converting Values to the Text Format

Function Description

Text.From(value as any) as text This function is used to convert a value in

any format to text.
Number.ToText(number as number) as This function is used to convert a value in
text the number format to a value in the format
of text.
Logical.ToText(logical as logical) as Using this function, the value True/False is
text converted to text.
Date.ToText(date as date) as text Using this function, a date format value can
be converted to a text format value.
Time.ToText (time as time) as text Using this function, a time format value can
be converted to a text format value.
DateTime.ToText (datetime as Using this function, date and time format
datetime) as text values can be converted to a text format
value.
DateTimeZone.ToText (datetimezone Using this function, a date, time, and
as datetimezone) as text timezone format value can be converted to
a text format value.

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 Chapter 2 Data Types

Converting Values to the Date and Time Format

There are several functions for converting values with different formats to
date, which are listed in Table 2-8.

Table 2-8. Converting Values to the Date Format

Function Description

Date.FromText(text as text) as date This function is used to convert a text

value to a date.
Time.FromText (text as text) as time This function is used to convert a text
value to time.
DateTime.FromText (text as text) as This function is used to convert a text
datetime value to a date and time.
DateTimeZone.FromText (text as text) This function is used to convert a text
as datetimezone value to a date, time, and timezone.
Date.From(value as any) as date This function is used to convert a value
with any format to date.
Time.From (value as any) as time This function is used to convert a value
with any format to a time.
DateTime.From (value as any) as This function is used to convert a value
datetime with any format to a date and time.
DateTimeZone.From (value as any) as This function is used to convert a value
datetimezone with any format to a date, time, and
timezone.

Converting Values to the Record Format

There are several functions for converting values in the date and time
format to a value in the record format; see Table 2-9.

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Chapter 2 Data Types

Table 2-9. Converting Date Values to the Record Format

Function Description

Date.ToRecord(date as date) as record Using this function, a date format value

can be converted to a text format value.
Time.ToRecord(time as time) as record Using this function, a time format value
can be converted to a text format value.
DateTime.ToRecord (datetime as Using this function, a date and time
datetime) as record format value can be converted to a text
format value.
DateTimeZone.ToRecord (datetimezone Using this function, a date, time, and
as datetimezone) as record timezone format value can be converted
to a text format value.

Conclusion
In this chapter, you explored different data types in Power Query and their
features. You learned about the possibility of changing data types and the
functions for data types conversions. You also learned about errors that
might happen from by using the wrong data types.
Now that you have mastered data types, you are ready to learn about
functions for manipulating values with different data types. In the next
chapter, the functions for working on values with the number type are
presented.

36
CHAPTER 3

Number Functions
This chapter delves into the realm of numeric data manipulation and
analysis within Power Query. These functions allow you to perform various
mathematical calculations and transformations on numeric data. These
functions are essential for manipulating numerical values within your
data, performing calculations, and generating insights. Number functions
can be applied to individual numeric values and columns of numeric data,
or they can be used in combination with other functions to create complex
calculations. The functions in this chapter are categorized into six groups,
which will be discussed in the rest of this chapter.

Constant Values
In Power Query, there are several functions that generate constant values
and they are mentioned in Table 3-1. These functions do not need any
argument, and they are used with opening and closing parenthesis.

© Omid Motamedisedeh 2024 37

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Chapter 3 Number Functions

Table 3-1. Functions for Constant Values

Formula Description

Number.E The value of this formula is always equal to the

number e (2.718…).
Number.Epsilon The result of this function is equal to the
smallest number in the power query, which is
equal to 4.9 e-394.
Number.NaN This function is equal to the result of dividing
zero by zero.
Number.NegativeInfinity The output of this function is negative infinity,
which is equal to dividing any negative number
by zero.
Number.PI The result of this function is the π number
(3.14…).
Number.PositiveInfinity The result of this function is positive infinity,
which is equal to dividing any positive number
by zero.

Information Functions
In Power Query, there are three functions to check if a value odd, even,
or NaN and they are listed in Table 3-2. All of these functions receive a
numerical input and based on its value, the result of the function will be
True or False.

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 Chapter 3 Number Functions

Table 3-2. Functions for Number Information

Function Description

Number.IsEven The result will be True if its input is an even number.

Number.IsNaN The result will be True if its input argument is NaN.
Number.IsOdd The result will be True if its input is an odd number.

Table 3-3 shows applications of these functions.

Table 3-3. Application of Number Information Functions

Function Result

Number.IsEven(2) True
Number.IsEven(3) False
Number.IsNaN(2) False
Number.IsNaN(2/0) False
Number.IsNaN(0/0) True
Number.IsOdd(2) False
Number.IsOdd(3) True

Rounding Operation
For rounding numbers in Power Query, the functions listed in Table 3-4
can be used. All of these functions receive two arguments:

1. The number (that you want to round) is entered in

the first argument.

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Chapter 3 Number Functions

2. The rounding precision is determined in the second

argument. Entering 2 in this input means rounding
the number up to 2 decimal places and entering
0 means rounding the numbers after the decimal.
To round two digits before the decimal, -2 can be
entered in this input.

Table 3-4. Number Rounding Functions

Function Description

Number.RoundDown This function performs the rounding operation towards

a smaller number. (The output of this function is always
smaller than the inputted number in the first argument.)
Number.RoundUp This function performs the rounding operation towards a
larger number. (The output of this function is always larger
than the inputted number in the first argument.)
Number. If the input is a positive number, its calculation logic is
RoundAwayFromZero consistent with Number.RoundUp, and if its input is a
negative number, its calculation logic is like Number.
RoundDown.
Number. If the input is a positive number, its calculation logic is
RoundTowardZero consistent with Number.RoundDown, and if its input is
a negative number, its calculation logic is like Number.
RoundUp.

In addition to the functions mentioned in Table 3-4, there is another

function in Power Query called Number.Round with three arguments. The
first two arguments are in accordance with the inputs of other rounding
functions, and the third input, which is optional, determines the logic of
the calculation and can be one of cases shown in Table 3-5.

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 Chapter 3 Number Functions

Table 3-5. The Third Input of Number.Round

Parameters Value Description

RoundingMode.Up 0 In this case, the function works

according to the logic of Number.
RoundUp.
RoundingMode.Down 1 In this case, it works according to
the logic of Number.RoundDown.
RoundingMode.AwayFromZero 2 In this case, it works according
to the logic of Number.
RoundAwayFromZero.
RoundingMode.TowardZero 3 In this case, it works according
to the logic of Number.
RoundTowardZero.
RoundingMode.ToEven 4 In this case, the corresponding
number is rounded to the nearest
even number.

The default calculation mode of this function is RoundingMode.ToEven,

so the result of the following formulas is 4:

= Number.Round(4.5)

= Number.Round(3.5)

The results of rounding functions for different examples are provided

in Table 3-6.

41
42
Chapter 3

Table 3-6. Application of Number Rounding Functions

Number. Number. Number. Number. Number.

Round Round Round RoundAwayFromZero RoundTowardZero
Up Down
Number Functions

(162.9183,3) 162.918 162.919 162.918 162.919 162.918

(162.9183,2) 162.92 162.92 162.91 162.92 162.91
(162.9183,0) 163 163 162 163 162
(162.9183,-1) 160 170 160 170 160
(162.9183,-2) 200 200 100 200 100
(-162.9183,3) -162.918 -162.918 -162.919 -162.919 -162.918
(-162.9183,2) -162.92 -162.91 -162.92 -162.92 -162.91
(-162.9183,0) -163 -162 -163 -163 -162
(-162.9183,-1) -160 -160 -170 -170 -160
 Chapter 3 Number Functions

Mathematical Operations
In performing mathematical operations on numbers in Power Query, there
are two groups of functions. Functions in the first group, listed in Table 3-7,
receive a numerical value and perform mathematical calculations on it
based on the function’s type.

Table 3-7. Mathematical Operation Functions

Function Description

Number.Abs The output is equal to the absolute value of the input

number.
Number.Sign If the input number is positive, the result will be 1. If the
input value is negative, the result will be -1. If the input is 0,
the result of this function will be zero.
Number.Sqrt The result is equal to the square root of the inputted
number.
Number.Exp The result is equal to the e number raised to the power of
the input number.
Number.Factorial The result is equal to the factorial of the inputted number.
Number.Log10 The result is equal to the logarithm of the input number in
base 10.
Number.Ln The result is equal to the logarithm of input in the base of e.

The functions in the second group receive two inputs, a and b, and
result as in Table 3-8 based on the used function.

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Chapter 3 Number Functions

Table 3-8. Number Mathematical Functions

Function Description

Number.IntegerDivide The result is equal to the integer part of the division

of number a by b.
Number.Log The result is equal to the logarithm of number a in
base b.
Number.Mod The result is equal to the remainder of the division of
number a by b.
Number.Power The result is equal to number a raised to the power
of number b

Several examples of these functions are provided in Table 3-9.

Table 3-9. Sample Mathematical Functions

Function Result Function Result

Number.Abs(12.5) 12.5 Number.Abs(-12.5) -12.5

Number.Sign(12.5) 1 Number.Sign(-12.5) -1
Number.Sqrt(4) 2 Number.Sqrt(9) 3
Number.Exp(1) 2.7182 Number.Exp(2) 7.389
Number.Factorial(3) 6 Number.Factorial(4) 24
Number.Log10(10) 1 Number.Log10(100) 2
Number.Ln(1) 0 Number.Ln(2) 0.693
Number. 13 Number. 2
IntegerDivide(40,3) IntegerDivide(5,2)
Number.Log(25,5) 2 Number.Log(9,3) 2
Number.Mod(40,3) 1 Number.Mod(5,2) 1
Number.Power(2,3) 8 Number.Power(2,4) 16

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 Chapter 3 Number Functions

Random Generation
Number.Random and Number.RandomBetween are used in Power Query to
generate random numbers. Number.Random does not take any argument
and is defined as Number.Random(), always resulting in a random number
between 0 and 1. The function Number.RandomBetween takes two numbers
a and b and always outputs a decimal random number between a and b.

Trigonometry
Trigonometric functions in Power Query, like other software, include three
groups of basic, hyperbolic, and inverse trigonometric functions, listed in
Table 3-10.

Table 3-10. Trigonometry Functions

Inverse Hyperbolic Basic

Number.Asin Number.Sinh Number.Sin

Number.Acos Number.Cosh Number.Cos
Number.Atan Number.Tanh Number.Tan
Number.Atan2

Conclusion
This chapter introduced you to the functions that manipulate numbers
in Power Query. These functions are categorized into the following
six groups.

• Constant values include all functions that result in a

general number, like the Pi number.

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Chapter 3 Number Functions

• Information functions include functions used to

determine the type of numbers, such as checking
whether a number is odd or even.
• Rounding number functions include functions that are
used for rounding operations.
• Mathematical operation functions are used for
exponential, logarithmic, trigonometric calculations,
and such.
• Random generation functions include functions that
are used to ensure accurate calculations and results
through proper rounding strategies.
• Trigonometry functions like Number.Sin, Number.Cos,
and Number.Tan are used for trigonometry calculations.

To complete your journey of learning the functions for operating on

basic data types, you’ll explore the functions for manipulating text values,
such as combining texts or extracting a specific part of a text, in the next
chapter.

46
CHAPTER 4

Text Functions
In the realm of data transformation and manipulation, text data stands
as a foundational building block. Whether dealing with customer names,
product descriptions, log entries, or any other textual content, the ability
to extract, cleanse, and transform text becomes paramount. This is where
the prowess of Power Query truly shines. In this chapter, you will delve
into the art of harnessing text functions within Power Query, unveiling a
toolkit that empowers data professionals to conquer the complexities of
unstructured and semi-structured text data.
Your journey through this chapter will commence with the
fundamentals such as understanding the nuances of text encoding,
manipulation, and the role of Power Query’s text functions in these
processes. You’ll explore how to efficiently extract specific elements from
strings, like isolating URLs from paragraphs or capturing dates from
lengthy narratives.
As you traverse deeper, you’ll uncover the potential of text functions
to cleanse and standardize data. From removing extraneous spaces and
punctuation to converting case formats, these operations are the bedrock
of consistent and reliable text analysis.
These functions are categorized into the following five groups:

• Extracting part of a text

• Removing, replacing, and combining texts

• Text corrections

© Omid Motamedisedeh 2024 47

O. Motamedisedeh, The Ultimate Guide to Functions in Power Query,
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Chapter 4 Text Functions

• Searching for characters in the reference texts

• Text conversion

Extracting Part of a Text

In this part of text-related functions in Power Query, those related to
extracting the characters from a text are explained. These functions are
used to extract the values based on their position from the beginning,
middle, or end of the texts.

Text.At
Text.At is used to extract a character (only one character) within a text
based on its position, as follows:

Text.At(
       text as nullable text,
       index as number
       ) as nullable text

This function receives the following two arguments, and its result is
always a character within a reference text:

1. The reference text is entered in the first argument.

2. The second input (as a number) determines the

position of character that you want to extract from
the reference text. (Numbering starts from 0.)

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 Chapter 4 Text Functions

Table 4-1 shows the different uses of this function.

Table 4-1. Examples of Text.At

Formula Result

= Text.At("XNW-11-1",0) “X”
= Text.At("XNW-11-1",1) “N”
= Text.At("XNW-11-1",3) “-”

Text.Start
Text.Start is used to extract a specific number of characters from the
beginning of a text, as follows:

Text.Start(
       text as nullable text,
       count as number
       ) as nullable text

This function has the following two arguments:

1. The reference text. (The first input of this function

must be in text format; otherwise, the result of the
function is equal to an error.)

2. The number of characters to be extracted from the

beginning of the text is defined as the second input
of this function.

Entering the number 2 in the second input result in the first two
characters of the reference text. To further examine this function, multiple
examples are provided in Table 4-2.

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Chapter 4 Text Functions

Table 4-2. Examples of Text.Start

Formula Result

=Text.Start("Xn1281",2) “Xn”
=Text.Start("Xn1281",3) “Xn1”
=Text.Start("Xn1281",1) “X”
=Text.Start(121,2) Error

The result of the last formula is Error, because the first input is entered
as a number but a text value should be entered. So, in this case before
using Text.Start, you need to convert the first input to text by another
function like Text.From. Therefore, the corrected version of the last
formula is as follows:

=Text.Start(Text.From(121),2)

In this case, the result of the function is equal to “12”.

Text.End
The definition of this function is like Text.Start, but this function is used to
extract a specific number of characters from the end of the reference text.

Text.End(
       text as nullable text,
       count as number
       ) as nullable text

This function has the following two inputs:

1. The first input specifies the reference text whose end

characters you want to extract.

2. The number of characters for extraction is

determined in the second input.

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 Chapter 4 Text Functions

Table 4-3 shows several applications of this function.

Table 4-3. Examples of Text.End

Formula Result

=Text.End("Xn1281",2) “81”
=Text.End("Xn1281",3) “281”
=Text.End("Xn1281",1) “1”

The output of this function is always a text and is not summable unless
you convert the result to a number before using it in the formula.

Text.Range
Another function for extracting characters in a text is Text.Range. It is used
for extracting the middle characters of a text as follows:

Text.Range(
       text as nullable text,
       offset as number,
       optional count as nullable number
       ) as nullable text

This function takes three arguments:

1. The first argument defines the reference text.

2. The second argument determines the starting point

of the extraction (from which character you want to
extract the characters).

3. The number of characters to be extracted is

specified in the third argument.

In this function, entering the value “Xn192” in the first input, the
number 2 in the second input, and the number 1 in the third input means

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Chapter 4 Text Functions

that separation starts from the third character (characters’ positions

start from 0) and only one character should be extracted. Therefore, the
result is “1”.
Table 4-4 shows different examples of this function.

Table 4-4. Examples of Text.Range

Formula Result

=Text.Range("Xn1281",2,1) “1”
=Text.Range("Xn1281",0,3) “Xn1”
=Text.Range("Xn1281",1,2) “n1”
=Text.Range("Xn1281",3,12) Error

Based on the last example in Table 4-4, the result of Text.

Range("Xn1281",3,12) is an error. In this formula, you are searching for
12 characters after the third character in the referenced text, but there are
only three characters of “381” after the third character, so the result of this
function is an error. In this case, Text.Middle can be used. The argument
of this function is the same as Text.Range but the difference is that the
result of Text.Middle("Xn1281",3,12) is equal to “281”.
In Text.Middle, the third argument is optional. If you don’t enter
a value for this argument, the separation continues to the end of the
reference text.

Text.AfterDelimiter
Text.AfterDelimiter is used to extract a part of a text after a specific
delimiter, as follows:

Text.AfterDelimiter(
       text as nullable text,

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 Chapter 4 Text Functions

       delimiter as text,
       optional index as any
              ) as any

This function takes three arguments:

1. The first argument is the reference text.

2. The delimiter for determining the starting point for

separation is entered in the second argument. It is
entered as a text value.

3. If the delimiter has been repeated several times

within the reference text, the third input is used
to specify which repetition should be considered
for separation (counting starts from 0). This input
is optional, and if not entered, the number 0 is
considered instead.

The output of this function is always a part of the reference text that
comes after the delimiter. To clarify this function, various examples are
provided in Table 4-5.

Table 4-5. Examples of Text.AfterDelimiter

Formula Result

= Text.AfterDelimiter("XNW-11-­181-M","-") “11-181-M”
= Text.AfterDelimiter("XNW-11-­181-M","-",0) “11-181-M”
= Text.AfterDelimiter("XNW-11-­181-M","-",1) “181-M”
= Text.AfterDelimiter("XNW-11-­181-M","-",2) “M”
= Text.AfterDelimiter("FMn12N16","N") “16”
= Text.AfterDelimiter("FMn12N16","n") “12N16”
= Text.AfterDelimiter("XNW-11-181-­M","u",2)

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Chapter 4 Text Functions

For the last example in Table 4-5, the result will be empty if the
reference text is not included the delimiter.
In the third input, beside entering a number to determine the desired
repetition of the delimiter in the reference text, the searching direction for the
delimiter in the reference text can be specified by entering RelativePosition.
FromStart or RelativePosition.FromEnd beside the number in a list.
For example, the following formula results in the characters after the
first “-” and is equal to “11-181-M”:
= Text.AfterDelimiter(
"XNW-11-181-M",
"-",

0)

In another example, the result of the following formula is the same, but
it is emphasized that it is searching for the first “-” from the beginning of
the text (left to right):
= Text.AfterDelimiter(
"XNW-11-181-M",
"-",
{0,RelativePosition.FromStart})

But by using the following formula, the result is different. In this case,
you are looking for the text after the first dash, but it is emphasized to
search for the first “-” from the end of the text (right to left). So, the result of
the function is equal to “M”:

= Text.AfterDelimiter(

"XNW-11-181-M",

"-",

{0,RelativePosition.FromEnd})

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 Chapter 4 Text Functions

Text.BeforeDelimiter
Text.BeforeDelimiter is defined like Text.AfterDelimiter and is used
to extract the characters before the delimiter in the reference text. This
function is defined in Power Query as follows:

Text.BeforeDelimiter(
       text as nullable text,
       delimiter as text,
       optional index as any
                      ) as any

This function takes three arguments as follows:

1. The reference text is entered in the first argument.

2. In the second input, the delimiter is entered as a

text value.

3. If the delimiter is repeated several times within

the text, the third input is used to specify which
occurrence should be considered for separation.
This input is optional, and if not entered, the
number 0 is considered instead.
The output of this function is always a part of the reference text before
the delimiter (defined in the second input). To clarify this function, various
examples are provided in Table 4-6.

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Chapter 4 Text Functions

Table 4-6. Examples of Text.BeforeDelimiter

Formula Result

= Text.BeforeDelimiter ("XNW-11-­181-M","-") “XNW”

= Text.BeforeDelimiter("XNW-11-­181-M","-",0) “XNW”
= Text.BeforeDelimiter("XNW-11-­181-M","-",1) “XNW-11”
= Text.BeforeDelimiter("XNW-11-­181-M","-",2) “XNW-11-181”

As with Text.AfterDelimiter, by using RelativePosition.FromStart

or RelativePosition.FromEnd plus the entered number in the third input
as a form of list, the direction for searching the desired occurrence of the
delimiter in the reference text can be changed.
For example, the following formula indicates that the text registered
before the first “-” should be displayed as output. The result of the function
is “XNW”.

= Text.BeforeDelimiter("XNW-11-181-M","-",0)

The result of the following formula is the same as the above formula,
except that this formula displays the text before the first “-” by searching
from the beginning of the reference text (left side):

= Text.BeforeDelimiter(

"XNW-11-181-M",

"-",

{0,RelativePosition.FromStart})

The next formula extracts the text before the first dash by searching
from end of the reference text (close to the end of the text). Therefore, the
result of the function is “XNW-11-181”.

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 Chapter 4 Text Functions

= Text.BeforeDelimiter(

"XNW-11-181-M",

"-",

{0,RelativePosition.FromEnd})

Text.BetweenDelimiters
Text.BetweenDelimiters is used to separate a part of text between two
delimiters, such as between “-” and “/” as follows:

Text.BetweenDelimiters(
       text as nullable text,
       startDelimiter as text,
       endDelimiter as text,
       optional startIndex as any,
       optional endIndex as any
                      ) as any

This function takes the following five arguments:

1. The first input of this function represents the

reference text.

2. The second input determines the delimiter for

determining the separation starting point.

3. The desired delimiter for determining the ending

point of the separation is specified in the third input
of this function.

4. If the delimiter inserted in the second input has

been repeated several times within the reference
text, the position of desired repetitions for
separation can be determined in this input.

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Chapter 4 Text Functions

5. If the delimiter inserted in the third input has been

repeated several times within the reference text, you
can determine in which repetition the separation
should end by using the fifth input of this function.

Based on the function explanations, the result of the following formula

is equal to the text between the “-” character (its first repetition) and the
“/” character (its first repetition), which is equal to “11-181”:

= Text.BetweenDelimiters(

"XNW-11-181/MN-12/2-",

"-",

"/")

To start a separation from the second repetition of “-”, you just need to
enter the number 1 in the fourth input of this function as follows, so the
result of the formula is “181”:

= Text.BetweenDelimiters(

"XNW-11-181/MN-12/2-",

"-",
"/",

1)

Similarly, if the number 1 is also entered in the fifth input of this

function, the separation operation will continue until the second repetition
of “/” and the result will be equal to “181/MN-12”.

= Text.BetweenDelimiters(

"XNW-11-181/MN-12/2-",

"-",

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 Chapter 4 Text Functions

"/",

1,

1)

It should be noted that like the previous functions, to determine

the direction of finding the delimiters in the fourth and fifth inputs,
RelativePosition.FromStart and RelativePosition.FromEnd can be
used beside the number in the list format.

Text.Select
To extract special characters from a reference text, Text.Select can be
used as follows:

Text.Select(
       text as nullable text,
       selectChars as any
              ) as nullable text

This function receives two arguments.

1. The reference text is entered in the first argument.

2. The characters or list of characters for extracting are

entered in the second input in the format of a text or
a list of texts. Entering “XZ” in this input respectively
means extracting all the XZ in the reference text, but
entering {“X”, “Z”} means extracting all the X or Z in
the reference text.

So, by the following formula, all the repetition of characters “2”, “X”, and
“-” should be extracted from the reference text entered in the first input,
and the result is equal to “22-X-2”:

= Text.Select("2023-YXL-12",{"2","X","-"})

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Chapter 4 Text Functions

In the next example, all uppercase alphabetic characters should be

extracted from the reference text, and the result is equal to “YXL”.

= Text.Select("2023-YXL-12",{"A".."Z"})

Text.Split
Text.Split is used to split a reference text into several texts based on a
delimiter. For example, “X-12-M81” can be divided into {“X”, “12”, “M81”}
by this function (in this case, the delimiter is “-”):

Text.Split(
       text as text,
       separator as text
              ) as list

This function takes the following two arguments and results in a list of
separated texts:

1. The reference text is entered in the first argument.

2. The second argument represents the character or

characters that act as the delimiter for splitting the
text. Entering the “-” in this input means that the
parts of the reference text after “-” should be split.

Various examples of this function are listed in Table 4-7.

Table 4-7. Examples of Text.Split

Formula Result

= Text.Split("XNW-11-­181-M","-") {“XNW”,“11”,“181”,“M”}
= Text.Split("XNW-11-­181-M","1") }“XNW-”,“”,“-”,“8”,“-M”}
= Text.Split("XNW-11-181-­M","n") }“XNW-11-181-M”}
= Text.Split("XNW-11-181-­M","N") }“X”,“W-11-181-M”}

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In the same way, Text.SplitAny can be used to split a reference

text based on each repetition of single characters inserted in the second
argument. So the result of the following formula is {“XN”,,“11”,“181”,“M”},
while using Text.Split results in {“XN”,“11-181-M”}:

= Text.SplitAny("XNW-11-181-M","W-")

Removing, Replacing, and Combining Texts

In this section, the functions for removing a part of a text or replacing it
with new characters or combining different texts are explained.

Text.Remove
Specific characters can be removed from a reference text by using Text.
Remove as follows.

Text.Remove(
       text as nullable text,
       removeChars as any
              ) as nullable text

This function takes these two inputs:

1. The first input is the reference text.

2. The second input defines the characters that you

want to remove from the reference text. To remove
a character or substring, it can be entered as a text
in this input, but to remove several characters or
substrings, they should be entered as a list within {}.

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Table 4-8 provides various examples of this function.

Table 4-8. Examples of Text.Remove

Formula Result

= Text.Remove("XNW-11-181/MN","1") “XNW--8/MN”
= Text.Remove("XNW-11-181/MN","-") “XNW11181/MN”
= Text.Remove("XNW-11-181/MN","/") “XNW-11-181MN”
= Text.Remove("XNW-11-181/MN",{"1","-","/"}) “XNW8MN”
= Text.Remove("XNW-11-181/MN",{"A".."Z"}) “-11-181/”

In another case, by using the following formula, all numbers within

the reference text can be removed. In this case, the result of the formula is
equal to “XNW--/MN”.

= Text.Remove("XNW-11-181/MN",{"0".."9"})

By using the following formula, all capital letters in the text can be
removed. In this case, the result of the formula is equal to “ -11-181/ ”.

= Text.Remove("XNW-11-181/MN",{"A".."Z"})

In another example, by using the following formula, all letters within

the text can be removed:

= Text.Remove("XNW-11-181/MN",{"a".."z","A".."Z"})

Text.RemoveRange
The Text.RemoveRange function is used to remove a sequence of
characters in the reference text based on their position (for example,
removing the seventh to tenth characters within a specific text). This
function is defined in Power Query as follows:

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Text.RemoveRange(
text as nullable text,
offset as number,
optional count as nullable number
         ) as nullable text

Text.RemoveRange takes three arguments:

1. The reference text is defined in the first argument.

2. The starting position for removing is determined

in the second argument. (Note that positions start
from 0.)

3. In the third argument, the number of characters to

be removed is entered. This input is optional, and if
no value is entered, the number 1 is considered.

To better examine this function, multiple examples are provided in

Table 4-9.

Table 4-9. Examples of Text.RemoveRange

Formula Result

= Text.RemoveRange("2023-YXL-12",0,5) “YXL-12”
= Text.RemoveRange("2023-YXL-12",4,5) “202312”
= Text.RemoveRange("2023-YXL-12",8,3) “YXL-12”
= Text.RemoveRange("2023-YXL-12",8,5) Error

Text.PadEnd
By using Text.PadEnd, the length of a text (number of characters) can
be increased to the desired number and new spaces can be filled with a
specified character at the end of the text.

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Text.PadEnd(
       text as nullable text,
       count as number,
       optional character as nullable text
              ) as nullable text

This function takes three inputs as follows:

1. The first input of this function represents the

reference text.

2. In the second input, the length of output is

determined by entering a number.

3. In this input, the desired character(s) for filling the

empty spaces is determined. This input is optional;
if not entered, the space will be considered instead.

According to the above explanation, based on the following formula,

the output must contain five characters and the empty spaces at the end of
the reference text must be filled with “X”. Therefore, the result is “AWXXX”.

= Text.PadEnd("AW",5,"X")

Based on the function explanations, various examples of this function

are given in Table 4-10.

Table 4-10. Examples of Text.PadEnd

Formula Result

= Text.PadEnd("AW",5,"X") “AWXXX”
= Text.PadEnd("AW",5) “AW ”
= Text.PadEnd("AW",1,"X") “AW”

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Text.PadStart
The Text.PadStart function is like the Text.PadEnd function. The
difference is that in this function, the desired character will be placed
at the beginning of the reference text. In other words, by using Text.
PadStart, the length of a text can be increased by repeating new
character(s) at the beginning of it. This function is defined as follows:

Text.PadStart(
       text as nullable text,
       count as number,
       optional character as nullable text
              ) as nullable text

This function has three inputs as follows:

1. The first input of this function represents the

reference text.

2. The desired length of output text is specified in the

second input.

3. In the third input, the desired character(s) for filling

the empty spaces is entered.
Based on the function explanations, various examples of this function
are listed in Table 4-11.

Table 4-11. Examples of Text.PadStart

Formula Result

= Text.PadStart("AW",5,"X") “XXXAW”
= Text.PadStart("AW",5) “ AW”
= Text.PadStart("AW",1,"X") “AW”

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Text.Replace
By using this function, a substring in a text can be replaced with new
characters as follows:

Text.Replace(
       text as nullable text,
       old as text,
       new as text
              ) as nullable text

This function takes the following three arguments:

1. The reference text is entered in the first input.

2. The substring that should be removed and replaced

by new characters is entered in this input.

3. The new text that should replace the deleted part is

defined in the third input.

Using this function, the substring entered in the second input is

replaced with the text specified in the third input in the reference text.
Table 4-12 shows some applications of this function.

Table 4-12. Examples of Text.Replace

Formula Result

= Text.Replace("XNW-11-181/MN","-","/") “XNW/11/181/MN”
= Text.Replace("XNW-11-181/MN","/","-") “XNW-11-181-MN”
= Text.Replace("XNW-11-181/MN","XNW","U") “U-11-181/MN”

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Text.ReplaceRange
Text.ReplaceRange is used to replace several characters with new
characters based on their position in the reference text. This function is
defined in the following way in Power Query:

Text.ReplaceRange(
       text as nullable text,
       offset as number,
       count as number,
       newText as text
              ) as nullable text
.

This function takes four arguments as follows:

1. The first argument represents the reference text.

2. The starting point for deletion from the reference

text is determined in the second argument by
entering a number.

3. The third input of this function represents the

number of characters you want to remove from the
reference text.

4. The substitute text is defined in this input.

Based on the above description, by the following formula, the three

characters after the sixth (5+1) character are replaced by “A” and the result
is equal to “2023-A-12”.

= Text.RemoveRange("2023-YXL-12",5,3,"A")

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Text.Insert
To add new characters to the reference text, Text.Insert is used as
follows:

Text.Insert(
       text as nullable text,
       offset as number,
       newText as text
       ) as nullable text

This function takes the following three inputs:

1. The reference text is entered as the first input.

2. In the second input, the position of adding the new

text is determined.

3. Finally, in the third input of this function, the text

or characters for adding to the reference text is
determined.

Table 4-13 shows several examples of this function.

Table 4-13. Examples of Text.Insert

Formula Result

= Text.Insert("2023-YXL-­12",0,"AB-") “AB-2023-YXL-12”
= Text.Insert("2023-YXL-­12",5,"AB-") “2023-AB-YXL-12”
= Text.Insert("2023-YXL-­12",9,"AB-") “2023-YXL-AB-12”

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Text.Repeat
The Text.Repeat function is used to repeat a text as desired numbers, as
follows:

Text.Repeat(
       text as nullable text,
       count as number
       ) as nullable text

This function receives two inputs as follows:

1. In the first input of this function, the text is entered.

2. The repetition count is specified in the second input

by entering a number.

Considering the function explanations, the result of this function for

different values is listed in Table 4-14.

Table 4-14. Examples of Text.Repeat

Formula Result

= Text.Repeat("X",3) “XXX”
= Text.Repeat("X-",3) “X-X-X-”
= Text.Repeat("X-Y",3) “X-YX-YX-Y”

Text.Combine
By using Text.Combine, two or more texts can be combined and result
in a text.

Text.Combine(
       texts as list,
       optional separator as nullable text
              ) as text

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This function takes two arguments as follows:

1. In the first argument, a list of texts to combine is

entered.

2. The separator is determined in the second

argument. This input is optional; if no separator is
entered, it will not be considered.

Table 4-15 provides various examples of this function.

Table 4-15. Examples of Text.Combine

Formula Result

= Text.Combine({"A","B","C"}) “ABC”
= Text.Combine({"A","B","C"},"-") “A-B-C”
= Text.Combine({"A","B","C"}," ") “A B C”

Text Correction
There are various functions in Power Query to modify texts. These
functions mostly receive a text as input and, after removing extra spaces,
special characters, and capitalizing or lowercasing letters in the reference
text, display the corrected text as output. Table 4-16 lists these functions
along with their application.

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Table 4-16. List of Text Correction Functions

Functions Description

Text.Lower* Using this function, all English letters in the inputed text will be
converted to lowercase.
Text.Upper* The output of this function will be the same as the input
text, except that all letters in the output will be displayed in
uppercase.
Text.Proper* The output of this function will be the same as the input text,
except that in the output text, the first letter of all words will be
displayed in uppercase, and the other letters will be displayed in
lowercase.
Text.Reverse Using this function, the sequence of characters in the reference
text will be reversed.
Text.Trim* Using this function, all extra spaces in a text (spaces at the
beginning, ending, or spaces next to each other) can be
removed.
Text.TrimEnd* Using this function, extra spaces at the end of the text can be
removed.
Text.TrimStart* Using this function, extra spaces at the beginning of the text can
be removed.
Text.Clean Using this function, special characters such as #(if) within the
text can be removed, in addition to extra spaces.
Text.Length This function is used to determine the number of characters in
the reference text.

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Table 4-17 lists several examples of these functions.

Table 4-17. Examples of Text Correction Functions

Formula Result

=Text.Lower("MN-12qw sx") “mn-12qw sx”

=Text.Upper("MN-12qw sx") “MN-12QW SX”
=Text.Lower("MN-12qw sx") “Mn-12Qw Sx”
= Text.Trim(" WS mn- 1 ") “WS mn- 1”
= Text.TrimStart(" WS mn- 1 ") “WS mn- 1 ”
= Text.TrimEnd(" WS mn- 1 ") “ WS mn- 1”
= Text.TrimEnd(" WS mn- 1 X X ",{" “ WS mn- 1”
","X"})

Searching for Characters

In this section, different functions to search for a specific character in the
reference text are described. These functions are divided into two groups.
In the first group, the function will result in True or False, while in the
second group, the position of the searching characters in the reference text
will be displayed as output.

Text.StartsWith
To check the initial characters of a text, Text.StartsWith can be used as
follows:

Text.StartsWith(
       text as nullable text,
       substring as text,
       optional comparer as nullable function
              ) as nullable logical

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Using this function, you can check whether a text starts with certain
characters or not. This function takes three arguments as follows, and its
output is always True or False.

1. The reference text is entered in the first argument.

2. The substring that you want to compare the initial

characters of the reference text to are entered in the
second input.

3. This input is optional and determines the

comparison logic. If this input is not entered, the
function is sensitive to uppercase and lowercase
letters. Entering the expression Comparer.
OrdinalIgnoreCase means the function is no longer
sensitive to uppercase and lowercase letters. The
different cases of this input are as follows:
Comparer.Equals
Comparer.FromCulture
Comparer.Ordinal
Comparer.OrdinalIgnoreCase
Based on the above explanations, different examples of using this
function are provided in Table 4-18.

Table 4-18. Examples of Text.StartsWith

Formula Result

= Text.StartsWith("XN18-M13","X") True
= Text.StartsWith("XN18-M13","XN1") True
= Text.StartsWith("XN18-M13","xn") False
= Text.StartsWith("XN18-M13","xn", Comparer. True
OrdinalIgnoreCase)

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Text.EndsWith
To examine the ending characters of a text, Text.EndsWith can be used as
follows:

Text.EndsWith(
       text as nullable text,
       substring as text,
       optional comparer as nullable function
              ) as nullable logical

By using this function, you can check whether a text ends with certain
characters or not. This function receives the following three inputs, and its
output is always equal to True or False.

1. The reference text.

2. The desired characters that you want to compare

with the ending characters of the reference text.

3. This input is optional and determines the

comparison logic, and its different cases are
Comparer.Equals
Comparer.FromCulture
Comparer.Ordinal
Comparer.OrdinalIgnoreCase
Based on the above explanations, different examples of using this
function are provided in Table 4-19.

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Table 4-19. Examples of Text.EndsWith

Formula Result

= Text.EndsWith("XN18-M13","M13") True
= Text.EndsWith("XN18-M13","13") True
= Text.EndsWith("XN18-M13","m13") False
= Text.EndsWith("XN18-M13","m13", Comparer. True
OrdinalIgnoreCase)

Text.Contains
To check the existence of substring in a reference text, Text.Contains can
be used as follows:

Text.Contains(
       text as nullable text,
       substring as text,
       optional comparer as nullable function
              ) as nullable logical

This function takes these three below inputs:

1. The first input is the reference text.

2. The substring that you want to search for in the

reference text is entered in the second input.

3. This input is optional and determines the

comparison logic. If this input is not entered, the
function is case-sensitive. Entering the expression
Comparer.OrdinalIgnoreCase means the function

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is no longer case-­sensitive. The different cases for

this input are
Comparer.Equals
Comparer.FromCulture
Comparer.Ordinal
Comparer.OrdinalIgnoreCase
Based on the function explanations, the result of this function for
different examples is given in Table 4-20.

Table 4-20. Examples of Text.Contains

Formula Result

= Text.Contains("XN18-M13","M") True
= Text.Contains("XN18-M13","8-M") True
= Text.Contains("XN18-M13","m") False
= Text.Contains("XN18-M13","M", True
Comparer.OrdinalIgnoreCase)

Text.PositionOf
To obtain the position of a substring in the reference text, Text.
PositionOf can be used as follows:

Text.PositionOf(
       text as text,
       substring as text,
       optional occurrence as nullable number,
       optional comparer as nullable function
              ) as any

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This function has the four following inputs:

1. The first input is the reference text.

2. The second input is a substring that you want to

search for in the reference text.

3. If the entered substring from the second input is

repeated more than once in the reference text,
the desired position is determined in this input by
entering numbers 0, 1, or 2 or by using the expressions
Occurrence.First, Occurrence.Last, or Occurrence.
All. This input is optional, and its default value is 0.

4. The logic of comparing the substring is determined

in this input. This input is optional, and its default
state is case-sensitive, but entering Comparer.
OrdinalIgnoreCase in this input means that it is not
case-­sensitive. The different states of this input are
Comparer.Equals
Comparer.FromCulture
Comparer.Ordinal
Comparer.OrdinalIgnoreCase
In Table 4-21, numerous examples of this function are provided.

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Table 4-21. Examples of Text.PositionOf

Formula Result

= Text.PositionOf("XNW-11-181-M","-") 3
= Text.PositionOf("XNW-11-181-M","-",1) 10
= Text.PositionOf("XNW-11-181-M","-", 10
Occurrence.Last)
= Text.PositionOf("XNW-11-181-M","-",2) {3,6,10}
= Text.PositionOf("XNW-11-181-M","R") -1

Text.PositionOfAny
Text.PositionOfAny is like Text.PositionOf. The difference is that using
Text.PositionOfAny means it’s possible to simultaneously search for
multiple strings within the reference text, as follows:

Text.PositionOfAny(
       text as text,
       characters as list,
       optional occurrence as nullable number
              ) as any

This function takes these three inputs:

1. The reference text.

2. The second input is in the form of a list and contains

the substrings for which you want to find the
positions in the reference text.

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3. This input is optional. By entering the numbers 0, 1,

or 2, you specify whether the smallest number (first
repetition at the beginning of the text), the largest
number (last repetition at the end of the text), or all
numbers should be displayed in the output.

Table 4-22 provides examples of this function.

Table 4-22. Examples of Text.PositionOfAny

Formula Result

= Text.PositionOfAny("XNW-11-181-M",{"-"}) 3
= Text.PositionOfAny("XNW-11-181-M",{"1"}) 4
= Text.PositionOfAny("XNW-11-­181-M",{"-","1"}) 3
= Text.PositionOfAny("XNW-11-­181-M",{"-","1"},1) 10
= Text.PositionOfAny("XNW-11-­181-M",{"-","1"},2) {3,4,5,6,7,9,10}

Text Conversion
In Power Query, the format of values is important, and each function
works on a specific range of formats. For example, in the first input of
Text.Start, a text must be entered, and entering a number will result
in an error. So, to separate the first four characters (year) in the number
20231123, firstly it should be converted to text and then you can perform
the desired operation on it.
There are different functions in Power Query for values format
conversion, which are explained in Table 4-23.

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Table 4-23. Text Conversion Functions

Function Description

Character.FromNumber This function receives a number (ASCII code) as

input and displays the corresponding character in the
output.
Character.ToNumber This function receives a character as input and
displays the corresponding ASCII code in the output.
Text.From This function receives a number as input and displays
the same number in text format in the output.
Text.ToList This function receives a text as input, separates each
character of the number, and displays the result as a
list in the output.
Value.FromText This function receives a number in text format as input
and displays the same number in a numerical format
in the output.

Table 4-24 shows the results of these functions.

Table 4-24. Examples of Text Conversion Functions

Formula Result

Character.FromNumber(65) “A”
Character.ToNumber("A") 65
Text.From(83) “83”
Text.ToList("Hello") {“H”,“e”,“L”,“L”,“O”}
Value.FromText("83") 83

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Summary
In this chapter, you embarked on a journey through the world of text
functions within Power Query, unveiling a toolkit that empowers data
professionals to conquer the complexities of unstructured and semi-­
structured text data. Textual information, from customer feedback to
product descriptions, is integral to our digital lives, and mastering its
manipulation is essential for data transformation.
You began by understanding the fundamentals of text encoding,
manipulation, and the role of Power Query’s text functions in these
processes. You explored the art of efficiently extracting specific elements
from strings, a skill that allows you to isolate URLs from paragraphs or
capture dates from lengthy narratives.
Moving forward, you delved into techniques for cleansing and
standardizing data, including removing extraneous spaces, punctuation,
and converting case formats. These operations form the foundation of
consistent and reliable text analysis.
To complete the Power Query functions, the functions related to
manipulating the dates and times are presented in the next chapter. These
functions are used to extract the required information from the values
in the format of time and date. So you will learn how to add or subtract
specific values from dates or how to compare the different date values.

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Date and Time

Functions
In the ever-evolving landscape of data analysis and manipulation, time
stands as an unyielding dimension. From sales records stamped with
precise transaction times to project timelines meticulously tracked,
understanding and harnessing the intricate world of dates and times
is essential. This chapter delves into the realm of Power Query's date
and time functions, illuminating the path to conquering temporal data
complexities with finesse and accuracy.
Dates and times are more than mere numbers on a screen; they
represent the pulse of business operations, the rhythm of customer
behaviors, and the progression of events. Yet these timestamps are often
fragmented, inconsistent, or divergent across data sources. Power Query,
with its arsenal of specialized functions, offers the key to harmonizing and
unlocking the insights hidden within temporal data.
Your expedition begins with an exploration of foundational
concepts, dispelling the mystique surrounding date and time formats.
Understanding the subtleties of international standards, time zones, and
date arithmetic is paramount to effective temporal data manipulation.
As you delve deeper, you'll encounter the power of date and time
functions in transforming raw timestamps into intelligible and meaningful
information. From extracting day-of-week patterns to calculating the

© Omid Motamedisedeh 2024 83

O. Motamedisedeh, The Ultimate Guide to Functions in Power Query,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-9754-4_5
Chapter 5 Date and Time Functions

duration between critical milestones, these functions serve as the building

blocks of temporal analysis.
The initial function, DateTime.LocalNow, without any argument, can
be used as follows to determine date of today and time of now:

DateTime.LocalNow() as datetime

Date Information
To examine if a date is in a specific date period (such as last week or next
month) or not, several functions can be used. The following is a list of the
functions you can use to examine the availability of a date in the next,
previous, or current time period (just one time period):

Date.IsInCurrentDay Date.IsInPreviousDay Date.IsInNextDay

Date.IsInCurrentWeek Date.IsInPreviousWeek Date.
IsInNextWeek
Date.IsInCurrentMonth Date. Date.
IsInPreviousMonth IsInNextMonth
Date. Date. Date.
IsInCurrentQuarter IsInPreviousQuarter IsInNextQuarter
Date.IsInCurrentYear Date.IsInPreviousYear Date.
IsInNextYear

All of the above functions take an argument in the format of a date.

Based on the entered value, comparing it with the value of DateTime.
LocalNow(), the function result will be true or false. For example, the Date.
IsInCurrentMonth indicates whether the given datetime value occurs
during the current month (determined by the current date and time on the
system) or not.

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The above-mentioned functions are used to evaluate the availability

of a date in the next or previous time period (they can used for check the
availability of a date in the next month but not the next two month), but
to examine if a date is in more than one next or previous time periods (N
times period), one of the following functions can be used:

Date.IsInPreviousNDays Date.IsInNextNDays
Date.IsInPreviousNWeeks Date.IsInNextNWeeks
Date.IsInPreviousNMonths Date.IsInNextNMonths
Date.IsInPreviousNQuarters Date.IsInNextNQuarters
Date.IsInPreviousNYears Date.IsInNextNYears

All of the above mentioned functions take two arguments:

1. The date value is entered as the first argument.

2. The N, as the number of the next or previous period,

is determined in the second argument.

So the result of Date.IsInPreviousNYears(X,2) is true, if X is a date in

the period of the last two years.
Assuming that today's date is April 14, 2023, the results of different
formulas in this group are shown in Table 5-1. (To save space, the
expression Date.IsIn has been removed from the beginning of all
functions names; True is represented by T; False is represented by F; and x
represents the dates entered in the column titles.)

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Chapter 5

Table 5-1. Date Information Functions

Reference Date (x) 5/ 18/ 12/ 18/ 18/ 19/ 15/ 1/ 4/ 11/ 10/ 9/ 24/ 22/ 24/ 11/ 4/ 18/
03/ 12/ 10/ 04/ 08/ 02/ 06/ 02/ 09/ 02/ 09/ 03/ 07/ 04/ 05/ 10/ 11/ 11/
2023 2022 2023 2023 2023 2023 2023 2023 2023 2022 2022 2024 2022 2022 2022 2022 2023 2022

CurrentMonth(x) F F F T F F F F F F F F F F F F F F

NextMonth(x) F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F
Date and Time Functions

PreviousMonth(x) T F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F

NextYear(x) F F F F F F F F F F F T F F F F F F

CurrentYear(x) T F T T T T T T T F F F F F F F T F

NextNQuarters(x,5) F F T F T F F F T F F T F F F F T F

PreviousQuarter(x) T F F F F T F T F F F F F F F F F F

NextNMonths(x,7) F F T F T F T F T F F F F F F F T F

CurrentWeek(x) F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F
 Chapter 5 Date and Time Functions

DateTime Information
Like the functions in the previous section, this group of information
functions also includes two groups. The first group of functions, including
the following functions, receives one input and is used to check the
existence of an entered time in the input during a time (hour, minute, or
second) before or after the current time. The following cases are included:
DateTime.IsInCurrentHour
DateTime.IsInCurrentMinute
DateTime.IsInCurrentSecond
DateTime.IsInNextHour
DateTime.IsInNextMinute
DateTime.IsInNextSecond
DateTime.IsInNextNHours
DateTime.IsInNextNMinutes
DateTime.IsInNextNSeconds

The second group of functions receives two inputs (date and time to be
checked and N as the number of time periods) and are used to check the
existence of a time in N time periods (hour, minute, or second) before or
after the current time. The functions in this group are as follows:
DateTime.IsInPreviousHour
DateTime.IsInPreviousMinute
DateTime.IsInPreviousNHours
DateTime.IsInPreviousNMinutes

Assuming that the current time is 4:30 on April 14, 2023, the result of
various formulas is shown in Table 5-2. (To shorten the table, the phrase
DateTime.IsIn has been removed from the beginning of all functions, and
the term X is used instead of the date and time value.)

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Table 5-2. Datetime Information Functions

Reference Date (x) Current Next Previous NextN Previous
Hour(X) Hour(X) Hour(X) Minutes NHours
(X,120) (X,12)

13/04/2023 19:36 FALSE FALSE FALSE FALSE FALSE

12/04/2023 16:47 FALSE FALSE FALSE FALSE FALSE
13/04/2023 13:47 FALSE FALSE FALSE FALSE FALSE
14/04/2023 16:41 TRUE FALSE FALSE TRUE FALSE
12/04/2023 17:32 FALSE FALSE FALSE FALSE FALSE
12/04/2023 17:49 FALSE FALSE FALSE FALSE FALSE
14/04/2023 4:32 FALSE FALSE FALSE FALSE TRUE
13/04/2023 8:49 FALSE FALSE FALSE FALSE FALSE
13/04/2023 22:48 FALSE FALSE FALSE FALSE FALSE
13/04/2023 2:45 FALSE FALSE FALSE FALSE FALSE
12/04/2023 22:29 FALSE FALSE FALSE FALSE FALSE
12/04/2023 4:23 FALSE FALSE FALSE FALSE FALSE
13/04/2023 7:47 FALSE FALSE FALSE FALSE FALSE
14/04/2023 3:23 FALSE FALSE FALSE FALSE FALSE
12/04/2023 2:10 FALSE FALSE FALSE FALSE FALSE
14/04/2023 8:07 FALSE FALSE FALSE FALSE TRUE
13/04/2023 0:08 FALSE FALSE FALSE FALSE FALSE
13/04/2023 17:01 FALSE FALSE FALSE FALSE FALSE

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Adding a Value to a Date

In Power Query, several functions can be used to add or subtract a
certain number of days, weeks, months, seasons, or years to a date. These
functions, which are described below, receive two inputs. The first input
is the reference date and the second input is a value in number format
(positive or negative) to determine the number of days, weeks, months,
quarters, or years you want to add to (if the entered value is positive) or
subtract from (if the entered value is negative) the reference date. This
group includes the following functions:

Date.AddDays(dateTime as any, numberOfDays as number) as any

Date.AddMonths(dateTime as any, numberOfMonths as number) as any

Date.AddQuarters(dateTime as any, numberOfQuarters as number) as any

Date.AddWeeks(dateTime as any, numberOfWeeks as number) as any

Date.AddYears(dateTime as any, numberOfYears as number) as any

According to the function explanations, the results of these functions

for different examples are as shown in Table 5-3. (The first parameter of
all formulas, which is in date type, has been entered in the first column of
Table 5-3 and is shown by x in the formulas).

Table 5-3. Adding To or Subtracting From Dates

Reference AddDays AddDays AddMonths Addyears
Date (x) (x,2) (x,-5) (x,-3) (x,-2)

31/03/2023 2/04/2023 26/03/2023 31/12/2022 31/03/2021

5/04/2023 7/04/2023 31/03/2023 5/01/2023 5/04/2021
8/04/2023 10/04/2023 3/04/2023 8/01/2023 8/04/2021
(continued)

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Table 5-3. (continued)

Reference AddDays AddDays AddMonths Addyears

Date (x) (x,2) (x,-5) (x,-3) (x,-2)

12/04/2023 14/04/2023 7/04/2023 12/01/2023 12/04/2021

13/04/2023 15/04/2023 8/04/2023 13/01/2023 13/04/2021
14/04/2023 16/04/2023 9/04/2023 14/01/2023 14/04/2021
16/04/2023 18/04/2023 11/04/2023 16/01/2023 16/04/2021
22/04/2023 24/04/2023 17/04/2023 22/01/2023 22/04/2021
24/04/2023 26/04/2023 19/04/2023 24/01/2023 24/04/2021
28/04/2023 30/04/2023 23/04/2023 28/01/2023 28/04/2021
3/05/2023 5/05/2023 28/04/2023 3/02/2023 3/05/2021
4/05/2023 6/05/2023 29/04/2023 4/02/2023 4/05/2021
9/05/2023 11/05/2023 4/05/2023 9/02/2023 9/05/2021
17/05/2023 19/05/2023 12/05/2023 17/02/2023 17/05/2021
19/05/2023 21/05/2023 14/05/2023 19/02/2023 19/05/2021

S
 hifting Dates
To determine the start or end date of the week, month, season, or year of a
specific date, the following functions can be used:

Date.EndOfDay Date.StartOfDay

Date.EndOfWeek Date.StartOfWeek
Date.EndOfMonth Date.StartOfMonth
Date.EndOfQuarter Date.StartOfQuarter
Date.EndOfYear Date.StartOfYear

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So, by entering a date in the first argument of Date.EndOfYear, the last

date on the year of the date entered in the first argument is shown, and the
result of Date.StartOfYear is the first date of that year. See Table 5-4.

Table 5-4. Shifting Date Functions

Reference Date Date. Date. Date. Date.
EndOfDay EndOfWeek EndOfMonth EndOfYear

27/07/2020 2/08/2020 31/07/2020 30/09/2020 31/12/2020

30/07/2020 2/08/2020 31/07/2020 30/09/2020 31/12/2020
8/11/2020 8/11/2020 30/11/2020 31/12/2020 31/12/2020
5/01/2021 10/01/2021 31/01/2021 31/03/2021 31/12/2021
8/04/2021 11/04/2021 30/04/2021 30/06/2021 31/12/2021
6/09/2021 12/09/2021 30/09/2021 30/09/2021 31/12/2021
2/10/2021 3/10/2021 31/10/2021 31/12/2021 31/12/2021
19/11/2021 21/11/2021 30/11/2021 31/12/2021 31/12/2021
27/11/2021 28/11/2021 30/11/2021 31/12/2021 31/12/2021
26/12/2021 26/12/2021 31/12/2021 31/12/2021 31/12/2021
14/02/2022 20/02/2022 28/02/2022 31/03/2022 31/12/2022
30/03/2022 3/04/2022 31/03/2022 31/03/2022 31/12/2022
28/04/2022 1/05/2022 30/04/2022 30/06/2022 31/12/2022
12/06/2022 12/06/2022 30/06/2022 30/06/2022 31/12/2022
22/07/2022 24/07/2022 31/07/2022 30/09/2022 31/12/2022
7/11/2022 13/11/2022 30/11/2022 31/12/2022 31/12/2022
24/01/2023 29/01/2023 31/01/2023 31/03/2023 31/12/2023
26/03/2023 26/03/2023 31/03/2023 31/03/2023 31/12/2023

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The results of these functions are provided in Table 5-5.

Table 5-5. Shifting Date Functions

Reference StartofDay StartOfWeek StartOf StartOf StartOf
Date Month Quarter Year

27/07/2020 27/07/2020 27/07/2020 1/07/2020 1/07/2020 1/01/2020

30/07/2020 30/07/2020 27/07/2020 1/07/2020 1/07/2020 1/01/2020
8/11/2020 8/11/2020 2/11/2020 1/11/2020 1/10/2020 1/01/2020
5/01/2021 5/01/2021 4/01/2021 1/01/2021 1/01/2021 1/01/2021
8/04/2021 8/04/2021 5/04/2021 1/04/2021 1/04/2021 1/01/2021
6/09/2021 6/09/2021 6/09/2021 1/09/2021 1/07/2021 1/01/2021
2/10/2021 2/10/2021 27/09/2021 1/10/2021 1/10/2021 1/01/2021
19/11/2021 19/11/2021 15/11/2021 1/11/2021 1/10/2021 1/01/2021
27/11/2021 27/11/2021 22/11/2021 1/11/2021 1/10/2021 1/01/2021
26/12/2021 26/12/2021 20/12/2021 1/12/2021 1/10/2021 1/01/2021
14/02/2022 14/02/2022 14/02/2022 1/02/2022 1/01/2022 1/01/2022
30/03/2022 30/03/2022 28/03/2022 1/03/2022 1/01/2022 1/01/2022
28/04/2022 28/04/2022 25/04/2022 1/04/2022 1/04/2022 1/01/2022
12/06/2022 12/06/2022 6/06/2022 1/06/2022 1/04/2022 1/01/2022
22/07/2022 22/07/2022 18/07/2022 1/07/2022 1/07/2022 1/01/2022
7/11/2022 7/11/2022 7/11/2022 1/11/2022 1/10/2022 1/01/2022
24/01/2023 24/01/2023 23/01/2023 1/01/2023 1/01/2023 1/01/2023
26/03/2023 26/03/2023 20/03/2023 1/03/2023 1/01/2023 1/01/2023

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Conversion to Record
Several functions can be used to convert date values to the record. The
Time.ToRecord, as the initial function, is used to convert a time value as
follows to a record:

Time.ToRecord(Time as time) as record

Based on the function syntax, it takes an input in the type of time

and displays the time values in a record in the output. Therefore, the
result of the formula Time.ToRecord(#time(2,10,30)) is equal to the
following value:

[Hour=2, Minute=10, Second=30]

Similarly, the Date.ToRecord function is used to convert a date value

as follows to a record:

Date.ToRecord(Date as date) as record

Based on the function syntax, it takes an input in the format of a date

and displays the date values in a record in the output. Therefore, the
result of the formula Date.ToRecord(#date(2022,5,3)) is equal to the
following value:

[Year=2022, Month=5, Day=3]

Another function in this group is the DateTime.ToRecord, which is

used to convert a date and time value to a record. This function takes an
input of type datetime and displays its values in a record as output.

DateTime.ToRecord(DateTime as datetime) as record

As you can see, this function receives an input and displays its values
in a record in the output. Therefore, the result of the formula DateTime.ToR
ecord(#datetime(2022,5,3,2,10,30)) is equal to the following value:

[Year=2022, Month=5, Day=3, Hour=2, Minute=10, Second=30]

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Date Specifications
There are different functions, described below, in Power Query to extract
the information (number of day, month, or year) from date values.

Date.Day
This function is defined as follows in Power Query and takes an input of
type date, and in the output, and the day value of the reference date is
shown in the result.

Date.Day(dateTime as any) as nullable number

In other words, this function displays the day part of the entered date
in the output. Therefore, the result of the following formula will be equal to
the number 3:

= Date.Day(#date(2022,5,3))

Date.DayOfWeek
Using this function, the day number (in a week) of a date can be
determined. This function is defined as follows in Power Query and
receives two inputs. The first input is of type date, and in the second input,
entering values such as Day.Sunday or Day.Monday, you specify which day
of the week is the first day of each week.

Date.DayOfWeek(
       dateTime as any,
       optional firstDayOfWeek as nullable number
              ) as nullable number

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This function always returns a number and represents the day of the
week. The result of the following formula is equal to 1:

= Date.DayOfWeek(#date(2022,5,3))

Date.DayOfWeekName
This function is like the Date.DayOfWeek function, but instead of the day
number in the week, the day name will be displayed in the output by this
function. This function is defined in Power Query as follows:

Date.DayOfWeekName(
date as any,
optional culture as nullable text
            )

The first input of this function represents the reference date and in the
second input, which is optional, the logic of day naming by entering an
expression such as "en-US" can be determined. The result of the following
formula is equal to Tuesday:

= Date.MonthName(#date(2022,5,3))

Date.WeekOfMonth
To determine the week number in a month, the following function can
be used:

Date.WeekOfMonth(
dateTime as any,
optional firstDayOfWeek as nullable number
         ) as nullable number

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Based on the function syntax, this function receives two inputs. The
first input is of type date and in the second input, entering values such as
Day.Sunday or Day.Monday, you specify which day of the week is the first
day of the week. According to the function explanations, the result of the
following formula is equal to 19, indicating that this date belongs to the
second week of the year:

= Date.WeekOfYear(#date(2022,5,3))

Date.WeekOfYear
To determine the week number (from the beginning of the year) of a date,
this function can be used as follows:

Date.WeekOfYear(
dateTime as any,
optional firstDayOfWeek as nullable number
         ) as nullable number

Based on the function syntax, it takes two inputs. The first input is of
type date and in the second input, entering values such as Day.Sunday or
Day.Monday, you specify which day of the week is the first day of the week.
According to the function explanations, the result of the following formula
is equal to 19, indicating that this date belongs to the 19th week of the year:

= Date.WeekOfYear(#date(2022,5,3))

Date.Month
This function is defined in Power Query as follows and receives one input
of type date and specifies the month number of entered date:

Date.Month(dateTime as any) as nullable number

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In other words, this function displays the month section of the entered
date in the output. Therefore, the result of the following formula is equal to 5:

= Date.Month(#date(2022,5,3))

Date.MonthName
This function is like the Date.Month function, but instead of the month
number, the month name will be displayed in the output. This function is
defined in Power Query as follows:

Date.MonthName(
date as any,
optional culture as nullable text
       ) as nullable text

The first input of this function represents the reference date and in
the second input, which is optional, you can define the logic of the month
naming by entering an expression such as "en-US". The result of the
following formula is equal to May:

= Date.MonthName(#date(2022,5,3))

Date.DayOfYear
This function is defined in Power Query as follows and receives one input
of type date and specifies in the output the day number of the entered date
since the beginning of the year:

Date.DayOfYear(dateTime as any) as nullable number

Therefore, the result of the following formula is 123, indicating that this
date belongs to the 123rd day of the year:

= Date.DayOfYear(#date(2022,5,3))

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Date.Year
This function is defined in Power Query as follows. It receives one input of
type date and the year value of the entered date will determine in the output.

Date.Year(dateTime as any) as nullable number

In other words, this function displays the year section of the entered a date
in the output. Therefore, the result of the following formula is equal to 2022:

= Date.Year(#date(2022,5,3))

Summary
In this chapter, you embarked on a journey to master the intricacies of the
date and time functions within Power Query. In the realm of data analysis,
time is an essential dimension that requires precision and finesse to
manipulate effectively.
Your journey began with a deep dive into foundational concepts, such
as the nuances of date encoding, time zones, and arithmetic. Armed with
this knowledge, you explored the power of date and time functions in
transforming raw timestamps into intelligible and meaningful information.
As you ventured further, you discovered how these functions facilitate
the extraction of day-of-week patterns, calculations of durations between
significant events, and standardization of temporal data formats. This laid
the groundwork for effective temporal analysis.
In the next chapter, you’ll explore a wide range of functions to
manipulate list values. Based on these functions, you can easily generate
different lists, filter and sort the values in a list, extract a specific value from
a list, or combine lists.

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List Functions
In the vast landscape of data manipulation, individual data points often
weave together to create a larger narrative. This is where the power of
lists comes into play. From collections of sales transactions to arrays
of survey responses, lists capture the essence of data relationships
and dependencies. Welcome to a chapter dedicated to exploring the
realm of list functions within Power Query. They are your gateway to
unraveling intricate data structures and unleashing the true potential of
interconnected information.
Lists are the threads that weave the fabric of data stories. Imagine
dissecting an order into its constituent products, tracking a project’s multi-­
step workflow, or comprehending the dynamics of customer preferences.
These scenarios demand the mastery of list functions, the tools that
empower data professionals to manipulate, dissect, and reassemble data
in ways that were once intricate challenges.
Your journey through this chapter begins with a foundational
understanding of lists as versatile data structures. You’ll explore their
unique properties, from their ordered nature to the ability to hold
heterogeneous data types. With this knowledge in hand, you’ll plunge
into the world of list creation, from the manual assembly of elements to
dynamic generation through calculated expressions.
But lists don’t merely exist in isolation; they interact, transform, and
adapt. You’ll explore the arsenal of list functions that Power Query offers
to reshape data collections to your exact specifications. Whether it’s

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O. Motamedisedeh, The Ultimate Guide to Functions in Power Query,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-9754-4_6
Chapter 6 List Functions

filtering elements based on specific criteria, sorting to reveal patterns, or

merging lists to stitch together disjointed information, you’ll emerge with a
newfound appreciation for the art of data manipulation.

Defining a List in Power Query

To create a list, you can easily insert the values between { } and separate
them from each other with a comma or use related functions. To define a
list of numbers from 1 to 5, it is sufficient to enter the following expression
in the formula bar. The result is as shown in Figure 6-1.

={1,2,3,4,5}

Figure 6-1. List of numbers from 1 to 5

To define a list of characters, the following formula can be used. The

result is as shown in Figure 6-2.

={"a","b","c"}

Figure 6-2. Definition of a list of characters

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To create a list of numbers (e.g., numbers 1 to 100), instead of

registering all the numbers between { }, you can enter the initial number
following by two dots and the last number. In this case, the entire set of
numbers in the corresponding list will be defined. See Figure 6-3.

={1..100}

Figure 6-3. Definition of numbers 1 to 100

This method is not only for numbers. Characters between c and n can
easily defined as follows and as shown in Figure 6-4:

= {"c".."n"}

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Figure 6-4. Definition of a list of all characters between c and n

Some formulas are provided in Table 6-1.

Table 6-1. Defining Lists

Formula Result

= {3..9} ={3,4,5,6,7,8,9}
= {"w","z"} = {“w”,“z”}
= {"w".."z"} ={“w”,“x”,“y”,“z”}
= {"W".."Z"} ={“W”,“X”,“Y”,“Z”}
= {"#".."&"} = {“#”,“^”,“%”,“&”}

In addition to defining a list directly, it is possible to extract values

from a column in a table to create a list. In fact, each column of a table
represents a list of values (numbers, text, etc.). To extract a column of a
table as a list, it is sufficient to enter the name of the table and the column
name within square brackets, []. For example, consider TableA (shown in
Table 6-2).

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Table 6-2. TableA

Product Price Material

W11 100 Metal

S06 75 Wood
R08 125 Glass

The result of the formula TableA[Price] is equal to a list, including

{100,75,12} and the result of the formula TableA[Product] is equal to the
list of product names in the form of {“W11”,“S06”,“R08”}.
Additionally, to create a list, List.Numbers, List.Generate, and other
functions can also be used as follows.

List.Numbers
List.Numbers is used as follows to generate a list consisting series of
numbers with specific intervals:

List.Numbers(
       start as number,
       count as number,
       optional increment as nullable number
              ) as list

As observed, this function takes three numerical argument and always

returns a list of numbers.

1. The first input represents the initial number of

the list.
2. The length of the list is determined in the
second input.

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3. The third input represents the interval between the

numbers in the list. If not entered, the number 1 is
considered for this input.

Based on the function explanation, the result of this function is shown

in Table 6-3.

Table 6-3. Examples for List.Numbers

Formula Result

= List.Numbers(3,4) {3,4,5,6}
= List.Numbers(3,4,-1) {3,2,1,0}
= List.Numbers(3,4,6) {3,9,15,21}

List.Generate
List.Generate is used as follows to create a list (including numbers, texts,
records, or tables):

List.Generate(
       initial as function,
       condition as function,
       next as function,
       optional selector as nullable function
              ) as list

List.Generate takes four arguments. All are functions, and the last
argument is optional.

1. The first argument represents the initial number of

the list (in the type of function).
2. The stopping condition for generating values in the
list is defined in the second argument (in the type of
function).

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3. In this argument, the formula for generating

new value in the list is determined (in the type of
function).

4. This input is optional and is known as the selector.

With this input, the result of function can be
modified.

Let’s start with a simple example that represents a list of even numbers
less than 10. This function can be defined as follows:

= List.Generate(()=>0, (x)=>x< 10, (x)=>x+2)

In the first input, the first value is 0. Based on the second input, all
values in the list should be lower than 10 (generating values in the list will
continue until reaching a value greater than or equal to 10). In the third
input, in each iteration, the new value of the list is generated based on the
previous value added by 2. This input is a function that receives x as input
and results in x+2 as output, in which => is the function sign.
Based on the above example, the desired list starts with the number 0,
and in each step, 2 is added to the previous number, and this process
continues until you reach the number greater than or equal to 10.
Therefore, the result of this formula is {0,2,4,6,8}. See Figure 6-5.

Figure 6-5. Creating even numbers using List.Generate

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In the previous example, the variable of x can be replaced by _, so the

formula will change to the following:

= List.Generate(()=>0, (_)=>_< 10, (_)=>_+2)

In this case, the (_)=> can be replaced by each expression as follows:

= List.Generate(() =>0, each _ < 10, each _+2)

The inputs of this function are themselves type functions, and their
explanation is shown in Table 6-4.

Table 6-4. Parameters of List.Generate

() =>0, In this input, it is specified that the list starts with the number 0.
each < 10, It is also specified that the numbers in the list must be less than 10.
each _+2 Additionally, it is specified that each number in the list is equal to
the previous number plus 2.

In another example, the following formula can be used to create a list,

including factorial values of number 1 to 5:

= List.Generate(()=> 1, each _<6, each _+1, each Number.

Factorial(_))

The inputs of this function are as shown in Table 6-5.

Table 6-5. Parameters of List.Generate

()=> 1, The desired variable starts from 1.
each _<6, The list continues until the variable is less than 6.
each _+1, The value of the variable in each step is equal to its
value in the previous step plus 1.
each Number. The factorial value of each variable should be
Factorial(_)) displayed in the output.

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According to the function explanation, the value of this formula is

equal to {1,2,6,24,120}, where the first value is equal to factorial 1 and the
third value is equal to factorial 3.
In another example, the result of the following formula is
{2,4,8,16,32,64,128,256,512}:

= List.Generate(()=> 2, each _<1000, each _*2)

The inputs of this formula are as shown in Table 6-6.

Table 6-6. Parameters of List.Generate

()=> 2, The variable starts from 2.
each The process is repeated until the variables are less than 1000.
_<1000,
each _*2 In each step, the value of the variable is equal to its previous value
multiplied by 2.

According to the above explanation, the value of this formula is equal

to a series of numbers where in each step, the desired number is obtained
by multiplying the previous number by 2, and this process is repeated
until the numbers are less than 1000. Therefore, the result is equal to
{2,4,8,16,32,64,128,256,512}.
Another example of using List.Generate is presented in the following
formula. This formula is used to create a list of numbers less than 10 in
the Fibonacci sequence by using two variables, x, and y. (The Fibonacci
sequence, which is {0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, ...}, is a sequence of numbers in
which each number is the sum of the two previous numbers.)

= List.Generate(() => [x = 0, y = 1], each [x] < 10, each [x =

[y], y = [x]+[y]], each [x])

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The different inputs of this function are as shown in Table 6-7.

Table 6-7. Parameters of List.Generate

() => [x = 0, y = 1], Initially, the values of variables x and y are 0 and 1,
respectively.
each [x] < 10, The process of creating numbers in the list
continues until variable x reaches a number
greater than or equal to 10.
e ach [x = [y], y = At each stage, the value of x is equal to the value
[x]+[y]], of y in the previous stage, and the value of y is
equal to the sum of the x and y values in the
previous stage.
each [x] Finally, the values for the x variable is shown in the
output

According to the function explanation, the result of the formula is

equal to {0,1,1,2,3,5,8}.
In the previous example, using each [y] instead of each [x] in the
fourth argument means that the value of variable y is displayed in the
output and the result is changed to {1,1,2,3,5,8,13}, and replacing the
fourth argument by each [x]+[y] means that the sum of variables x and y
will be displayed in the output, so the result will be {1,2,3,5,8,13,21}.

List.Times
List.Times is used as follows to create a list consisting of values in the
format of time:

List.Times(
       start as time,
       count as number,

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       step as duration
              ) as list

This function takes three inputs as follows:

1. The first input is in time format and represents the

first value of the list. Typically, the #time function is
used to create this input.

2. The second input is in the number format and

specifies the length of output list.

3. The third input is in duration format and specifies

the difference between each time and its previous
time in the list. Since the values in the desired list
are in the format of time, their difference should be
in the type of duration. Therefore, the #duration
function is usually used to create this input.

Based on the function explanations, the result of the following formula

is a list of {#time(1,10,0), #time(2,20,0), #time(3,30,0), #time(4,40,0)}:

List.Times(#time(1,10,0),4,#duration(0,1,10,0)).

List.Dates
This function is used as follows to create a list including values in the
format of date:

List.Dates(
       start as date,
       count as number,
       step as duration
              ) as list

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This function takes three arguments as follows:

1. The first argument specifies the initial data of the list

and is usually defined using the #date() function.

2. The second input specifies the number of data that

the list will contain.

3. The third input, which is considered as the step in

the list, specifies the difference between each data
and its previous data in the list. Since the data in
the list are of type date, their difference should be
of type duration and is usually defined using the
#duration() function.

Based on the above explanation, the result of the following formula is

equal to these three dates:

{#date(2021, 1, 12), #date(2021, 1, 13), #date(2021, 1, 14)}

List.Dates(#date(2021, 1, 12), 3, #duration(1, 0, 0, 0))

List.DateTimes
Like the List.Times and List.Date functions, which are used to create a
list of values in the format of time or date, the List.DateTimes function is
also used to create a list, but the output list contains both date and time
values at the same time. This function can be defined as follows:

List.DateTimes(
start as datetime,
count as number,
step as duration
       ) as list

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This function takes three inputs as follows:

1. In the first input, you specify the initial data and

time of the desired list. Since the output list of this
function contains values of type date and time, the
#datetime() function is usually used in the first
input of this function.

2. The number of members in the output list is

specified in the second input of this function.

3. In the third input, which is known as the step, the

difference between each value in the final list and
its previous value is specified. The data entered in
this input must be in the format of duration and is
usually created using the #duration() function.

Based on the function explanations, the result of the following formula

is equal to three dates and times:

{#datetime(2021, 1, 12,1,0,0), #datetime(2021, 1, 13,3,0,0),

#datetime(2021, 1, 14,5,0,0)}
List.Dates(#datetime(2021, 1, 12,1,0,0), 3, #duration(1,
2, 0, 0))

List.Random
List.Random is used as follows to create a list including random numbers
between 0 and 1:

List.Random(
       count as number,
       optional seed as nullable number
              ) as list

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This function takes two arguments as follows:

1. In the first argument, the length of the list is

determining by entering an integer number.

2. The second argument is optional and represents the

seed related to the generation of random numbers.

Based on the function explanation, the result of the formula

List.Random(3) is equal to a list containing three random numbers in the
range of 0 to 1.

Sorting Values in a List

As explained, lists in Power Query contain a set of values with a specific
order. To change the order of values within a list, List.Reverse and
List.Sort can be used.

List.Reverse
List.Reverse is very simple in Power Query and can be used to reverse
the order of values in a list. This function takes an argument in the format
of list, and displays the reversed list in the output as follows:

List.Reverse (list as list) as list

To clarify the use of this function, some examples of this function are
provided in Table 6-8.

Table 6-8. Examples for List.Reverse

Formula Result

= List.Reverse({1..4}) {4,3,2,1}
= List.Reverse({"a",1,"b",10}) {10,“b”,1,“a”}
= List.Reverse({3,8,1}) {1,8,3}

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List.Sort
By using List.Sort, values within a list can be sorted in ascending and
descending, alphabetically, numerically, or any other logic. This function
is defined as follows:

List.Sort(
       list as list,
       optional comparisonCriteria as any
              ) as list

Therefore, this function takes the following two arguments:

1. The reference list is defined in the first argument.

2. In the second argument of this function, the logic

of sorting is specified. This input is optional; if
not entered, the values in the list will be sorted
in ascending order. However, Order.Descending
can be entered in this input to sort the values in
descending order. In advanced cases, the custom
sorting logic can be defined by functions.

Some basic examples of this function are given in Table 6-9.

Table 6-9. Examples for List.Sort

Formula Result

=List.Sort({1,5,-2,-3}) {-3,-2,1,5}
= List.Sort({1,5,2,3},Order.Descending) {5,3,2,1}
= List.Sort({"a","x","b","c"}) {“a”,“b”,“c”,“x”}
= List.Sort({"a","x","b","c"},Order. {“x”,“c”,“b”,“a”}
Descending)

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As shown in the previous examples, the result of the following formula

is equal to {-3, -2, 1, 5}:

= List.Sort({1, 5, -2, -3})

This is because -3 is smaller than 1 and is listed at the beginning. But

to compare the numbers without considering their signs, the following
formula can be used:

= List.Sort({1, 5, -2, -3}, (x) => Number.Abs(x))

In this formula, you sort the values in the list by considering their
absolute values instead of their original values. Therefore, the result of the
above formula is equal to {1, -2, -3, 5}.
The following formulas can also used to sort the list without
considering the value’s signs from larger to smaller:

= List.Sort({1, 5, -2, -3}, {(x) => Number.Abs(x),Order.

Descending})
= List.Sort({1, 5, -2, -3}, {(x) => Number.Abs(x),1})
= List.Sort({1, 5, -2, -3}, {each Number.Abs(_),1})

In another example, by using the following formula, the even values

are listed first in the output, followed by the odd values:

= List.Sort({1, 2, 5, 4, 3}, (x) => Number.IsOdd(x))

The output of the above formula is equal to {4, 2, 3, 1, 5}, in which all
even values come first and are followed by odd values. To sort odd and
even values in their groups from smallest to the largest, the following
formula can be used:

= List.Sort({1, 2, 5, 4, 3}, {{each Number.IsOdd(_)},{each _}})

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Two-step sorting is defined in the above formula. Initially, values

are sorted based on {each Number.IsOdd(_)}. Then, if the result of this
formula is equal for several values, they get sorted based on the {each _}
criteria (from smaller to larger). So, the result is {2,4,1,3,5}
In another example, instead of considering the first character (left
character) for sorting the texts into a list, the last character (right character)
is used as the basis for sorting in the next formula:

= List.Sort({"AXY", "XYA", "WND", "ACC"}, each Text.End(_, 1))

The result of the above formula is equal to {“XYA”, “ACC”, “WND”, “AXY”}.

Extracting from a List

In Power Query, there are many functions for extracting values from a list,
which are examined in this section.

List.First and List.Last

List.First is used to extract the value in a list and List.Last is used to
extract the last value in the list as follows:

List.First(
list as list,
optional defaultValue as any
) as any

List.Last(
       list as list,
       optional defaultValue as any
              ) as any

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Both functions take the following arguments:

1. The reference list is entered in the first argument.

2. The second argument of these functions is optional,

and it is shown in the output if the reference list
is empty.

Based on the function explanation, the result of the following formula

is equal to 1:

= List.First({1..10})

And the result of the following formula is equal to -1:

= List.First({ },-1)

List.FirstN and List.LastN

These functions are like each other, with the difference that List.FirstN
is used to extract a specific number of values from the beginning of the list,
and List.LastN is used to extract a specific number of values from the end
of the list. Both are defined as follows:

List.FirstN)
       list as list,
       countOrCondition as any
              ) as any

List.LastN(
       list as list,
       optional countOrCondition as any
              ) as any

These functions take two inputs, where the first input is in a list format
and the second input is in a numerical format.

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1. A reference list is entered in the first input.

2. In this input, the number of values to extract from

the beginning (or end) of the list is entered. In this
input, the filtering condition can also be defined
instead of a specific number. In this case, the largest
set of values from the beginning (or end) of the
list that meets the relevant condition is displayed
as the output. In other words, the values from the
beginning (or end) of the list are extracted until the
first example of a noncompliance is observed.

Based on the function explanation, the output of these functions in

different examples is given in Table 6-10.

Table 6-10. Examples for List.FirstN

Formula Result

= List.FirstN({1..10},3) {1,2,3}
= List.FirstN({1..10},5) {1,2,3,4,5}
= List.FirstN({1..10},each _<5) {1,2,3,4}
= List.FirstN({5, 4,1, 2, 6, 1}, each _>3) {5.4}
= List.LastN({1..10},3) {8,9,10}
= List.LastN({1..10},5) {6,7,8,9,10}
= List.LastN({1..10},each _<5) {1,2,3,4}
= List.LastN({5, 4,1, 2, 6, 1}, each _<3) {1}

In the example of List.LastN({5, 4,1, 2, 6, 1}, each _<3),

it is expressed that the values at the end of the list that are smaller than 3
should be displayed in the output. As you can see, the reference list also
includes the number 2 (which is smaller than 3 and meets the condition),

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but the output only includes the number 1. The reason is that the values at
the end of the list are displayed in the output if the condition is met, and
as soon as a value that does not meet the condition is encountered, the
search operation stops, and the next values are not examined. Therefore, in
this example, since the number 6 (the second to last data) is greater than 3,
the data before the number 6 are not examined.

List.Range
This function is used to extract values from different parts of a list and is
defined as follows:

List.Range(
       list as list,
       offset as number,
       optional count as nullable number
              ) as list

This function takes the following three inputs:

1. In the first input of this function, the reference list is

entered.
2. In this input, the starting point for extracting values
is determined by entering a number.

3. The third input of this function indicates the

number of values for extracting from the list.

Different examples of this function are listed in Table 6-11.

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Table 6-11. Examples for List.Range

Formula Result

= List.Range({1..10},5,3) {6,7,8}
= List.Range({1..10},1,3) {2,3,4}
= List.Range({1..10},3,1) {4}

List.Max and List.Min

List.Max and List.Min are used to extract the largest and smallest value
in a list as follows:

List.Max(
       list as list,
       optional default as any,
       optional comparisonCriteria as any,
       optional includeNulls as nullable logical
              ) as any

List.Min(
       list as list,
       optional default as any,
       optional comparisonCriteria as any,
       optional includeNulls as nullable logical
              ) as any

These functions take the following four inputs, where only the first
input is mandatory and the others are optional:

1. The reference list is entered in the first input.

2. The second input is optional and specifies the result
of the function if it is equal to null (the reference list
is empty).

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3. The third input of this function, which is

also optional, specifies the criterion for
comparing values.

4. The fourth input of this function can be True (for

considering Null values) or False (for neglecting
Null values).

Based on the function explanation, the result of these functions for

different examples is provided in Table 6-12.

Table 6-12. Examples for List.Max

Formula Result

=List.Max({1..10}) 10
= List.Max({},-1) -1
= List.Max({"a".."n"},-1) “n”
= List.Max({-20..10},null,each Number.Abs(_)) -20

List.MaxN and List.MinN

List.MaxN and List.MinN are used to extract the n largest or smallest
values within a list as follows:

List.MinN(
       list as list,
       countOrCondition as any,
       optional comparisonCriteria as any,
       optional includeNulls as nullable logical
              ) as list

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List.MaxN(
       list as list,
       countOrCondition as any,
       optional comparisonCriteria as any,
       optional includeNulls as nullable logical
              ) as list

According to the above syntax, these functions take these four inputs:

1. A reference list is entered in the first input.

2. In the second input of these functions, the number n (the

number of largest or smallest values for extracting) or the
condition for extracting is determined.

3. The third input of this function, which is optional,

expresses the logic of comparing the data.

4. The fourth input is optional and can be one of the

values True (for considering Null values) or False
(for neglecting Null values).

Based on the function explanation, the results of different states of

these functions are listed in Table 6-13.

Table 6-13. Examples for List.MaxN

Formula Result

= List.MaxN({-20..10},3) {10,9,8}
= List.MaxN({"a",1,-1,"N"},3) {“a”,“N”,1}

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List.Select
List.Select is one of the most important and powerful functions in Power
Query for extracting the values from a list based on the custom condition
by the following syntax:

List.Select(
       list as list,
       selection as function
              ) as list

This function takes two inputs, and its output is always a list.

1. The first input is the reference list.

2. The second input defines the condition for selecting

values from the reference list as a function. Various
scenarios can be defined for this input, which are
discussed below.

Let’s start with an example. In the formula List.Select({1..10},

each _>5), the reference list is a list of numbers from 1 to 10 and the
condition is defined as each _>5, meaning that numbers greater than
5 in the reference list should be extracted and displayed in the output.
Therefore, the result of this formula is equal to the list {6,7,8,9,10}.
Different examples of this function are provided in Table 6-14.

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Table 6-14. Examples for List.Select

Function Result

= List.Select({1..10},each _>5) {6,7,8,9,10}

= List.Select({1..10},each _>5 and _<8) {6,7}
= List.Select({1..10},each Number.IsOdd(_)) {1,3,5,7,9}
= List.Select({1..10},each Number.Mod(_,3)=0) {3,6,9}
= List.Select({1,"a",3,"x","n"},each Value. {1,3}
Is(_,type number))

In the previous examples, the condition each Number.IsOdd(_) means

that only odd values should be extracted from the reference list, and the
condition each Number.Mod(_,3)=0 means that only numbers that are
multiples of 3 should be extracted from the list, and finally, the condition
each Value.Is(_,type number) means that only values of type number
should be extracted from the reference list.

List.FindText
To extract text values from a list that contains one specific character or text,
List.FindText with the following syntax can be used:

List.FindText(
       list as list,
       text as text
              ) as list

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This function contains these two inputs:

1. The reference list is entered in the first input.

2. The text that you want to search for is entered in

this input. For example, entering “a” in this input
means that values from the reference list containing
the letter “a” will be displayed in the output, and
entering “ab” means that values from the reference
list containing the letters “ab” will be displayed as
the output.

Based on the function explanation, some examples of the application

of this function are provided in Table 6-15.

Table 6-15. Examples for List.FindText

Formula Result

=List.FindText({"a".."z"},"m") {“m”}
= List.FindText({"a".."z"},"M") {}
= List.FindText({"abc","bcf","deg","z"},"b") {“Abc”,“bcf”}

Removing Values in a List

In Power Query, there are many functions for removing values from a list,
which are examined in this section.

List.RemoveNull
This function is used to remove null values ​​from a list by the
following syntax:

List.RemoveNulls(list as list) as list

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This function takes only one input in the form of list, and after
removing null values ​​in that list, the result will display in the output.
According to the above explanation, the result of the following formula
is equal to {1,2,“”,3,“null”}:

= List.RemoveNulls({1,null,2,null,"",3,"null"})

As you can see, the output of this formula also includes the value “null”
because the word null is entered in double quotes and considered as a text
value and this function does not consider this value as null.

List.Distinct
List.Distinct is used to remove duplicate values in a list and always
results in a list with unique values.

List.Distinct(
       list as list,
       optional equationCriteria as any
       ) as list

The function takes two arguments as follows:

1. The reference list is entered in the first argument.

2. The second argument of this function is optional

and allows you to specify custom criteria for
comparing the values.

Based on the above explanation, the result of this function for different
examples is shown in Table 6-16.

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Table 6-16. Examples for List.Distinct

Formula Result

= List.Distinct({1,3,2,1,2,5,1}) {1,3,2,5}
= List.Distinct({1,1,1,1,1,1,1}) {1}
= List.Distinct({"a","A","b","a"}) {“a”,“A”,“b”}
= List.Distinct({"a","A","b","a"},Comparer. {“a”,“b”}
OrdinalIgnoreCase)
= List.Distinct({1..10},each Number.IsOdd(_)) {1,2}

List.RemoveFirsN and List.RemoveLastN

List.RemoveFirsN and List.RemoveLastN are used to remove a specific
number of values from the beginning or ending of a list, as follows:

List.RemoveFirstN(
       list as list,
       optional countOrCondition as any
              ) as list

List.RemoveLastN(
       list as list,
       optional countOrCondition as any
              ) as list

These functions take two arguments as follows:

1. A reference list is entered in the first argument.

2. The second input determines how many values should

be removed from the beginning or end of the
reference list.

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List.RemoveRange
List.RemoveRange is used to remove values in a list by the
following syntax:

List.RemoveRange(
       list as list,
       index as number,
       optional count as nullable number
       ) as list

This function takes three inputs as follows:

1. A reference list is entered in the first input.

2. In this input, the starting point for removing the

values is determined.

3. The third input determines how many values should

be removed from the starting point (determined in
the second input) in the reference list.

Multiple examples of using List.RemoveRange are provided in

Table 6-17.

Table 6-17. Examples for List.RemoveRange

Formula Result

= List.RemoveRange({1..10},3,5) {1,2,3,9}
= List.RemoveRange({1..10},4,4) {1,2,3,4,9,10}

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List.RemoveItems
Using List.RemoveItems with the following syntax, specific values can be
removed from a list:

List.RemoveItems(
       list1 as list,
       list2 as list
              ) as list

This function takes the following two inputs in the format of a list:

1. The first input is the reference list.

2. The second input of this function is a list of values

that you want to remove from the reference list.

Based on the provided explanation, in the formula below, the reference

list includes all numbers from 1 to 10. The second input states that
numbers 3 to 8 should be removed from the reference list. Therefore, the
result of this formula is equal to {1,2,9,10}:

=List.RemoveItems({1..10},{3..8})

Additionally, the List.RemoveMatchingItems function is used to

remove values from a reference list; the difference is that this function
receives three inputs, and the matching criterion can be determined in the
third input.

List.RemoveMatchingItems(
       list1 as list,
       list2 as list,
       optional equationCriteria as any
              ) as list

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List.Skip
List.Skip is like List.RemoveFirstN and is used to remove a number of
values or values with specific conditions from the beginning of a list, as
follows:

List.Skip(
       list as list,
       optional countOrCondition as any
              ) as list

This function receives these two inputs:

1. In the first input of this function, the reference list is

entered.

2. In the second input, the number of values for

removing from the beginning of the list or the
removing condition is entered.

According to the function explanation, the result of the following

formula is equal to {5,6,7}:

=List.Skip({1..7},4)

Similarly, the result of the following formula is also equal to {5,6,7}:

= List.Skip({1..7},each _<5)

List.Alternate
List.Alternate with the following syntax is used to remove and retain a series
of values in a list with a specific pattern (e.g., removing every other values):

List.Alternate(
       list as list,
       count as number,

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       optional repeatInterval as nullable number,

       optional offset as nullable number
              ) as list

This function takes these four inputs:

1. The reference list is entered in the first input.

2. In the second input, the number of values for

skipping in each iteration is determined.

3. The third input determines how many values are

selected between the skipped values.

4. This input is optional and determines the starting

point for skipping values. Entering the number
2 in this input means the first two values of the list
should be retained (displayed in the output) and the
pattern of skipping and retaining values starts from
the third value in the list.

According to the above explanation, the following formula specifies

that only the first value in the reference list should be removed and the
other values should report in the result. Therefore, the result of this
formula is equal to {2..10}.

= List.Alternate({1..10}, 1)

In the following formula, it is specified that every other value should be

skipped in the list. Therefore, the result of the formula is equal to all even
values in the list and is equal to {2,4,6,8,10}.

= List.Alternate({1..10}, 1,1)

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In the following formula, it is specified that in each iteration, one value

should be skipped and the next two values should remain, and this process
continues until the end of the list. Therefore, the result of the formula is
{2,3,5,6,8,9}.

= List.Alternate({1..10}, 1,2)

And the following example is the opposite of the previous example,

where in each iteration, two values are skipped and the next value remains.
Therefore, the result of the following formula is equal to {3,6,9}:

= List.Alternate({1..10}, 2,1)

The following formula is like the above formula, with the difference
that the pattern is executed after the second value in the list. {1,2,5,8}

= List.Alternate({1..10}, 2,1,2)

List Merging
There are multiple functions in Power Query for merging two or more lists
together and they are explained in this section. In addition to the existing
functions, lists can be merged easily by using the & operator. So {1,2} &
{1,4,3} is {1,2,1,4,3}. However, to examine more advanced list merging
scenarios, the following functions should be used.

List.Combine
This function is used to merge two or more lists together as follows:

List.Combine(lists as list) as list

This function takes one input, in the format of list, so all the lists (that
you want to combine) must be placed inside a reference list as the input
of this function. Then, in the output of this function, all the lists provided
inside that reference list are merged and displayed in a new list.

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So the result of the following formula is equal to {1,2,1,4,3}:

= List.Combine({{1,2},{1,4,3}})

And the result of the following formula is equal to {1,2,1,3,1,3}:

= List.Combine({ {1,2},{1,3},{1,3}})

List.InsertRange
To add new values (a list of values) to a list in a specific position, List.
InsertRange can be used as follows:

List.InsertRange(
       list as list,
       index as number,
       values as list
              ) as list

This function takes these three inputs:

1. The first input represents the reference list.

2. In the second input of this function, the position

of adding new values is determined by entering
a number.

3. The values that you want to add to the reference list

are inserted in a list in this input.

Based on the function explanation, the result of this function in

different formulas is shown in Table 6-18.

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 Chapter 6 List Functions

Table 6-18. Examples for List.InsertRange

Formula Result

= List.InsertRange({"abc","bcf", {“abc”,“bcf”, b”,“a”,“deg”,“z” }

"deg","z"},2,{"b","a"})
= List.InsertRange({1..5},2,{1..3}) {1,2,1,2,3,3,4,5}
= List.InsertRange({1..5},1,{1..3}) {1,1,2,3,1,3,4,5}

List.Zip
To combine the corresponding values of several lists, List.Zip can be
used as follows:

List.Zip(lists as list) as list

This function receives an input in the form of a list. The entered list
includes several lists and their corresponding values come to gather in
separate list in the output.
For example, entering {{1..3},{4..5}} in the first input of this function
results in {{1,4},{2,5},{3,null}}.
In a similar case, the result of the formula = List.Zip({{1..4},
{3..5},{2..7}}) is equal to the following list:

={1,3,2},{2,4,3},{3,5,4},{4,null,5},{null,null,6},
{null,null,7}}

List.Union
List.Union with the following syntax is used to combine two or more
lists, like the List.Combine function. The difference is that this function
neglects duplicate values (values repeated in all lists).

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List.Union(
       lists as list,
       optional equationCriteria as any
              ) as list

This function receives the two following inputs:

1. The first input of this function is the reference list,

which includes the lists you want to merge.

2. The second input of this function allows you to

specify custom criteria for comparing the values.

Therefore, the result of this function is as shown in Table 6-19 for

different examples.

Table 6-19. Examples for List.Union

Formula Result

= List.Union({{1,2},{1,4,3}}) {1,2,4,3}
= List.Union({{1,2,1},{1,4,3}}) {1,2,1,4,3}
= List.Union({{1,2},{1,3},{1,3}}) {1,2,3}
= List.Union({{1,2,3,2},{1,3,2,4}}) {1,2,3,2,4}
= List.Union({{1,2},{1,3},{1,4,1}}) {1,2,1,3,4}

List.Intersect
List.Intersect with the following syntax is used to extract common
values in two or more lists:

List.Intersect(
       lists as list,
       optional equationCriteria as any
              ) as list

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The output includes values that have been repeated in all the input
lists. This function takes two arguments.

1. The first argument indicates a reference list

containing a set of lists for which that you want to
calculate the intersection.

2. The second argument is used to specify custom

criteria for comparing the elements in the lists.

According to the function explanation, the result of this function for

different cases is as shown in Table 6-20.

Table 6-20. Examples for List.Intersect

Formula Result

= List.Intersect({{1..4},{2..5}}) {2,3,4}
= List.Intersect({{1..4},{2..5},{3..6}}) {3,4}
= List.Intersect({{1,2},{1,3},{1,4,1}}) {1}

List.Difference
List.Difference is used to calculate the difference between two lists and
always results in a list of values that exists in the first list but not in the
second list.

List.Difference(
       list1 as list,
       list2 as list,
       optional equationCriteria as any
              ) as list

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The function takes three inputs as follows:

1. The first list is inserted in the first input.

2. The second list is inserted in the second input.

3. This optional input allows the user to specify custom

criteria for comparing the values.

Based on this explanation, the result of this function for different input
cases is as shown in Table 6-21.

Table 6-21. Examples for List.Difference

Formula Result

= List.Difference({1..10},{3..12}) {1,2}
= List.Difference({3..12},{1..10}) {11,12}
= List.Difference({3..12},{1..30}) {}

 athematical Calculations on the Data

M
of a List
There are several functions in Power Query that receive a list as input and,
after performing mathematical operations on the values of the list, display
a value (number) as output. One of the most famous of these functions
is List.Count, which can be used to extract the length of a list. So, the
result of the following formula is equal to the count of numbers in the list,
equal to 5:

=List.Count({1..5})

There are other functions that are divided into the following groups.
Functions in the first group are listed in Table 6-22 and all receive a list
as input.

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Table 6-22. Application of Mathematic Functions on Lists

Function Result

List.Count Number of values in the reference list

List.NonNullCount Number of non-null values in the reference list
List.StandardDeviation The standard deviation of the values in the
reference list

The second group includes the functions listed in Table 6-23.

Table 6-23. Application of Mathematical Functions on Lists

Function Result

List.Sum Calculates the total of all numbers in the list

List.Product Calculates the product of all numbers in the
reference list
List.Average Calculates the average of all numbers in the list

These functions receive two inputs.

1. The reference list is entered in the first input.

2. The precision of calculations (optional), which can

be either Precision.Double or Precision.Decimal,
is entered in the second input.

The next group includes List.Mode and List.Median to calculate the

mode and median of numbers in the list. They are defined as follows:

List.Median(
       list as list,
       optional comparisonCriteria as any
              ) as any

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List.Mode(
       list as list,
       optional equationCriteria as any
              ) as any

These functions receive two inputs as follows:

1. The reference list is entered in the first input.

2. This input allows you to specify custom criteria for

comparing the values.

List.Percentile is another function in this group, which is used to

extract the nth percentile as follows:

List.Percentile(
       list as list,
       percentiles as any,
       optional options as nullable record
              ) as any

This function receives three inputs in this order: the reference list, the
desired percentile (which is entered as a decimal number such as 0.25),
and precision.
Based on the above explanation, Table 6-24 provides multiple
examples of the results of this function.

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Table 6-24. Examples for Mathematical Functions on Lists

Formula Result

List.Count({1..10,4}) 10
List.NonNullCount({1..10,4}) 10
List.StandardDeviation({1..10,4}) 2.788867
List.Sum({1..10,4}) 50
List.Product({1..10,4}) 1612800
List.Average({1..10,4}) 5
List.Mode({1..10,4}) 4
List.Median.({1..10,4}) 4.5
List.Percentile({1..10,4},0.25) 3.25

List Information Functions

To check the equality of two lists, the = operator can be used between the
two lists, like the following formula:

={1,2,3}={1,3,2}

In checking the equality of two lists, the result will be True only if the
values in the both list are same (in terms of value and format) and also in the
same order. Since in the above formula, the numbers 3 and 2 in the second
list have been swapped compared to the first list, the result of the above
formula will be False, but the result of the following formula will be True:

={1,2,3}={1,2,3}

Besides the check equality of two lists, to check the existence of

value(s) in a list, several functions can be used in Power Query, and the
result of these functions will be True or False based on the condition.

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In the following formulas, checking the existence of a value within the list
under consideration is discussed.

List.IsEmpty
To check a list is empty or includes at least a value, List.IsEmpty can be
used as below:

List.IsEmpty(list as list) as logical

This function receives a list as input, and if at least one value is

registered inside the input list, the result of this formula is False, and if the
list does not contain any value, the result of this function is True.
In other words, in the following state, the result of this function is True,
and in other cases, the result of this function is False:

=List.Empthy({ })

List.IsDistinct
To check for duplicate values within a list, the List.IsDistinct function can
be used as follows:

List.IsDistinct(
       list as list,
       optional equationCriteria as any
              ) as logical

According to the function syntax, this function receives these

two inputs:

1. In the first input, the reference list is entered.

2. The second input of this function (which is optional)

allows you to specify custom criteria for comparing the
values in the list. If not entered, sensitivity to uppercase
and lowercase letters is shown in text comparisons.
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If the reference list contains duplicate values based on the logic

defined in the second input, the result of this function is False; otherwise,
the result of this function is True.
Based on the function explanation, the result of the following formula
is True:

= List.IsDistinct({1..10})

And the result of the following formula is False.

= List.IsDistinct({1..10,1})

List.Contains
Using List.Contains, the existence of a specific value (just one value) in a
reference list can be checked. This function is defined as follows:

List.Contains(
       list as list,
       value as any,
       optional equationCriteria as any
              ) as logical

According to the above syntax, this function takes three inputs:

1. The reference list is entered in the first input.

2. In the second input of this function, the value that

you want to check for existence in the reference list
is entered.

3. The third input of this function is optional and

allows you to specify custom criteria for comparing
the values.

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The output of this function is True if the reference list contains the
value registered in the second input and False in other cases. Therefore,
the result of the following formula is True:

= List.Contains({1..10},3)

And the result of the following formula is False:

= List.Contains({1..10},11)

List.ContainsAll
To check the existence of two or more values within a list, List.
ContainsAll can be used as follows:

List.ContainsAll(
       list as list,
       values as list,
       optional equationCriteria as any
              ) as logical

This function takes these three inputs:

1. The reference is entered in the first input.

2. The list of values that you want to check for their
existence in the reference list is entered in the
second input.

3. The third input allows you to specify custom criteria

for comparing the values.

The result of this function is True if the reference list contains all
the values in the second input; in other cases, the result of this function
is False.
Some simple examples of this function are provided in Table 6-25.

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Table 6-25. Examples for List.ContainsAll

Formula Result

= List.ContainsAll({1..10},{1,3,7}) True
= List.ContainsAll({1..10},{1,3,11}) False

List.ContainsAny
List.ContainsAny is like List.ContainsAll, with the difference that the
result of List.ContainsAny is true if the reference list contains at least one
value in the second input.
The List.ContainsAny is defined as follows:

List.ContainsAny(
       list as list,
       values as list,
       optional equationCriteria as any
              ) as logical

This function takes three inputs.

1. The reference list is entered in the first input.

2. The list of values to check for their existence in the

reference list is entered in the second input.

3. The logic to compare the values is defined in the

third input and allows you to specify custom criteria
for comparing the values.

Some simple examples of this function are provided in Table 6-26.

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Table 6-26. Examples for List.ContainsAny

Formula Result

= List.ContainsAny({1..10},{1,3,7}) True
= List.ContainsAny({1..10},{1,3,11}) True
= List.ContainsAny({1..10},{12,13,11}) False

List.AllTrue
This function receives a list as input, and if all the values in the reference
list are equal to True, the result of this function is True; otherwise, the
result of this function is False. It is defined as follows:

List.AllTrue(list as list) as logical

It should be noted that the list entered in this function must contain
True or False values, and if it includes a number or text, the result of this
function is an error.

List.AnyTrue
This function is defined as follows:

List.AnyTrue(list as list) as logical

This function receives a list as input, and if at least one of the values in
that list is equal to True, the result of this function is True; otherwise, the
result of this function is False.

Positions in a List
The functions related to extracting the position of values in a list are
explained in this section.

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List.Positions
The List.Positions function is defined very simply in Power Query as
follows:

List.Positions(list as list) as list

This function takes a list as input and its output is equal to a list
explaining the position of values. The output of this function is only
dependent on the number of values in the reference list and is not
dependent on their value or type. In other words, the result of this function
is always equal to {0,1} for lists with two values and {0,1,2} for lists with
three values.
Therefore, the result of the following formula is equal to {0,1,2}:

=List.Positions({1,10,-1})

List.PositionOf
To extract the position of a value, List.PositionOf can be used as follows:

List.PositionOf(
       list as list,
       value as any,
       optional occurrence as nullable number,
       optional equationCriteria as any
              ) as any

This function takes four inputs.

1. The first input is the reference list.

2. The value of the position you are searching for is

entered in the second input.

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3. The third input is optional, and it is used if the

searching value has been repeated more than
once in the reference list. This input specifies
which repetition presents in the output. Entering
Occurrence.First means the position of the
first repetition is displayed in the output. Using
Occurrence.Last means the position of the last
repetition is displayed. Finally, by using the
Occurrence.All, the positions of all repetitions are
displayed in the output as a list.

4. The fourth input of this function is also optional and

allows you to specify custom criteria for comparing
the values.

Various examples of this function are given in Table 6-27.

Table 6-27. Examples for List.PositionOf

Formula Result

= List.PositionOf({1..10},5) 4
= List.PositionOf({4,5,3,5,2},5) 1
= List.PositionOf({4,5,3,5,2},5,Occurrence.First ) 1
= List.PositionOf({4,5,3,5,2},5,Occurrence.Last ) 3
= List.PositionOf({4,5,3,5,2},5,Occurrence.All ) {1,3}
= List.PositionOf({"a","b","A","A"},"A") 2

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List.PositionOfAny
List.PositionOfAny is like List.Position, but with the difference that in
this function, it is possible to search for two or more values simultaneously
within a reference list and extract their positions. This function is defined
as follows:

List.PositionOfAny(
       list as list,
       values as list,
       optional occurrence as nullable number,
       optional equationCriteria as any
              ) as any

List.PositionOfAny takes four inputs.

1. In the first input, the reference list is entered.

2. In the second input, the list of values for the

positions you are searching for is entered.

3. The third input of this function is optional and is

used if the searching values are repeated in the
reference list several times. In this input, entering
Occurrence.First means the first repetition
is presented by the function, and entering
Occurrence.Last means the last repetition is
presented. To determine all repetitions, Occurrence.
All can be used in this function.

4. The fourth input of this function is optional and

allows you to specify custom criteria for comparing
the values.

Various examples of this function are provided in Table 6-28.

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Table 6-28. Examples for List.PositonOfAny

Formula Result

= List.PositionOfAny({1..10},5) 4
= List.PositionOfAny({4,5,3,5,2},5) 1
= List.PositionOfAny({4,5,3,5,2},{5,3},Occurrence. 1
First )
= List.PositionOfAny({4,5,3,5,2},{3},Occurrence.Last ) 3
= List.PositionOfAny({4,5,3,5,2},{5,3},Occurrence.All ) {1,2,3}
= List.PositionOfAny({"a","b","A","A"},{“a","A"}) 0

Replacing and Transforming Values

There are functions in Power Query that allow you to replace the values in
a list with new values.

List.ReplaceValue
Using List.ReplaceValue means a value in a list can be replaced with a
new value as follows:

List.ReplaceValue(
       list as list,
       oldValue as any,
       newValue as any,
       replacer as function
              ) as list

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This function takes four inputs.

1. The reference list is entered in the first input.

2. The second input represents the old value that you

want to replace with a new value.

3. The new value is entered in the third input.

4. The fourth input of this function represents the type

of replacement, which is defined as a function. In
this input, two modes, Replacer.ReplaceValue
and Replacer.ReplaceText, can be used to replace
numbers and text, respectively.

Based on the function explanation, the result of this function in

different modes is shown in Table 6-29.

Table 6-29. Examples for List.ReplaceValue

Formula Result

= List.ReplaceValue({1..4},4,3,Replacer. {1,2,3,3}
ReplaceValue )
= List.ReplaceValue({1..4},4,3,Replacer. {1,2,3,4}
ReplaceText )
= List.ReplaceValue({"a","b","B"},"b","B", {“a”,“B”,“B”}
Replacer.ReplaceText )

List.ReplaceMatchingItems
List.ReplaceMatchingItems is like List.ReplaceItems, but List.
ReplaceItems can only replace one value of the list with a new value,

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whereas List.ReplaceMatchingItems can be used to replace multiple

values of a list with new values. This function is defined as follows:

List.ReplaceMatchingItems(
       list as list,
       replacements as list,
       optional equationCriteria as any
              ) as list

This function takes three inputs.

1. The first input defines the reference list.

2. The second input is defined as a list of lists in

which all internal lists include two values. The first
presents the old value and the second presents the
new value. So, to replace 1 with -1 and 4 with -4 in a
list, this input is defined as {{1,-1},{4,-4}}.

3. The third input of this function is optional and

allows you to specify custom criteria for comparing
the values.

Based on the function explanation, the result of this function in

different examples is shown in Table 6-30.

Table 6-30. Examples for List.ReplaceMatchingItems

Formula Result

= List.ReplaceMatchingItems({1..5},{{1,5}}) {5,2,3,4,5}
= List.ReplaceMatchingItems({1..5},{{1,5},{2,6}}) {5,6,3,4,5}

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List.ReplaceRange
To replace a part of a list based on its position (for example, from the 5th to
the 12th values) by new values, List.ReplaceRange can be used as follows:

List.ReplaceRange(
       list as list,
       index as number,
       count as number,
       replaceWith as list
              ) as list

This function takes four inputs.

1. The first input represents the reference list.

2. In the second input of this function, the starting

position for removing values from the list is
specified. (The numbering starts from 0).

3. The number of values that should be removed is

determined in the third input of this function.

4. In the fourth input, the list of values that should

replace the deleted values is entered.

Based on the inputs of this function, multiple examples of this function

are provided in Table 6-31.

Table 6-31. Examples for List.ReplaceRange

Formula Result

= List.ReplaceRange({1..10},3,6,{5}) {1,2,3,5,10}
= List.ReplaceRange({1..10},0,6,{5}) {5,7,8,9,10}
= List.ReplaceRange({1..10},1,8,{5,6}) {1,5,6,10}

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List.Transform
List.Transform can be used to change the values in a list by specific logic
or operation. For example, with this function, all values can be added
to the number 1, or multiplied by 2, English letters can be converted to
uppercase or lowercase, or extra spaces can be removed. This function is
defined as follows:

List.Transform(
       list as list,
       transform as function
              ) as list

This function receives two inputs.

1. The first input of this function defines the

reference list.

2. The second input of this function is in the form of a

function and determines the transforming logic.

There are different ways to define the second input, but in the simplest
ones, you can enter the word each at the beginning of this input. Then the
“_” determines the values in the list, so each _+2 can be used to add 2 in
all the values in the list or each Number.Abs(_) can be used to remove the
values sign.
In another way, instead of mentioning each and then using “_” for
values in the list, a specific variable like x can be used in the parenthesis
and then the operation is determined after =>. So (x) => x+1 can be used
in the second input to add 1 to all values in the list.
With the above explanation, various examples of this function are
provided in Table 6-32.

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Table 6-32. Examples for List.Transform

Formula Result

= List.Transform({1..5},each _+ 2) {3,4,5,6,7}
= List.Transform({1..5},each Number.Factorial(_)) {1,2,6,24,120}
= List.Transform({1..5},each Number. {3,7,20,55,148}
Round(Number.Exp(_)))
= List.Transform({"abc","DEF","mNg"}, {“Abc”,“Def”,“Mng”}
each Text.Proper(_))

List.TransformMany
List.TransformMany can be used to change or transform values in a list by
specific logic as follows:

List.TransformMany(
       list as list,
       collectionTransform as function,
       resultTransform as function
              ) as list

Based on this syntax, this function takes three inputs.

1. The first input defines the reference list.

2. In the second input, the transforming function is defined.

3. In the third input, the method of retransforming

function is defined. In other words, by considering
the first input as x, the function defined in the
second input is in the form of (x) =>, and its result is
considered as y. In the third input of this function, a
new function is defined in the form of (x, y) =>.

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In the following formula, the reference list (x) is {1,2,3}, and based
on the function defined in the second input, the second list (y) is {2,4,6}.
Considering these two lists, the result of the formula is {“1-2”, “2-4”, “3-6”}.

= List.TransformMany(
    {1,2,3},
    (x) => {2*x},
    (x,y) => (Text.From(x) & "-" & Text.From(y))
)

Other Functions
In addition to the above-mentioned functions, there are other functions in
Power Query for modifying a list.

List.Single
This function receives an input in the form of a list. If the list has only one
value, it displays that value as output. Otherwise, the result of this function
is an error. This function is defined as follows:

List.Single(list as list) as any

Therefore, the result of the formula List.Single({1}) is the number

1, and the result of the formula List.Single({1..4}) is an error. Also, the
result of the formula List.Single({ }) is null.

List.SingleOrDefault
This function is like the List.Single function, but in this function, it is
possible to specify a value to be displayed in the output instead of an error.
This function is defined in Power Query as follows:

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 Chapter 6 List Functions

List.SingleOrDefault(
       list as list,
       optional default as any
              ) as any

This function receives two inputs.

1. The first input defines the reference list.

2. The second input of this function is optional, and

if the result of the function is an error, the value
entered in this input is displayed instead of the error.

Therefore, the result of the formula List.SingleOrDefault({1})

is equal to the number 1, and the result of the formula List.
SingleOrDefault({1..4}) is an error, but the result of the formula List.
SingleOrDefault({1..4}, -1) is equal to -1.

List.Repeat
Using List.Repeat, it is possible to repeat the values of a list in specific
numbers as follows:

List.Repeat(
       list as list,
       count as number
              ) as list

This function takes two inputs.

1. The first input represents the reference list.

2. The number of repetitions of values in the list is

determined by this input.

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Based on the function explanation, the result of this function is given

in Table 6-33 under different conditions.

Table 6-33. Examples for List.Repeat

Formula Result

=List.Repeat({1,2},2) {1,2,1,2}
= List.Repeat({1..3},2) {1,2,3,1,2,3}
= List.Repeat({1,2},3) {1,2,1,2,1,2}

List.Split
By using this function with the following syntax, a large list can be
converted into several smaller lists:

List.Split(
       list as list,
       pageSize as number
              ) as list

This function receives two inputs.

1. The first input defines the reference list.

2. The second input determines the length of the

subset lists. For example, by entering 2 in this input,
the reference list is divided into several lists with a
length of 2.

Based on the function explanation, the result of this function is

provided in several examples in Table 6-34.

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 Chapter 6 List Functions

Table 6-34. Examples for List.Split

Formula Result

= List.Split({1..5},2) {{1,2},{3,4},{5}}
= List.Split({1..5},3) {{1,2,3},{4,5}}
= List.Split({1..5},4) {{1,2,3,4},{5}}

Summary
In this chapter, you embarked on an exploration of the versatile and
dynamic world of list functions within Power Query. Lists, as collections
of data points, play a pivotal role in understanding data relationships and
dependencies, and mastering their manipulation opens doors to intricate
data transformations.
Your journey commenced by understanding the fundamental nature
of lists, their ordered structure, and their ability to hold heterogeneous
data types. You learned how to manually create lists and generate them
dynamically through calculated expressions, establishing a foundation for
advanced list manipulation.
As you delved deeper, you discovered the power of list functions
that Power Query offers. These functions enable you to reshape data
collections, from filtering and sorting elements to merging lists to create
cohesive data structures. This versatility allows you to address complex
data manipulation challenges with precision.
Furthermore, you explored the realm of nested lists, where lists within
lists create hierarchies that mirror real-world relationships. This skill
is invaluable when dealing with multidimensional data structures and
navigating their complexities.
At the heart of your journey is the concept of aggregation and
summarization. You uncovered the potential of list functions to distill

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extensive datasets into concise insights. Techniques for calculating totals,

averages, and identifying trends empower you to extract meaningful
information from the sea of data points.
In the next chapter, you will familiarize yourself with functions related
to modifying records, including extracting specific values from records,
merging lists, and modifying record properties.

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CHAPTER 7

Records
In the symphony of data manipulation, individual pieces of information
often harmonize to create a more comprehensive melody. Enter records,
the versatile and dynamic data structures that allow us to encapsulate and
comprehend the interplay between various attributes of an entity. This
chapter delves into the world of record functions within Power Query,
unraveling the art of transforming raw data into meaningful insights by
harnessing the power of structured relationships.
Your journey through this chapter commences with a foundational
exploration of records: their anatomy, their attributes, and their capacity to
hold a heterogeneous blend of data types. Armed with this understanding,
you'll dive into the realm of record creation, discovering how to craft these
dynamic containers both manually and through calculated expressions.

Defining a Record
Records are a set of values, each with a specific title, and only one value
can be entered for each title. For simplicity, a record can be considered
equivalent to a row in a table. To define a record, it needs to first mention
the title (like headers in tables) and then show an equal sign and its value
between [ ] as follows and as in Figure 7-1:

=[A=123,B=81,C=“XYZ”]

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Chapter 7 Records

Figure 7-1. Defining a record in Power Query

In records, the value of one field can be calculated based on other

fields. Therefore, using records, advanced calculations can be done in
multiple steps by defining variables. Consider the following and Figure 7-2:

= [A=5,B=A+3,C=A+B]

Figure 7-2. Defining a record

Each field of a record can be a value, a list, another record, or a table. In

the following formula and Figure 7-3, field A is equal to a number, fields B
and D are lists, and field C itself is equal to another record:

= [A=5,B={1..3},C=[A=1,B=3],D={2}]

Figure 7-3. A record containing another record

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As previously explained, records can be considered like a row in a

table, so by including the name of the table and then the desired row
number within { }, the result is a record in which the field titles are the
same as the column titles in the table and the field values are equal to
the values of the selected row. For example, consider TableA shown in
Table 7-1.

Table 7-1. TableA

Product Price Material

W11 100 Metal

S06 75 Wood
R08 125 Glass

The value of TableA{0} is equal to the following record:

[Product=“W11”, Price=100, Material=“Metal”]

The value of TableA{2} is equal to the following record:

[Product=“R08”, Price=125, Material=“Glass”]

Due to the nature of the records, mathematical operations (addition,

multiplication, division, and subtraction) cannot be performed using
operators in Power Query, but two records can be combined using the &
operator.
In this case, if two records have the same fields, the value of that field
in the last record will be displayed as the result of that field, and different
fields will be displayed next to each other in the output. So, the result of the
following formula is [A=2, B=3, C=4]. See Figure 7-4.

= [A=5,B=3]&[A=2,C=4]

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Figure 7-4. Combination of records

In addition to combining records, there are other functions in Power

Query to modify records besides those presented in this section.

Record Properties
To extract the number of fields plus their names and values in a record, the
below function can be used.

Record.FieldCount
To count the number of fields in a record, Record.FieldCount is used as
follows:

Record.FieldCount(record as record) as number

The result of this function is always a number that displays the number
of fields in the input record. Therefore, the result of the following formula
is equal to 1:

= Record.FieldCount([A=5])

And the result of the following formula is equal to 2:

= Record.FieldCount([A=5,b=2])

And the result of the following formula is 4:

= ­Record.FieldCount([A=5,B={1..3},C=[A=1,B=3],D={2}])

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Record.FieldNames
Record.FieldNames is used to extract field titles in records as follows:

Record.FieldNames(record as record) as list

This function receives a record as input and returns the names of its
fields as a list in the output. Therefore, the result of the following formula is
{“A”, “B”}:

= Record.FieldNames([A=5,B=2])

And the result of the following formula is {“Name”, “Family”}:

= Record.FieldNames([Name="Omid",Family="Motamedi"])

Record.FieldValues
Record.FieldValues is like Record.FieldNames, but it results in the values
entered in the reference record instead of their title. It is defined as follows:

Record.FieldValues(record as record) as list

This function receives a record as input, and its result is equal to a list
of values. Therefore, the result of the following formula is equal to {5,2}:
= Record.FieldValues([A=5,B=2])

And the result of the following formula is equal to {“Omid”,

“Motamedi”}:

= ­Record.FieldValues([Name="Omid",Family="Motamedi"])

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Record.ToList
Record.ToList is used to convert a record to a list as follows. This function
receives an input in the type of record and displays the values of its fields
as a list in the output.

Record.ToList(record as record) as list

Different examples of using this function are shown in Table 7-2.

Table 7-2. Examples of Record.ToList

Formula Result

= Record.ToList([A=5,B=2,C=10]) {5,2,10}
= Record.ToList([A=5,B={1..3},C=10]) {5,{1,2,3},10}

Record.Field
Record.Field is used to extract the value of a field in a record as follows:

Record.Field(
       record as record,
       field as text
              ) as any

This function receives two inputs as follows:

1. The first input is the reference record.

2. The name of the desired field is determined in the

second input in text format.

According to the function explanations, the result of the following

formula is equal to 5:

= Record.Field([A=5,B=2],"A")

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And the result of the following formula is equal to Omid:

= Record.Field([Name="Omid",Family="Motamedi"],"Name")

But since the defined record in the following formula does not include
field C, the result of this formula is an error, as shown in Figure 7-5:

= Record.Field([A=5,B=2],"C")

Figure 7-5. Calculation error

Record.FieldOrDefault
This function is defined in Power Query as follows:

Record.FieldOrDefault(
       record as nullable record,
       field as text,
       optional defaultValue as any

This function is like Record.Field. The difference is that in this

function, the user can define a value in the third input to display that value
instead of an error if the reference record does not include any filed with
the defined name in the second input.
Therefore, in the following example, since the defined record does not
include field C, the result of the following formula is an error:
= Record.Field([A=5,B=2],"C")

While the result of the following formula is equal to null:

= Record.FieldOrDefault([A=5,B=2],"C")

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And the output value of the following formula is equal to -1.

= Record.FieldOrDefault([A=5,B=2],"C",-1)

Record.HasFields
To check if a record contains specific fields, Record.HasFields can be used
as follows:

Record.HasFields(
       record as record,
       fields as any
              ) as logical

This function receives two below inputs, and its output is always True
if the reference record contains all the defined fields in the second input or
False if the defined record does not contain at least one of the field names
entered in the second input.

1. The first input is the reference record.

2. The list of field names is entered in the second

input. To search for a field, its name can directly
enter in the text format, but to search for more than
one field, their names should be entered in the list.

Table 7-3 presents different applications of this function.

Table 7-3. Examples of Record.HasFields

Formula Result

= Record.HasFields([A=5,B=2,C={1..4}],"C") True
= Record.HasFields([A=5,B=2,C={1..4}],"D") False
= Record.HasFields([A=5,B=2,C={1..4}],{"A","C"}) True
= Record.HasFields([A=5,B=2,C={1..4}],{"A","D"}) False

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Record Correction
In this section, the functions for modifying a record will be presented.

Record.AddField
To add a field to a reference record, Record.AddField with the following
syntax can be used:

Record.AddField(
       record as record,
       fieldName as text,
       value as any,
       optional delayed as nullable logical
              ) as record

This function takes the following four inputs:

1. The reference record is entered in the first input.

2. The name of the new field is entered in the second

input in the text format.

3. The value of the new field is entered in the

third input.

4. The fourth input of this function is optional and is

entered as True or False.

Based on the function explanations, to add a new field named C with a

value of 10 to a record containing two fields named A and B, the following
formula can be used:

= Record.AddField([A=5,B=2],"C",10)
In this case, the result is a record containing all fields (A, B, and C) as
[A=5,B=2,C=10].

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Record.Combine
To add more than one field to a record at the same time or to combine
several records together, Record.Combine can be used as follows:

Record.Combine(records as list) as record

To combine several records, all should be entered in a list as the first

input of this function. In this case, the result is equal to a record that is
obtained by combining all the records.
For example, to combine two records, the following formula can be
used, which results in [A=5,B=2,C=10]:

= Record.Combine({[A=5,B=2],[C=10]})

Similarly, the result of the following formula is equal to

[A=5,B=2,C=10,D=2*C,E=1]:

= ­Record.Combine({[A=5,B=2],[C=10,D=
2*C,E=1]})

Record.SelectFields
Record.SelectFields is used to extract a subset of a reference record as
follows:

Record.SelectFields(
       record as record,
       fields as any,
       optional missingField as nullable number
              ) as record

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This function takes the following three inputs:

1. The first input defines the reference record.

2. The second input is a list of fields that you are

searching for their values.

3. This input is optional and used if the reference list

does not contain at least one of the mentioned filed
names in the second input. By entering the number
0 in this input, the result will be an error. Entering
the number 1 will result in a record that the missing
fields are removed from. By entering the number 2,
the non-matching fields are displayed in the output,
but their value is null.

According to the above explanation, the result of the following formula

is equal to [A=5,C=10]:

Record.SelectFields([A=5,B=2,C=10,D=12],{"A","C"})

And the result of the following formula is an error, as shown in

Figure 7-6:

Record.SelectFields([A=5,B=2,C=10,D=12],{"A","C","N"})

Figure 7-6. Error result

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However, entering the number 1 in the third input, the result of the
following will be as shown in Figure 7-7:

Record.SelectFields([A=5,B=2,C=10,D=12],{"A","C","N"},1)

Figure 7-7. Non-matching fields are not displayed

And entering the number 2 in the third input, the result of the
following will be as shown in Figure 7-8:

Record.SelectFields([A=5,B=2,C=10,D=12],{"A","C","N"},2)

Figure 7-8. Non-matching fields are displayed with a null value

Record.RemoveFields
To remove one or more fields from a record, Record.RemoveFields is used
as follows:

Record.RemoveFields(
       record as record,
       fields as any,
       optional missingField as nullable number
              ) as record

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This function takes the following three inputs:

1. The first input is the reference record.

2. The second input is a list of field names that you

want to remove from the reference record. (To
remove a field from a record, the field name is
inserted in this input in the text format, and to
remove more than one field, the field’s names
should be entered inside a list.)

3. This input is optional and is used when a field

name, entered in the second input, does not exist
in the reference record. In this case, if the value 0 is
entered in this input (or if this input is not entered),
the result is an error, and if the numbers 1 or 2 are
entered, this inconsistency is ignored.

Based on the function explanations, the result of the following formula

is equal to [B=2,C=10,D=20,E=1]:

= Record.RemoveFields([A=5,B=2,C=10,D=2*C,E=1],"A")

Similarly, the result of the following formula is equal to [D=20,E=1]:

= Record.RemoveFields([A=5,B=2,C=10,D=2*C,E=1],
{"A","B","C"})

And the result of the following formula is an error:

= Record.RemoveFields([A=5,B=2,C=10,D=2*C,E=1],
{"A","B","C","X"})

The result of the following formula is equal to [D=20,E=1]:

= Record.RemoveFields([A=5,B=2,C=10,D=2*C,E=1],
{"A","B","C","X"},1)

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Record.RenameFields
Record.RenameFields can be used to change the field names in a record as
follows:

Record.RenameFields(
       record as record,
       renames as list,
       optional missingField as nullable number
              ) as record

This function takes the following three arguments:

1. The reference record is entered in the first input.

2. The old and new names of the fields are entered

in this input in the form of a list. To change the
name of a field from A to X, the old and new names
are entered in a list in the form of {“A”,“X”}, but to
change the name of several fields at the same time,
the old and new names are entered separately in
lists, and all lists are entered in a list. So, to change
the name of field A to X and the name of field B to
W, this input enters as {{“A”,“X”},{“B”,“W”}}.

3. This input is optional and is used when the

reference record does not include any field with the
entered name in the second input. In this case, if the
value 0 is entered in this input (or if this input is not
entered), the result is an error, and if the numbers 1
or 2 are entered, this inconsistency is ignored.

Based on the function explanations, different examples of this function

are provided in Table 7-4.

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Table 7-4. Examples of Record.RenameFields

Formula Result

= Record.RenameFields([A=5,B=2,C=10],{"A","X"}) [X=5,B=2,C=10]
= Record.RenameFields([A=5,B=2,C=10],{{"A","X"}, [X=5,W=2,C=10]
{"B","W"}})
= Record.RenameFields([A=5,B=2,C=10],{"U","X"}) Error
= Record.RenameFields([A=5,B=2,C=10],{"U","X"},1) [A=5,B=2,C=10]

Record.ReorderFields
To change the order of fields in a list, Record.ReorderFields can be used
as follows:

Record.ReorderFields(
       record as record,
       fieldOrder as list,
       optional missingField as nullable number
              ) as record

This function takes the following three inputs:

1. In the first input, the reference record is entered.

2. In the second input, the names of the fields are

entered in the desired order in a list. In this input, it
is not necessary to bring the names of all fields; the
mentioned fields’ names come in first, and other
fields come afterward.

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3. This input is optional and is used when the

reference record does not include any field with the
entered name in the second input. In this case, if the
value 0 is entered in this input (or if this input is not
entered), the result is an error, and if the numbers 1
or 2 are entered, this inconsistency is ignored.

Table 7-5 shows various examples of this function.

Table 7-5. Examples of Record.ReorderFields

Formula Result

= R ecord.ReorderFields([A=5,B=2,C=10],{"C","B", [C=10,B=2,A=5]
"A"})
= R ecord.ReorderFields([A=5,B=2,C=10],{"X","B", Error
"A"})
= R ecord.ReorderFields([A=5,B=2,C=10],{"X","B", [B=2,C=10,A=5]
"A"},1)

Record.TransformFields
With Record.TransformFields, the format of values in a record can be
changed as follows:

Record.TransformFields(
       record as record,
       transformOperations as list,
       optional missingField as nullable number
              ) as record

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This function takes the following three arguments:

1. The first argument represents the reference record.

2. The names of the fields, beside their new format,

are entered in a different list. This input is defined
as a list including two values, first, define the name
of the column, and the logic for transforming is
defined in the second input.

3. This input is optional, and by using it, you specify

what happens if the reference record does not
include any field with the names listed in the
second input.

Using this function, the result of the following formula is [A=“4”,

B=4, C=4]:

Record.TransformFields([A="4", B=4, C="4"], {C, Number.

FromText})

Record Conversion
Here are several functions in Power Query for converting a record to a list
or table.

Record.FromList
As the name of this function suggests, it is used to convert a list to a record
as follows:

Record.FromList(
       list as list,
       fields as any
              ) as record

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This function takes two inputs as follows, and its output is always equal
to a record.

1. In the first input of this function, the field values are

entered as a list.

2. In the second input of this function, the field names

are entered as a list.

Based on the function explanation, various uses of this function are

shown in Table 7-6.

Table 7-6. Examples of Record.FromList

Formula Result

= Record.FromList({1,2,3},{"A","B","C"}) [A=1,B=2,C=3]
= Record.FromList({1,"XWZ",3},{"A","B","C"}) [A=1,B="XWZ",C=3]
= Record.FromList({1,2,3},type [A=1,B=2,C=3]
[A=number,B=number,C=number])

Record.FromTable
Using Record.FromTable, tables with specific conditions can be converted
to records as follows:

Record.FromTable(table as table) as record

As you can see, this function receives an input in the type of table and
converts it to the record. To use this function, the input table must include
two columns. The first column contains values in the format of text. Then,
in the output record, the values of the first column of the reference table
are considered as the field names, and the values of the second column in
the table are considered as the values of the output.

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Record.ToTable
By using Record.ToTable, a record can be transformed into a table as
follows:

Record.ToTable(record as record) as table

This function receives an input of the record type and transforms the
same record into a two-column table according to the following format.
The first column of the table includes the names of record fields, and the
second column includes the values of the fields. See Figure 7-9.

Figure 7-9. Transforming a record into a table

Summary
This chapter was a comprehensive exploration of record functions
within Power Query, offering a deep dive into the art of transforming
raw data into meaningful insights by harnessing the power of structured
relationships.
The journey began with a foundational understanding of records as
dynamic data structures. You learned about their ability to encapsulate
various attributes of an entity, akin to creating multidimensional canvases
for data representation. Through this, you gained insight into the manual
creation of records and generating them through calculated expressions.
The true essence of record functions emerged as you unraveled their
capabilities in data transformation and enrichment. You explored a diverse

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range of functions that empower you to dissect, merge, and reshape

records. From filtering attributes and extracting values to merging records
to create holistic data snapshots, you learned to mold data with precision.
In the next chapter, you continue your journey by learning about the
functions related to tables, as the most important type of data in Power
Query. You will learn how to merge the values in several separate tables
and how to append them or modify the single tables.

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Tables
In the sprawling landscape of data exploration and analysis, tables stand as
the cornerstone of structure and coherence. They organize chaos, provide
context, and facilitate insights by presenting data in a logical and digestible
format. Welcome to a chapter that delves into the intricate world of table
functions within Power Query, guiding you through the art of transforming
raw information into organized, actionable knowledge.
Tables are the canvases upon which data stories unfold. Imagine
customer orders neatly categorized, project tasks meticulously tracked, or
survey responses collated for analysis. In a world of disparate data points,
tables are the glue that holds information together, facilitating seamless
exploration and understanding.
Your journey through this chapter begins with a fundamental
understanding of tables: their anatomy, their columns, and their rows of
data. You’ll explore how Power Query views tables as dynamic structures
capable of housing diverse data types and relationships. Armed with this
knowledge, you’ll embark on a journey to create tables manually and
through calculated expressions.
However, tables are not static entities; they are pathways to
transformation and enlightenment. Discover the myriad table functions
that Power Query provides, enabling you to filter, sort, reshape, and
aggregate data with precision. From column removal to row filtering, these
functions empower you to craft tables that align with your analytical goals.

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C
 reating a Table
There are various methods in Power Query to create or call tables from
different data sources. This section covers creating a table from a record,
list, rows, or columns using the following functions.

T able.FromColumns
As the name of this function suggests, Table.FromColumns is used to create
a table from a set of columns, as follows:

Table.FromColumns(
              lists as list,
              optional columns as any
              ) as table

This function receives these two inputs:

1. The first input of this function represents the

contents of the columns in the desired table, where
the values of each column are entered in a list and
all lists are entered in a reference list in this input.
In other words, entering {{1,2},{3,4}} in this input
means that the desired table has two columns where
the first column includes values of 1 and 2 and the
second column includes values of 3 and 4.
2. The second input of this function is optional and
specifies the column’s titles. In this input, the
column’s titles are entered in a list. If no value is
entered for this input, 1, Column 2, … are used for
the name of outputted table.

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Based on the function explanation, to create a table with three

columns, its first input is a list that includes three other lists. Each inner
list includes the values related to a column of the table. The second input
of the table also includes a list that has three text values as the header of
the columns. So, the result of the following formula is equal to a table with
three columns and two rows, as follows and as shown in Table 8-1:

= Table.FromColumns(
         {
                  {"Omid","Ali"},
                  {"Motamedi","Amjad"},
                  {31,35}
         },
         {"Name","Family","Age"})

Table 8-1. Creating a Table by Table.FromColumns

Name Family Age

Omid Motamedi 31
Ali Amjad 35

In a similar state, the result of the following formula is equal to

Table 8-2:

= Table.FromColumns(
         {
                  {"Omid"},
                  {null,"Amjad"},
                  {"",35}
         },
         {"Name","Family","Age"})

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Table 8-2. Creating a Table by Table.FromColumns

Name Family Age

Omid null
null Amjad 35

And if the information related to the second input is not entered, as in

the following formula, the columns are named column 1, column 2, and
column3 and result is as shown in Table 8-3:

= Table.FromColumns({{"Omid","Ali"},{"Motamedi","Amjad"},
{31,35}})

Table 8-3. Creating a Table by Table.FromColumns

Column1 Column2 Column3

Omid Motamedi 31
Ali Amjad 35

T able.FromRows
The Table.FromRows function is like the Table.FromColumns function.
The difference is that in the first input of this function, instead of defining
the columns’ values of the table, the values ​​corresponding to the rows are
defined as follows:

Table.FromRows(
              rows as list,
              optional columns as any
              ) as table

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This function receives these two inputs:

1. The first input is a list that includes several lists,

each list containing the rows’ values. In other words,
if the value {{1,2},{3,4}} is entered in this input, it
means that the desired table has two rows and the
values 1 and 2 are entered in the first row and the
values 3 and 4 are entered in the second row.
2. The headers of the table are defined in a list within
this input. This input is optional and if not entered,
the column titles will be displayed as Column 1,
Column 2, and so on.

Based on the function explanation, the result of the following formula

is a table with three columns and two rows, as shown in Table 8-4:

= Table.FromRows(
         {
                  {"Omid","Motamedi",31},
                  {"Ali","Amjad",35}
         },
         {"Name","Family","age"}
                  )

Table 8-4. Creating a Table by Table.FromRows

Name Family age

Omid Motamedi 31
Ali Amjad 35

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And if the second input is not entered, the result will be as shown in
Table 8-5.

= Table.FromRows(
         {
                  {"Omid","Motamedi",31},
                  {"Ali","Amjad",35}
         })

Table 8-5. Creating a Table by Table.FromRows

Column1 Column2 Column3

Omid Motamedi 31
Ali Amjad 35

In a similar situation, if some values are not available, you can replace
them with the null expression or leave them empty, as shown here and in
Table 8-6:

= Table.FromRows({{"Omid","",""},{null,"Amjad",35}},{"Name",
"Family","age"})

Table 8-6. Creating a Table by Table.FromRows

Name Family age

Omid
null Amjad 35

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T able.FromRecords
Table.FromRecords is used to create a table from a set of records. In this
function, each record presents a row of the table and the records must be
entered into a list as the first input of this function. The fields of the records
can be the same or different, but in the second input of this function, you
specify which fields should be displayed in the output. In the third input of
this function, you specify how to calculate the values of a field if no value is
entered. This function is defined as follows:

Table.FromRecords(
              records as list,
              optional columns as any,
              optional missingField as nullable number
              ) as table

This function receives these three inputs:

1. In this input, the values of the table rows are

defined. The values of each row are entered in a
record and all records are defined in a list as the
first input.
2. This input is optional and is used to display only
specific fields of the records entered in the first
input in the final table. The names of those fields
can be entered in a list in this input. Otherwise, by
not entering a value for this input, all fields of the
records will be displayed in the output.
3. The third input of this function is also optional
and specifies how to calculate the values of a field
that is defined in the second input but none of the
records in the first input include that field. In this

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input, one of three states of MissingField.Error

(or value 0), MissingField.Ignore (or value 1), and
MissingField.UseNull (or value 2) can be used.

Based on the function explanation, the result of the following formula

is shown in Table 8-7:

= Table.FromRecords(
         {[Name="Omid",Family="Motamedi",Age=31],
          [Name="Ali",Family="Amjad",Age=35]}
         )

Table 8-7. Creating a Table by Table.FromRecords

Name Family Age

Omid Motamedi 31
Ali Amjad 35

And by specifying some column names like Name and Age in the
second input, the result will change, as shown in Table 8-8.

= Table.FromRecords(
         {[Name="Omid",Family="Motamedi",Age=31],
          [Name="Ali",Family="Amjad",Age=35]},
         {"Name","Age"})

Table 8-8. Creating a Table by Table.FromRecords

Name Age

Omid 31
Ali 35

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 Chapter 8 Tables

If the second record does not include the Name field, the result of the
following formula will look like Table 8-9:

= Table.FromRecords(
         {[Name="Omid",Family="Motamedi",Age=31],
          [Family="Amjad",Age=35]},
         {"Name","Age"})

Table 8-9. Creating a Table by Table.FromRecords

Name Age

Omid 31
Error Error

In this case, by entering the number 2 in the third input of the function,
the result will be as shown in Table 8-10.

Table 8-10. Creating a Table by Table.FromRecords

Name Age

Omid 31
null 35

T able.FromValue
Using Table.FromValue, values with different formats can be converted to
a table as follows:

Table.FromValue(
       value as any,
       optional options as nullable record
              ) as table

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As you can see, this function receives the following two inputs:

1. In the first input of this function, the values you

want to convert to a table are entered. These value
can be in the form of a number, list, record, or other
formats.

2. The second input of this function is optional

and contains settings related to the function. For
example, using DefaultColumnName, the column
name of the table can be changed.

If a list is used in the first input as = Table.FromValue({"A",2,3}),

the resulting table is as shown in Table 8-11.

Table 8-11. Creating a Table by Table.FromValue

Value

A
2
3

If the record is used as = Table.FromValue([a=1,b=2,c=3]), the

result table is as shown in Table 8-12.

Table 8-12. Creating a Table by Table.FromValue

Name Value

a 1
b 2
c 3

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And if a numerical or textual value is entered, the table is as shown in

Table 8-13.

= Table.FromValue(2)

Table 8-13. Creating a Table by Table.FromValue

Value

T able Conversion
Using Power Query functions, a table can be converted into a list, record,
columns, or rows. In this section, these kinds of functions are examined.
For simplicity, Table 8-14 is considered as TableA and is used in the several
example.

Table 8-14. Definition of Table A

Product Price Material

W11 100 Metal

S06 75 Wood
R08 125 Glass

And Table 8-15 is considered as TableB.

Table 8-15. Definition of TableB

Name Family Age

Omid Motamedi 31
Ali Amjad 35

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T able.ToRecords
Using Table.ToRecords with the following syntax, a table can be converted
to a set of records:

Table.ToRecords(table as table) as list

This function takes an input of type table, and its output is a list where
each of its values represents a record that corresponds to a row of the
original table values.
With these explanations, the result of the formula Table.
ToRecords(TableB) is equal to the following list:

{[Name="Omid",Family="Motamedi",Age=31],
[Name="Ali",Family="Amjad",Age=35]}

And the result of the formula Table.ToRecords(TableA) is equal to the

following list:

{[Product="W11",Price=100,Material="Metal"],
[Product="S06",Price=75,Material="Wood"],
[Product="R08",Price=125,Material="Glass"]}

T able.ToColumns
The Table.ToColumns function with the following syntax can be used to
convert the table’s column values into lists:

Table.ToColumns(table as table) as list

Using this function, each column of a table is converted to a list, and

all lists are displayed as the values of other lists as output. In other words,
this function takes an input of the type of table, and its output is a list that
includes a list for each column of the reference table. So, the result of the
formula Table.ToColumns(TableB) is equal to the following list:

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 Chapter 8 Tables

{{ "Omid","Ali"},
{ "Motamedi","Amjad"},
{31, 35}}

And the result of the formula Table.ToColumns(TableA) is equal to the

following list:

{{ "W11", "S06", "R08"},

{100, 75, 125},
{"Metal", "Wood", "Glass"}}

T able.ToRows
Using Table.ToRows, a table can be converted to a set of rows where each
row is displayed within a list. In other words, this function receives an
input in the format of a table and its output is equal to a list where each of
its values represents a list that is equivalent to a row of the original table.
The syntax of this function is as follows:

Table.ToRows(table as table) as list

So, the result of the formula Table.ToRows(TableB) is equal to the

following list:

{{ "Omid","Motamedi", 31},
{ "Ali","Amjad", 35}}

And the result of the formula Table.ToRows(TableA) is equal to the

following list:

{{ "W11", 100, "Metal"},

{ "S06", 75, "Wood"},
{ "R08", 125, "Glass"}}

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T able.ToList
Table.ToList is used to convert a table to a list as follows:

Table.ToList(
       table as table,
       optional combiner as nullable function
              ) as list

This function receives these two inputs:

1. The first input is the reference table.

2. The second input of this function is optional and

specifies the type of combining values of different
columns by entering one of these values:

Combiner.CombineTextByDelimiter

Combiner.CombineTextByEachDelimiter

Combiner.CombineTextByLengths

Combiner.CombineTextByPositions

Combiner.CombineTextByRanges

An important point about this function is that before using it, the
format of all columns of the reference table must be changed to text.
By considering TableA as shown in Table 8-13, and assuming that
the column format in the Price column is defined as text, the result of
formula = Table.ToList(TableA) is equal to the list {"W11,100,Metal",
"S06,75,Wood", "R08,125,Glass"}.
In addition, the following formula states that the first, second, and
third columns of TableA should be combined together by taking 1, 2, and
2 first characters of each column, respectively. Therefore, the result is
{"W10Me", "S75Wo", "R12Gl"}:

= Table.ToList(TableA, Combiner.CombineTextByLengths({1,2,2}))

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In the following example, the dash is the separator:

= Table.ToList(TableA, Combiner.CombineTextByDelimiter("-"))

Therefore, the result of the above formula is equal to

{"W11-100-Metal", "S06-75-Wood", "R08-125-Glass"}

And by using Combiner.CombineTextByEachDelimiter as follows, a

different separator can be defined for combining the columns.

= Table.ToList(TableA, Combiner.
CombineTextByEachDelimiter({".","_"}))

So the result is

{"W11.100-Metal", "S06.75-Wood", "R08.125-Glass"}

T able.Column
Using Table.Column with the following syntax, the values of a column can
be extracted as a list:

Table.Column(
       table as table,
       column as text
              ) as list

This function receives these two inputs:

1. The first input of this function specifies the

reference table.

2. The second input of this function is the name of the

desired column as text.

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The result of this function is a list that includes the values of the
specified column in the second input. Therefore, the result of Table.
Column(TableC, "Quantity") is equal to this list:

{17,18,10,1,6,9,6,6,10,3,18}

In addition to Table.Column, to extract the values of a column from

a table, the name of the column can be written in [ ] after the table name.
Therefore, the result of TableC[Quantity] is also equal to the values of
the Quantity column, just like Table.Column(TableC, "Quantity").

T able.TransformRows
With the function Table.TransformRows, you can transform values in the
rows of a table into a list as follows:

Table.TransformRows(
       table as table,
       transform as function
              ) as list

Based on the function’s syntax, it takes these two inputs:

1. The first input of this function is the reference table.

2. The second input defines the transformation

function to convert the values into a list.

By this function, the values of the table are converted into a list based
on the transformation function defined in the second input. For example,
the result of the following formula is equal to the list {100, 75, 125}:

= Table.TransformRows(TableA, each [Price])

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 Chapter 8 Tables

And the result of following formula is equal to {"W11, Metal", "S06,

Wood", "R08, Glass"}:

= Table.TransformRows(TableA, each [Product] & ", " &

[Material])

In the following example, the first character of the product name and
the last character of the product material should be displayed next to each
other in the output list. The result is {"Wl", "Sd", "Rs"}:

= Table.TransformRows(TableA, each Text.Start([Product], 1) &

Text.End([Material], 1))

T able.Split
Table.Split is used to split a table into multiple tables. For example, with
this function a table with 100 rows can be split into 50 tables with 2 rows.

Table.Split(
       table as tle,
       pageSize as number
       ) as list

This function takes two arguments:

1. The first argument is the reference table.

2. The second argument determines the number of

rows in the split tables. For example, to split a table
with 100 rows into 50 tables with 2 rows, 2 is entered
in this input.

The output of this function is a list where each value of it is a sub-table

of the original table.

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According to the above explanation, by considering X as a table with 11

rows, the result of the formula Table.Split(X,2) is a list with 6 values. The
first 5 values of this list are tables with 2 rows, and the sixth value is a table
with 1 row.

T able.SplitAt
Table.SplitAt is used to divide a table into two sub-tables based on a
criteria.

Table.SplitAt(
       table as table,
       count as number
       ) as list

This function receives two inputs:

1. The first input is the reference table.

2. In this input, the location of the table split is

determined. In other words, entering the number
3 in this input means that the reference table is
divided into two subsets. The first four rows will be
shown in the first table and the remaining rows will
be in the second table.

So, by considering X as a table with 11 rows, the result of the formula

Table.SplitAt(X,3) is a list with two values. The first value is a table
containing the first four rows of the reference table, and the second value is
a table containing the remaining rows of the reference table.

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Information
There are several functions in Power Query that provide information such
as the number of columns and rows in a table. These functions receive an
input in the form of a table and provide information about that table in the
output. Table 8-16 lists of these functions along with their applications.

Table 8-16. Table Information Functions

Function Description

Table.Approximate The result of this function is equal to the approximate

RowCount number of rows in a large table (if the relevant
database follows this feature).
Table.ColumnCount The output of this function is equal to the number of
columns in the input table.
Table.IsEmpty If the table defined in the input of this function has no
rows, the result of this function is True; otherwise, the
result of the function is False.
Table.Profile The result of this function is equal to a table that
provides statistical information, including minimum,
maximum, mean, standard deviation, number of
records, number of unique records, and number of null
values for different columns of the input table.
Table.RowCount The result of this function is equal to the number of
rows in the reference table.
Table.Schema The result of this function is a table that provides
additional information about the columns of the
reference table.

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Considering Table 8-14 named TableA and Table 8-15 named TableB,
Table 8-17 shows the results of using various formulas.

Table 8-17. Examples of Table Information Functions

Formula Result

=Table.ColumnCount(TableB) 3
=Table.IsEmpty (TableB) False
=Table.RowCount(TableB) 2
=Table.ColumnCount(TableA) 3
=Table.IsEmpty (TableA) False
=Table.RowCount(TableA) 3

And the result of the function Table.Profile(TableB) is equal to

Table 8-18.

198
 Table 8-18. Result of Table.Profile
Column Min Max Average StandardDeviation Count NullCount DistinctCount

Age 31 35 33 2.828427125 2 0 2
Family Amjad Motamedi null null 2 0 2
Name Ali Omid null null 2 0 2
Chapter 8

199
Tables
Chapter 8 Tables

Selecting Table Rows

Using various functions in Power Query, the number of desired rows can
be extracted from a table. These functions are explained in this section. To
examine the functions in this section, Table 8-19 is considered TableC.

= Table.FromColumns(
         {{1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11},
         {#date(2023,1,30),#date(2023,1,31),#date(2023,2,1),
#date(2023,2,1),#date(2023,2,1),#date(2023,2,2),#date
(2023,2,2),#date(2023,2,3),#date(2023,2,4),#date
(2023,2,4),#date(2023,2,6)},
         {"A","A","C","A","B","B","A","C","B","A","C"},
         {17,18,10,1,6,9,6,6,10,3,18}},
         {"Row","Date","Product Name","Quantity"})

Table 8-19. Definition of TableC

Row Date Product Name Quantity

1 1/30/2023 A 17
2 1/31/2023 A 18
3 2/1/2023 C 10
4 2/1/2023 A 1
5 2/1/2023 B 6
6 2/2/2023 B 9
7 2/2/2023 A 6
8 2/3/2023 C 6
9 2/4/2023 B 10
10 2/4/2023 A 3
11 2/6/2023 C 18

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 Chapter 8 Tables

T able.FirstValue
The result of Table.FirstValue is always equal to the value entered in
the first row and first column of a table. Table.FirstValue is defined as
follows in Power Query:

Table.FirstValue(
       table as table,
       optional default as any
              ) as any

Based on the function syntax, it takes two inputs:

1. The first input of this function specifies the

reference table.

2. The second input of this function is optional. This

input represents the default value of this function,
and if the result of the function is an error (the table
entered in the first input is empty), this value will
display.

T able.First and Table.Last

Table.First and Table.Last are used to extract the first or last row of a
table as follows:

Table.First(
       table as table,
       optional default as any
       ) as any

Table.Last(
       table as table,
       optional default as any
       ) as any
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Chapter 8 Tables

These functions take two arguments, as follows:

1. The first argument is the reference table.

2. The second argument of this function is optional

and can be used to determine what value should
be displayed in the output if the first input of the
function is empty (the reference table has no rows).

The result of these functions is always a record that displays the values
of the first or last row of the reference table. Therefore, the result of the
formula Table.First(TableC) is as follows:

[Row=1,Date="1/30/2023",Product Name=A,Quantity=17]

And similarly, the result of the function Table.Last(TableC) is as

follows:

[Row=11,Date="2/6/2023",Product Name=C,Quantity=18]

T able.FirstN and Table.LastN

Table.FirstN and Table.LastN are used to extract several rows from the
beginning or ending of a table as follows:

Table.FirstN(
       table as table,
       countOrCondition as any
       ) as table

Table.LastN(
       table as table,
       countOrCondition as any
       ) as table

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 Chapter 8 Tables

Based on the syntaxes, they take two inputs:

1. The first input is the reference table.

2. In the second input of this function, the number n

is entered and determines how many rows should
be extracted from the beginning or ending the table.
In this input, a condition can also be defined; in this
case, only a chain of first (or last) rows of the table
that meet this condition will be displayed in the
output table.

With these explanations, the result of the formula Table.

FirstN(TableC,5) is as shown in Table 8-20.

Table 8-20. Example of Table.FirstN

Row Date Product Name Quantity

1 1/30/2023 A 17
2 1/31/2023 A 18
3 2/1/2023 C 10
4 2/1/2023 A 1
5 2/1/2023 B 6

The result of the formula = Table.FirstN(TableC, each

[Quantity]>9) is equal to Table 8-21.

Table 8-21. Example of Table.FirstN

Row Date Product Name Quantity

1 1/30/2023 A 17
2 1/31/2023 A 18
3 2/1/2023 C 10

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Similarly, the result of the formula Table.LastN(TableC,5) is as

shown in Table 8-22.

Table 8-22. Example of Table.FirstN

Row Date Product Name Quantity

7 2/2/2023 A 6
8 2/3/2023 C 6
9 2/4/2023 B 10
10 2/4/2023 A 3
11 2/6/2023 C 18

And the result of the formula = Table.LastN(TableC, each

[Quantity]>9) is equal to Table 8-23.

Table 8-23. Example of Table.FirstN

Row Date Product Name Quantity

11 2/6/2023 C 18

T able.Max and Table.Min

Table.Max and Table.Min are used to extract a row from a table that
includes the largest or smallest value in the specified column.

Table.Max(
       table as table,
       comparisonCriteria as any,
       optional default as any
       ) as any

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 Chapter 8 Tables

Table.Min(
table as table,
comparisonCriteria as any,
optional default as any
       ) as any

The functions Table.Max and Table.Min each receive three inputs:

1. The first input of these functions is the
reference table.
2. In this input, the comparison criterion is specified.
Usually, the name of the column in which you are
searching for the largest or smallest value is directly
entered in this input as a text format.
3. The third input is optional and specifies the default
value of the function; for the case the result of
functions is an error.
According to the above explanation, to extract the row corresponding
to the minimum sales in TableC, the following formula can be used:
= Table.Min(TableC, "Quantity")
In this case, the result is shown in Figure 8-1.

Figure 8-1. The row corresponding to the minimum sales

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Chapter 8 Tables

To extract the row corresponding to the maximum sales, the following

formula can be used:

= Table.Max(TableC, "Quantity")

The result is shown in Figure 8-2. (Although there is a row with the sale
value of 18, the result of this function is only one of these rows.)

Figure 8-2. Row corresponding to the maximum sales

T able.MaxN and Table.MinN

Table.MaxN and Table.MinN are used to extract N rows corresponding to
the largest or smallest values for a column in a table, as follows:

Table.MaxN(
       table as table,
       comparisonCriteria as any,
       countOrCondition as any
       ) as table

Table.MinN(
       table as table,
       comparisonCriteria as any,
       countOrCondition as any
       ) as table

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 Chapter 8 Tables

These functions receive three inputs as follows:

1. The first input is the reference table.

2. The title of the desired column in which you are

searching for the n largest (smallest) values is
entered in the second input.

3. In the third input, the number of rows is specified.

Based on the function explanation, the result of the formula = Table.

MaxN(TableC,"Quantity",3) is equal to the three rows of the table with
the highest sales value. See Table 8-24.

Table 8-24. Result of Table.MaxN(TableC,“Quantity”,3)

Row Date Product Name Quantity

11 2/6/2023 C 18
2 1/31/2023 A 18
1 1/30/2023 A 17

Similarly, formula = Table.MinN(TableC,"Quantity",3) results in

three rows of the table with the lowest value in the quantity column. See
Table 8-25.

Table 8-25. Result of Table.MinN(TableC,“Quantity”,3)

Row Date Product Name Quantity

4 2/1/2023 A 1
10 2/4/2023 A 3
8 2/3/2023 C 6

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Chapter 8 Tables

T able.Range
To extract n rows from the middle rows of a table, Table.Range can be used
as follows:

Table.Range(
       table as table,
       offset as number,
       optional count as nullable number
       ) as table

This function takes three arguments:

1. In the first argument, the reference table is entered.

2. In the second argument, by entering a number, the

starting point for extracting the rows is determined.
For example, entering the number 3 means that
separation will take place from the fourth row of
the table.
3. In the third argument of this function, the number
of rows for extracting is determined by entering
a number.

Therefore, entering Table.Range(TableC,3,5) means rows 4 to 8 of

TableC will be extracted. The result is shown in Table 8-26.

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 Chapter 8 Tables

Table 8-26. Result of Table.Range(TableC,3,5)

Row Date Product Name Quantity

4 2/1/2023 A 1
5 2/1/2023 B 6
6 2/2/2023 B 9
7 2/2/2023 A 6
8 2/3/2023 C 6

T able.SelectRows
Table.SelectRows with the following syntax allows you to filter some rows
of a table based on the condition:

Table.SelectRows(
       table as table,
       condition as function
              ) as table

Table.SelectRows takes two inputs, and its result is always a table with
filtered rows from the reference table.
1. In the first input of this function, the reference table
is entered.

2. In the second input, the condition(s) for selecting

rows is defined in the format of function. In the
simplest way, the word “each” can be entered,
followed by the selecting condition. For example, to
filter only the rows with the value “A” in the Product
Name column, the second input of this function can
be entered as each [Product Name] = "A".

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Chapter 8 Tables

To display only the rows with values higher than 10

on the quantity column, this input is defined as each
[Quantity]>10.

Based on the function explanation and considering TableC, the result

of this function in different conditions is as follows (see also Table 8-27 and
Table 8-28):

= Table.SelectRows(TableC, each [Product Name] = "A")

Table 8-27. Example of Table.SelectRows

Row Date Product Name Quantity

1 1/30/2023 A 17
2 1/31/2023 A 18
4 2/1/2023 A 1
7 2/2/2023 A 6
10 2/4/2023 A 3

= Table.SelectRows(TableC,each [Quantity]>10)

Table 8-28. Example of Table.SelectRows

Row Date Product Name Quantity

1 1/30/2023 A 17
2 1/31/2023 A 18
11 2/6/2023 C 18

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 Chapter 8 Tables

To execute more than one condition at the same time, the conditions
are connected by using “and” or “or” between them, as follows:

= Table.SelectRows(TableC,each [Product Name]="A" and

[Quantity]>10)

This means that only the rows related to the sales of product A with
more than 10 items on the quantity column will be displayed in the output.
(Both conditions must be met simultaneously.) See Table 8-29.

Table 8-29. Example of Table.SelectRows

Row Date Product Name Quantity

1 1/30/2023 A 17
2 1/31/2023 A 18

In another example, replacing “and” by “or” means that all rows where
product A has been sold should be displayed alongside all rows where
more than 10 units of the product have been sold (at least one of the
conditions must be met). See Table 8-30.

= Table.SelectRows(TableC,each [Product Name]="A" or

[Quantity]>10)

Table 8-30. Example of Table.SelectRows

Row Date Product Name Quantity

1 1/30/2023 A 17
2 1/31/2023 A 18
4 2/1/2023 A 1
7 2/2/2023 A 6
10 2/4/2023 A 3
11 2/6/2023 C 18

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Chapter 8 Tables

T able.SelectRowsWithErrors
Table.SelectRowsWithErrors is used to find rows in a table with error
values in at least one column. This function is defined in Power Query as
follows:

Table.SelectRows(
       table as table,
       condition as function
              ) as table

Based on the function syntax, it takes two inputs:

1. The reference table is entered in the first input.

2. In the second input of this function, the names of

columns are entered as a list. This input is optional,
and if a list of column names is entered, the output
of this function will include the table’s rows with
an error value in the columns mentioned in this
input. If no value is entered for this input, all the
columns are considered for extracting rows with the
error value.

For example, consider Table 8-31 as TableD.

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 Chapter 8 Tables

Table 8-31. Definition of TableD

Row Date Product Name Quantity

1 1/30/2023 A 17
2 1/31/2023 A 18
3 2/1/2023 C Error
4 2/1/2023 A 1
5 2/1/2023 B 6
6 2/2/2023 B 9
7 2/2/2023 A 6
8 2/3/2023 C Error
9 2/4/2023 Error 10
10 2/4/2023 A 3
11 2/6/2023 C Error

The result of the formula Table.SelectRowsWithErrors(TableD) is

shown in Table 8-32.

Table 8-32. Example of Table.SelectRowsWithErrors

Row Date Product Name Quantity

3 2/1/2023 C Error
8 2/3/2023 C Error
9 2/4/2023 Error 10
11 2/6/2023 C Error

And the result of = Table.SelectRowsWithErrors(TableD,{"Product

Name"}) is shown in Table 8-33.

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Chapter 8 Tables

Table 8-33. Example of Table.SelectRowsWithError

Row Date Product Name Quantity

9 2/4/2023 Error 10

Deleting Table Rows

To remove one or more rows of a table, the following functions can
be used.

T able.RemoveFirstN and Table.RemoveLastN

The two functions Table.RemoveFirstN and Table.RemoveLastN are used
to remove a specified number of rows from the beginning or end of a table,
as follows:

Table.RemoveFirstN(
       table as table,
       optional countOrCondition as any
       ) as table

Table.RemoveLastN(
       table as table,
       optional countOrCondition as any
       ) as table

These functions take two inputs:

1. The first input is the reference table.

2. The second input is the number of rows you want to
remove from the beginning or end of the reference
table, entered as a number or condition.

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 Chapter 8 Tables

The result of the formula Table.RemoveFirstN(TableC,5) is shown in

Table 8-34.

Table 8-34. Result of Table.RemoveFirstN

Row Date Product Name Quantity

6 2/2/2023 B 9
7 2/2/2023 A 6
8 2/3/2023 C 6
9 2/4/2023 B 10
10 2/4/2023 A 3
11 2/6/2023 C 18

Similarly, the result of the formula Table.RemoveFirstN(TableC,

each [Quantity]>9) is shown in Table 8-35.

Table 8-35. Result of Table.RemoveFirstN

Row Date Product Name Quantity

4 2/1/2023 A 1
5 2/1/2023 B 6
6 2/2/2023 B 9
7 2/2/2023 A 6
8 2/3/2023 C 6
9 2/4/2023 B 10
10 2/4/2023 A 3
11 2/6/2023 C 18

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And the result of the formula Table.RemoveLastN(TableC,5) is shown

in Table 8-36.

Table 8-36. Result of Table.RemoveFirstN

Row Date Product Name Quantity

1 1/30/2023 A 17
2 1/31/2023 A 18
3 2/1/2023 C 10
4 2/1/2023 A 1
5 2/1/2023 B 6
6 2/2/2023 B 9

Similarly, the result of the formula = Table.RemoveLastN(TableC,

each [Quantity]>9) is shown in Table 8-37.

Table 8-37. Result of Table.RemoveFirstN

Row Date Product Name Quantity

1 1/30/2023 A 17
2 1/31/2023 A 18
3 2/1/2023 C 10
4 2/1/2023 A 1
5 2/1/2023 B 6
6 2/2/2023 B 9
7 2/2/2023 A 6
8 2/3/2023 C 6
9 2/4/2023 B 10
10 2/4/2023 A 3
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T able.Distinct
To remove duplicate rows in a table, Table.Distinct can be used as
follows:

Table.Distinct(
       table as table,
       optional equationCriteria as any
              ) as table

This function receives two inputs, and if there are duplicate rows based
on the conditions defined in the second input, all duplicate rows except
the first one are removed from the reference table.
1. The first input is the reference table.

2. This input is optional and allows the user to specify

custom criteria for comparing the values. For
example, if you are entering a list of column names,
the search for duplicate rows can be limited to the
limited columns, instead of the whole table.

Considering TableC, the following formula states that duplicate rows

should be removed based on the Product Name column (rows with the
same product name are identified as duplicates):

= Table.Distinct(TableC,"Product Name")
Therefore, regardless of the values ​​entered in other columns, only the
first row for each product will be displayed in the output, and other rows ​​
will be removed. The result of the above formula is shown in Table 8-38.

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Chapter 8 Tables

Table 8-38. Result of Table.Distinct

Row Date Product Name Quantity

1 1/30/2023 A 17
3 2/1/2023 C 10
5 2/1/2023 B 6

In a similar situation, to consider the values in the Date column for

evaluation of duplicate rows, the following formula can be used:

= Table.Distinct(TableC,"Date")

The result of this formula are shown in Table 8-39.

Table 8-39. Result of Table.Distinct

Row Date Product Name Quantity

1 1/30/2023 A 17
2 1/31/2023 A 18
3 2/1/2023 C 10
6 2/2/2023 B 9
8 2/3/2023 C 6
9 2/4/2023 B 10
11 2/6/2023 C 18

And to consider all columns for determining duplicate rows, the

following formula can be used. The result is TableC (because there was no
repetitive data in the reference table). See Table 8-40.

= Table.Distinct(TableC,"Date")

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 Chapter 8 Tables

Table 8-40. Result of Table.Distinct

Row Date Product Name Quantity

1 1/30/2023 A 17
2 1/31/2023 A 18
3 2/1/2023 C 10
4 2/1/2023 A 1
5 2/1/2023 B 6
6 2/2/2023 B 9
7 2/2/2023 A 6
8 2/3/2023 C 6
9 2/4/2023 B 10
10 2/4/2023 A 3
11 2/6/2023 C 18

T able.Skip
Table.Skip is very like Table.RemoveFirstN and is used to remove a
number of rows from the beginning of a table as follows:

Table.Skip(
       table as table,
       optional countOrCondition as any
       ) as table

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This function receives two inputs:

1. The first input of this function is the reference table.

2. In the second input of this function, the number of

rows that you want to remove from the beginning
of the table or the condition for removing the initial
rows is entered. This input is optional; if not entered,
only the first row of the reference table is removed. If
a number such as 4 is entered, the first four rows are
removed. If a condition is defined, the initial rows of
the table that meet that condition are removed.

So, the result of the formula Table.Skip(TableC,3) is as shown in

Table 8-41.

Table 8-41. Result of Table.Skip

Row Date Product Name Quantity

4 2/1/2023 A 1
5 2/1/2023 B 6
6 2/2/2023 B 9
7 2/2/2023 A 6
8 2/3/2023 C 6
9 2/4/2023 B 10
10 2/4/2023 A 3
11 2/6/2023 C 18

Similarly, the result of the formula Table.Skip(TableC, each

[Quantity]>10) is shown in Table 8-42.

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 Chapter 8 Tables

Table 8-42. Result of Table.Skip

Row Date Product Name Quantity

3 2/1/2023 C 10
4 2/1/2023 A 1
5 2/1/2023 B 6
6 2/2/2023 B 9
7 2/2/2023 A 6
8 2/3/2023 C 6
9 2/4/2023 B 10
10 2/4/2023 A 3
11 2/6/2023 C 18

T able.RemoveRows
To delete n rows from the middle of a table, Table.RemoveRows can be used
as follows:

Table.RemoveRows(
       table as table,
       offset as number,
       optional count as nullable number
              ) as table

This function takes three inputs.

1. The reference table is entered in the first input.

2. The starting point for deleting rows is determined in
the second input. For example, entering the number
3 in this input means that row deletion starts from
the fourth row.

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Chapter 8 Tables

3. The number of rows you want to delete is specified

in this input.

Therefore, the result of Table.RemoveRows(TableC,3,5) is the

modified version of TableC, in which rows from the fourth to the eighth
(inclusive) have been removed. See Table 8-43.

Table 8-43. Result of Table.RemoveRows

Row Date Product Name Quantity

1 1/30/2023 A 17
2 1/31/2023 A 18
3 2/1/2023 C 10
9 2/4/2023 B 10
10 2/4/2023 A 3
11 2/6/2023 C 18

T able.AlternateRows
Using Table.AlternateRows, a certain number of rows in a table can be
removed based on a specific pattern, as follows:

Table.AlternateRows(
       table as table,
       offset as number,
       skip as number,
       take as number
              ) as table

The result of this function is always a table that includes several rows
from the reference table. This function receives four inputs.

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 Chapter 8 Tables

1. In the first input, the reference table is entered.

2. In this input, a number is entered that indicates the

starting point for removing rows. In other words,
entering 3 in this input means the first three rows
of the table will be ignored and the deletion of rows
will start from the fourth row.

3. In this input, a number is entered that represents the

number of rows you want to delete at each iteration.

4. In this input, a number is entered, and its value

represents the number of rows to be kept in each
iteration (after deleting the number entered in the
third input), and then the deletion operation is
performed again.

According to this explanation, the result of the formula Table.

AlternateRows(TableC,3,2,1) is calculated as follows: In TableC, the first
three rows are ignored, and the deletion starts from the fourth row. In each
iteration, two rows are deleted, and the next row (one row) is kept. The
result is shown in Table 8-44.

Table 8-44. Result of Table.AlternateRows

Row Date Product Name Quantity

1 1/30/2023 A 17
2 1/31/2023 A 18
3 2/1/2023 C 10
6 2/2/2023 B 9
9 2/4/2023 B 10

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Chapter 8 Tables

In a similar example, in the formula Table.AlternateRows

(TableC,3,2,2), the first three rows are ignored, and the deletion starts
from the fourth row. In each step, two rows are deleted and then two rows
are left. The result of this formula is shown in Table 8-45.

Table 8-45. Result of Table.AlternateRows

Row Date Product Name Quantity

1 1/30/2023 A 17
2 1/31/2023 A 18
3 2/1/2023 C 10
6 2/2/2023 B 9
7 2/2/2023 A 6
10 2/4/2023 A 3
11 2/6/2023 C 18

T able.RemoveRowsWithErrors
Table.RemoveRowsWithErrors is used to remove rows that have an error
value in one of their columns, as follows:

Table.RemoveRowsWithErrors(
              table as table,
              optional columns as nullable list
                     ) as table

This function takes two inputs.

1. The first input is the reference table.

2. The second input is the list of column titles. This
input is optional; if no value is entered, all columns
of the table will be considered in the evaluation.

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 Chapter 8 Tables

If an error value occurs in any of the columns, the

corresponding row will be deleted. However, if a list
of column titles is entered in this input, only rows
with an error value in one of the entered columns
will be removed.

T able.RemoveMatchingRows
To remove rows with specific conditions from a table, Table.
RemoveMatchingRows can be used as follows:

Table.RemoveMatchingRows(
       table as table,
       rows as list,
       optional equationCriteria as any
              ) as table

This function receives three inputs.

1. The first input defines the reference table.

2. The second input is defined as a list, including

several records, and each record defines the
condition for removing rows. For example,
entering {[a=1]} means the rows with the value
of 1 in column a should be deleted, and entering
{[a=1],[a=2,b=1]} for this input means that rows
with the value of 1 in column a should be deleted,
but if the value of 2 is entered in column a, that row
will be deleted only if the value of column b in that
row is equal to 2.
3. This input is optional and allows the user to specify
custom criteria for comparing the values.

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Considering the function explanation and TableC, the results of this

function for different formulas are shown in Tables 8-46 through 8-48.

= Table.RemoveMatchingRows(TableC,{[Product
Name="A"]},"Product Name")

Table 8-46. Result of Table.RemoveMatchingRows

Row Date Product Name Quantity

3 2/1/2023 C 10
5 2/1/2023 B 6
6 2/2/2023 B 9
8 2/3/2023 C 6
9 2/4/2023 B 10
11 2/6/2023 C 18

= Table.RemoveMatchingRows(
         TableC,
         {[Product Name="A"],[Product Name="B"]},
         "Product Name")

Table 8-47. Result of Table.RemoveMatchingRows

Row Date Product Name Quantity

3 2/1/2023 C 10
8 2/3/2023 C 6
11 2/6/2023 C 18

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 Chapter 8 Tables

= Table.RemoveMatchingRows(
         TableC,
         {[Product Name="A",Quantity=3]},
         {"Product Name","Quantity"})

Table 8-48. Result of Table.RemoveMatchingRows

Row Date Product Name Quantity

1 1/30/2023 A 17
2 1/31/2023 A 18
3 2/1/2023 C 10
4 2/1/2023 A 1
5 2/1/2023 B 6
6 2/2/2023 B 9
7 2/2/2023 A 6
8 2/3/2023 C 6
9 2/4/2023 B 10
11 2/6/2023 C 18

Insert and Replace Table Rows

To insert new rows to a table, here are some functions

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Chapter 8 Tables

T able.InsertRows
Table.InsertRows is used to insert new rows between rows of a table:

Table.InsertRows(
       table as table,
       offset as number,
       rows as list
              ) as table

This function receives three inputs:

1. In the first input, the reference table is entered.

2. In this input, the position of adding new rows is

determined by entering a specific number. For
example, entering 3 in this input means that the
new rows will be added after the fourth row in the
reference table.
3. In the third input of this function, the new rows are
defined as records which are inserted into a list.

Based on the function explanation, the result of the following formula

is to add two new rows after the third row of the reference table:

= Table.InsertRows(TableC,3,
{[Row=12,Date="",Product Name="M",Quantity=7],
[Row=13,Date="",Product Name="M",Quantity=12]}
)

The result is shown in Table 8-49.

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 Chapter 8 Tables

Table 8-49. Result of Table.InsertRows

Row Date Product Name Quantity

1 1/30/2023 A 17
2 1/31/2023 A 18
3 2/1/2023 C 10
12 M 7
13 M 12
4 2/1/2023 A 1
5 2/1/2023 B 6
6 2/2/2023 B 9
7 2/2/2023 A 6
8 2/3/2023 C 6
9 2/4/2023 B 10
10 2/4/2023 A 3
11 2/6/2023 C 18

T able.ReplaceRows
Table.ReplaceRows is used to replace some rows of a table with new rows
as follows:

Table.ReplaceRows(
       table as table,
       offset as number,
       count as number,
       rows as list
              ) as table

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Chapter 8 Tables

This function receives four inputs.

1. In the first input, the reference table is entered.

2. In the second input of this function, the starting

point for deleting rows of the table is determined
by entering a number. For example, entering the
number 3 in this input means that the deletion
operation starts from the fourth row of the
reference table.
3. The third input of this function determines how
many rows of the reference table should be deleted.

4. In this input, the new rows that you want to replace

the deleted rows are entered. New rows are defined
in the form of records entered in a list.

Based on the function explanation, the result of

= Table.ReplaceRows(TableC,3,5,
         {
          [Row=12,Date="",Product Name="M",Quantity=7],
          [Row=13,Date="",Product Name="M",Quantity=12]
         })

is as shown in Table 8-50.

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 Chapter 8 Tables

Table 8-50. Result of Table.InsertRows

Row Date Product Name Quantity

1 1/30/2023 A 17
2 1/31/2023 A 18
3 2/1/2023 C 10
12 M 7
13 M 12
9 2/4/2023 B 10
10 2/4/2023 A 3
11 2/6/2023 C 18

T able.ReplaceMatchingRows
Using Table.ReplaceMatchingRows, values entered in specific rows can
be replaced with new values. This function is defined in Power Query as
follows:

Table.ReplaceMatchingRows(
       table as table,
       replacements as list,
       optional equationCriteria as any
                     ) as table

Based on the function syntax, it takes three inputs:

1. The first input defines the reference table.

2. The second input is a list containing pairs of values.

The first value specifies the old value in the table
as a record, and the second value specifies the
replacement value as a record. For example, this

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Chapter 8 Tables

input can be entered as follows and means that if

the value of column a is 1 and the value of column
b is 2 at the same time, the value of column a will
be changed to -1 and the value of column b will be
changed to -2. And if the value of column a is -1
and the value of column b is 2 at the same time, the
value of column a will be changed to -1.

{{[a=1,b=2],[a=-1,b=-2]},
{ [a=-1,b=2],[a=1,b=2]}}

3. The third input is optional and allows the user to

specify custom criteria for comparing the values.

T able.Repeat
Using this function in Power Query, the rows of a table can be repeated
as many times as determined in the second input of the function. Table.
Repeat is defined in Power Query as follows:

Table.Repeat(
       table as table,
       count as number
       ) as table

According to the definition of this function, it receives two inputs:

1. The first input is the reference table.

2. The second input specifies how many times the

rows of the table should be repeated. Entering the
number 2 in this input means that all rows of the
table should be repeated twice.

Therefore, the result of the formula Table.Repeat(TableC, 2) means all

rows of TableC should be repeated twice. The result is shown in Table 8-51.

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 Chapter 8 Tables

Table 8-51. Result of Table.Repeat

Row Date Product Name Quantity

1 1/30/2023 A 17
2 1/31/2023 A 18
3 2/1/2023 C 10
4 2/1/2023 A 1
5 2/1/2023 B 6
6 2/2/2023 B 9
7 2/2/2023 A 6
8 2/3/2023 C 6
9 2/4/2023 B 10
10 2/4/2023 A 3
11 2/6/2023 C 18
1 1/30/2023 A 17
2 1/31/2023 A 18
3 2/1/2023 C 10
4 2/1/2023 A 1
5 2/1/2023 B 6
6 2/2/2023 B 9
7 2/2/2023 A 6
8 2/3/2023 C 6
9 2/4/2023 B 10
10 2/4/2023 A 3
11 2/6/2023 C 18

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Chapter 8 Tables

O
 rder of rows
Functions can be used to change the order of the rows in a table.

T able.ReverseRows
Using Table.ReverseRows, the rows of a table can be reversed. This
function is defined in Power Query as follows:

Table.ReverseRows(table as table) as table

Table.ReverseRows receives an input in the type of table and displays

the reversed version of that table in the output. The result of Table.
ReverseRows(TableC) is shown in Table 8-52.

Table 8-52. Result of Table.ReverseRows

Row Date Product Name Quantity

11 2/6/2023 C 18
10 2/4/2023 A 3
9 2/4/2023 B 10
8 2/3/2023 C 6
7 2/2/2023 A 6
6 2/2/2023 B 9
5 2/1/2023 B 6
4 2/1/2023 A 1
3 2/1/2023 C 10
2 1/31/2023 A 18
1 1/30/2023 A 17

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 Chapter 8 Tables

T able.Sort
To sort the rows of a table by specific logic such as ascending and
descending, use Table.Sort as follows:

Table.Sort(
       table as table,
       comparisonCriteria as any
       ) as table

Based on the function syntax, it takes two nputs:

1. In the first input, the reference table is entered.

2. In the second input, the column name and logic

for sorting are entered. To sort based on a single
column, the column’s name can be entered directly
in double quotes (such as "Quantity"). It should
be noted that the default sorting mode for values is
ascending, but to change the sorting logic, instead of
entering the column name in double quotes in this
input, the column name and sorting logic should be
entered inside a list such as {"Quantity", Order.
Descending}. Additionally, to sort by more than one
column, like ("Quantity", "Product Name"), the
column names and the logic for sorting should be
entered in separate lists such as

{{"Quantity", Order.Descending},{"Product
Name", Order.Descending}}

According to the function explanation, the result of the following

formula is equal to the table sorted based on the Quantity column and is
shown in Table 8-53.

= Table.Sort(TableC,"Quantity")

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Chapter 8 Tables

Table 8-53. Result of Table.Sort

Row Date Product Name Quantity

4 2/1/2023 A 1
10 2/4/2023 A 3
7 2/2/2023 A 6
5 2/1/2023 B 6
8 2/3/2023 C 6
6 2/2/2023 B 9
3 2/1/2023 C 10
9 2/4/2023 B 10
1 1/30/2023 A 17
11 2/6/2023 C 18
2 1/31/2023 A 18

In the following formula, in addition to the Quantity column, the

ProductName column has also been considered for sorting. See Table 8-54.

= Table.Sort(TableC,{"Quantity","Product Name"})

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 Chapter 8 Tables

Table 8-54. Result of Table.Sort

Row Date Product Name Quantity

4 2/1/2023 A 1
10 2/4/2023 A 3
7 2/2/2023 A 6
5 2/1/2023 B 6
8 2/3/2023 C 6
6 2/2/2023 B 9
9 2/4/2023 B 10
3 2/1/2023 C 10
1 1/30/2023 A 17
2 1/31/2023 A 18
11 2/6/2023 C 18

In the following formula, the basis for sorting the Quantity column
is from largest to smallest, and in case of equal Quantity, the basis is the
Product Name. See Table 8-55.

= Table.Sort(TableC,{{"Quantity",Order.
Descending},"Product Name"})

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Chapter 8 Tables

Table 8-55. Result of Table.Sort

Row Date Product Name Quantity

2 1/31/2023 A 18
11 2/6/2023 C 18
1 1/30/2023 A 17
9 2/4/2023 B 10
3 2/1/2023 C 10
6 2/2/2023 B 9
7 2/2/2023 A 6
5 2/1/2023 B 6
8 2/3/2023 C 6
10 2/4/2023 A 3
4 2/1/2023 A 1

Checking a Condition in All Rows

There are several functions in Power Query for the evaluation of condition
in the columns of a table.

T able.IsDistinct
To check the existence of duplicate rows in a table, Table.IsDistinct can
be used as follows:

Table.IsDistinct(
       table as table,
       optional comparisonCriteria as any
              ) as logical

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 Chapter 8 Tables

This function takes two inputs. If there are duplicate rows in the
reference table based on determined columns in the second input, the
result is false; in other cases, the result is true.
1. The reference table is entered in the first input.

2. This input is optional, and it defines the criteria for

comparing values. For example, entering columns
name in a list means searching for duplicate rows on
the mentioned columns.

Considering TableC, the result of this function in different formulas is

as follows.
The result of the following formula is True because there are no two
rows in TableC that have the same data in all their columns:

= Table.IsDistinct(TableC)

However, if you define this function as follows, the result is False

because the Product Name column has repeated names:

= Table.IsDistinct(TableC,"Product Name")

But if you also consider the date in comparison with the following
formula, the result of the formula is True:

= Table.IsDistinct(TableC,{"Date","Product Name"})

T able.MatchesAllRows
Using Table.MatchesAllRows, a condition can be checked for all rows of a
table. The result of the function is true if the defined condition is true for
all rows, and false if the defined condition is not true for at least one row.
This function is defined in Power Query as follows:

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Chapter 8 Tables

Table.MatchesAllRows(
       table as table,
       condition as function
              ) as logical

Based on the function syntax, it takes two inputs:

1. The first input is the reference table.

2. The second input specifies the desired condition.

So, the result of the following formula is true because all data in the
Quantity column is positive:

= Table.MatchesAllRows(TableC,each [Quantity]>0)

Similarly, the result of the following formula is true because in the

Product Name column, one of the three states “A”, “B”, and “C” exists:

= Table.MatchesAllRows(
TableC,
each [Product Name]="A" or [Product Name]="B" or [Product
Name]="C")

And since none of the product names are equal to X, the result of the
following formula is also true:

= Table.MatchesAllRows(TableC,each [Product Name]<>"X")

However, the results of the following formulas are false:

= Table.MatchesAllRows(TableC,each [Product Name]="A")

= Table.MatchesAllRows(TableC,each [Quantity]>10)
= Table.MatchesAllRows(TableC,each Number.Mod([Quantity],2)=0)

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 Chapter 8 Tables

T able.MatchesAnyRows
Table.MatchesAnyRows is like the Table.MatchesAllRows function, with
the difference that the result of this function is true only if at least the
defined conditions is true in one row of the table. The syntax of Table.
MatchesAnyRows is as follows:

Table.MatchesAnyRows(
       table as table,
       condition as function
              ) as logical

This function takes two inputs:

1. The reference table is entered in the first input.

2. The desired condition is defined in the

second input.

Based on the function explanation, the result of the following formula

is True because at least in one row of the TableC, the product name is
registered as A.

= Table.MatchesAnyRows(

TableC,

each [Product Name]="A")

Similarly, the result of the following formula is True because at least

in one row of the table, the entered value in the Quantity column is
equal to 10:

= Table.MatchesAnyRows(
         TableC,
         each [Quantity]=10)

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Chapter 8 Tables

The result of the following formula is True because in one row of the
table, product A has been sold in the amount of 6:

= Table.MatchesAnyRows(
         TableC,
         each [Product Name]="A" and [Quantity]=6)

But the result of the following formula is false because in none of the
rows of the table has product A been sold in the amount of 10 units:

= Table.MatchesAnyRows(
         TableC,
         each [Product Name]="A" and [Quantity]=10)

And, since the column of Product Name does not include the value of
x, the result of the following formula is false:

= Table.MatchesAnyRows(
         TableC,
         each [Product Name]="X")

T able.Contains
To check the availability of a value in a table, Table.Contains can be used
as follows:

Table.Contains(
       table as table,
       row as record,
       optional equationCriteria as any
              ) as logical

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 Chapter 8 Tables

This function receives three inputs.

1. The first input is the reference table.

2. In the second input, the value that you are searching

for and the column name for searching are
determined as a record.
3. This input is optional and allows the user to specify
custom criteria for comparing the values.

By considering the above description, the result of the following

formula is True because the value 18 has been entered for the Quantity
column in at least one of the rows in TableC:

= Table.Contains(
         TableC,
          [Quantity=18])

And the result of the following formula is False because there is no row
in the table in which the product name is registered as B in the Product
Name column with a Quantity value of 18:

= Table.Contains(
         TableC,
          [Product Name="B", Quantity=18])

But if the value "Quantity" is registered in the third input, it means

that only the Quantity column is placed in the baseline comparison, so the
result of the following formula is True:

= Table.Contains(
         TableC,
         [Product Name="B",Quantity=18],
         "Quantity")

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Chapter 8 Tables

T able.ContainsAll and Table.ContainsAny

These functions are like Table.Contains, except that in the Table.
ContainsAll and Table.ContainsAny functions, the existence of two or
more values on a column simultaneously can be checked. These functions
are defined in Power Query as follows, and the result of the Table.
ContainsAll function is True only if all the values ​​specified in the second
input exist in the reference table, but in the Table.ContainsAny function,
if only one of the values ​​exists in the reference table, the result of the
function is True.

Table.ContainsAll(
       table as table,
       rows as list,
       optional equationCriteria as any
              ) as logical

Table.ContainsAny(
       table as table,
       rows as list,
       optional equationCriteria as any
              ) as logical

Both functions takes three inputs.

1. In the first input, the reference table is defined.

2. In this input, a list of values that you want to

check the existence of in the columns is entered.
The values should be entered in separate records
within a list.
3. This input is optional and allows you to specify
custom criteria for comparing the values.

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Considering TableC, the result of the following formula is True because

the numbers 18 and 10 are registered in the Quantity column of the
reference table:

= Table.ContainsAll(
         TableC,
         {[Quantity=18],[Quantity=10]})

But since the Quantity column in the reference table does not include
the 12, the result of the following formula is False:

= Table.ContainsAll(
         TableC,
         {[Quantity=18],[Quantity=10],[Quantity=12]})

By using Table.ContainsAny instead of Table.ContainsAll in the

above formula, since at least one of the values 18, 10, or 12 is registered in
the Quantity column in the reference table, the result is True. Therefore,
the result of the following formula is True:

= Table.ContainsAny(
         TableC,
         {[Quantity=18],[Quantity=10],[Quantity=12]})

T able.SingleRow
Table.SingleRow receives an input in the format of the table, and if that
table has only one row, this function displays the result of that row as a
record in the output; otherwise, the result of this function is an error. This
function is defined in Power Query as follows:

Table.SingleRow(table as table) as record

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C
 olumn Names
To extract the list of column names and change them, there are different
functions that are discussed in this section. To simplify the example,
TableC is used in different formulas.

T able.ColumnNames
By using this function with the following syntax, the column’s names of a
table can be extracted:

Table.ColumnNames(table as table) as list

This function takes a table as input and displays its column titles
as a list in the output. Therefore, the result of the formula Table.
ColumnNames(TableC) is equal to this list:

{"Row","Date","Product Name","Quantity"}

T able.DemoteHeaders
If the first row of a table has been mistakenly identified as column headers,
Table.DemoteHeaders can be used to return the column headers to
the first row of the table. This function takes a table as input, then adds
the column headers of the table as the first row, and names the table’s
columns as Column1, Column2, and so on.

Table.DemoteHeaders(table as table) as table

So, the result of the formula Table.DemoteHeaders(TableC) is as

shown in Table 8-56.

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 Chapter 8 Tables

Table 8-56. Result of Table.DemoteHeaders(TableC)

Column1 Column2 Column3 Column4

Row Date Product Name Quantity

1 1/30/2023 A 17
2 1/31/2023 A 18
3 2/1/2023 C 10
4 2/1/2023 A 1
5 2/1/2023 B 6
6 2/2/2023 B 9
7 2/2/2023 A 6
8 2/3/2023 C 6
9 2/4/2023 B 10
10 2/4/2023 A 3
11 2/6/2023 C 18

T able.PromoteHeaders
Using Table.PromoteHeaders, the values entered in the first row of the
table are promoted to the header. This function is defined in Power Query
as follows:

Table.PromoteHeaders(
       table as table,
       optional options as nullable record
                     ) as table

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This function receives two inputs.

1. The first input is the reference table.

2. The second input is used to add values with the date

or time format as a header. In the default mode,
only the values in text and number format can be
used for the column titles; values with the date or
time format cannot be used for the column title. To
solve this problem, entering [PromoteAllScalars
= true, Culture = "en-US"] in this input makes
it possible to register dates in the header column
as well.

Therefore, the result of = Table.PromoteHeaders(TableC) is as

Table 8-57.

Table 8-57. Result of Table.PromoteHeaders(TableC)

1 Column2 A 17
2 1/31/2023 A 18
3 2/1/2023 C 10
4 2/1/2023 A 1
5 2/1/2023 B 6
6 2/2/2023 B 9
7 2/2/2023 A 6
8 2/3/2023 C 6
9 2/4/2023 B 10
10 2/4/2023 A 3
11 2/6/2023 C 18

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 Chapter 8 Tables

And the result of the following formula is in Table 8-58:

= Table.PromoteHeaders(TableC,   [PromoteAllScalars = true,
Culture = "en-US"])

Table 8-58. Result of Table.PromoteHeaders

1 1/30/2023 A 17
2 1/31/2023 A 18
3 2/1/2023 C 10
4 2/1/2023 A 1
5 2/1/2023 B 6
6 2/2/2023 B 9
7 2/2/2023 A 6
8 2/3/2023 C 6
9 2/4/2023 B 10
10 2/4/2023 A 3
11 2/6/2023 C 18

T able.HasColumns
To evaluate the existence of one or more columns (based on the column
titles) within a table, Table.HasColumns can be used as follows:

Table.HasColumns(
       table as table,
       columns as any
              ) as logical

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This function receives two inputs.

1. In the first input, the reference table is entered.

2. The names of the columns that you are searching for

in the reference table are inserted in a text or list in
this input.

The applications of this function are given in Table 8-59.

Table 8-59. Result of Table.HasColumns

Formula Result

= Table.HasColumns(TableC,"Product Name") True

= Table.HasColumns(TableC,"Tax") False
= Table.HasColumns(TableC,{"Product Name","Quantity"}) True

T able.ColumnsOfType
To extract column name with specific format of values, Table.
ColumnsOfType can be used as follows:

Table.ColumnsOfType(table as table, listOfTypes as

list) as list

Based on the function syntax, it receives two inputs.

1. The first input defines the reference table.

2. The second input defines the desired values formats

as a list.

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The output of this function is a list that includes the titles of the table
columns with the searching format. Therefore, according to the above
explanation, the result of the following formula is equal to all the column
names with the value format of any, so it is equal to {"Row", "Date",
"Product Name", "Quantity"}:

= Table.ColumnsOfType(TableC,{type any})

T able.PrefixColumns
This function is used in Power Query to add a prefix before the name of all
columns as follows:

Table.PrefixColumns(
       table as table,
       prefix as text
              ) as table

Table.PrefixColumns takes two arguments.

1. The first argument is the reference table.

2. The prefix is entered in the second argument in the

text format.

The output of this function is a table like the reference table, except
that a prefix has been added before the title of all columns.
For example, the result of the formula = Table.
PrefixColumns(TableC,"New") is shown in Table 8-60.

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Chapter 8 Tables

Table 8-60. Result of Table.PrefixColumns

New.Row New.Date New.Product Name New.Quantity

1 1/30/2023 A 17
2 1/31/2023 A 18
3 2/1/2023 C 10
4 2/1/2023 A 1
5 2/1/2023 B 6
6 2/2/2023 B 9
7 2/2/2023 A 6
8 2/3/2023 C 6
9 2/4/2023 B 10
10 2/4/2023 A 3
11 2/6/2023 C 18

T able.RenameColumns
As the name of this function suggests, Table.RenameColumns is used to
rename column titles in a table as follows:

Table.RenameColumns(
       table as table,
       renames as list,
       optional missingField as nullable number
                     ) as table

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Table.RenameColumns takes three inputs.

1. The first input is the reference table.

2. The second input of this function contains a list of

old and new names. To rename a column, a list as
{“new name”, “old name”} can be entered in this
input, but to rename more than one column, the
corresponding list must be defined as {{“new name
2”, “old name 2”}, {“new name 1”, “old name 1”}}.
3. This input is optional, and it is applied if the
reference table does not include a column with
one of the names mentioned in the second input
by entering MissingField.Error (or number
0), MissingField.Ignore (or number 1), and
MissingField.UseNull (or number 2).

Consider the following formulas and the results (Tables 8-61 and 8-62:

= Table.RenameColumns(TableC,{"Product Name","P_Name"})

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Chapter 8 Tables

Table 8-61. Result of Table.RenameColumns

Row Date P_Name Quantity

1 1/30/2023 A 17
2 1/31/2023 A 18
3 2/1/2023 C 10
4 2/1/2023 A 1
5 2/1/2023 B 6
6 2/2/2023 B 9
7 2/2/2023 A 6
8 2/3/2023 C 6
9 2/4/2023 B 10
10 2/4/2023 A 3
11 2/6/2023 C 18

= Table.RenameColumns(
         TableC,
         {{"Product Name","P_Name"},{"Quantity","Amount"}})

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 Chapter 8 Tables

Table 8-62. Result of Table.RenameColumns

Row Date P_Name Amount

1 1/30/2023 A 17
2 1/31/2023 A 18
3 2/1/2023 C 10
4 2/1/2023 A 1
5 2/1/2023 B 6
6 2/2/2023 B 9
7 2/2/2023 A 6
8 2/3/2023 C 6
9 2/4/2023 B 10
10 2/4/2023 A 3
11 2/6/2023 C 18

Modifing columns
There are several functions in the Power Query for modifying columns
by adding, removing, or reordering columns and they are described in
this section. To simplify the examples, TableC is used in the examples of
this part.

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T able.RemoveColumns
Using Table.RemoveColumns, extra columns in a table can be removed as
follows:
Table.RemoveColumns(
       table as table,
       columns as any,
       optional missingField as nullable number
              ) as table
This function receives three inputs.

1. The first input specifies the reference table.

2. The name of columns that should be deleted are

determined in this input. To remove one column, its
name can directly insert as text in this input, but to
remove more than one column, their names can be
entered inside a list.
3. This input is optional and is applied to the case
when the reference table does not contain the
column with the name mentioned in the second
input. Three different values of MissingField.Error
(or number 0), MissingField.Ignore (or number
1), and MissingField.UseNull (or number 2) can
be used in this input.

Based on this explanation, the result of = Table.

RemoveColumns(TableC, "Row") is equal to Table 8-63.

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 Chapter 8 Tables

Table 8-63. Result of Table.RemoveColumns

Date Product Name Quantity

1/30/2023 A 17
1/31/2023 A 18
2/1/2023 C 10
2/1/2023 A 1
2/1/2023 B 6
2/2/2023 B 9
2/2/2023 A 6
2/3/2023 C 6
2/4/2023 B 10
2/4/2023 A 3
2/6/2023 C 18

The result of the following formula is equal to Table 8-64.

= Table.RemoveColumns(
         TableC,
         {"Row","Quantity"})

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Chapter 8 Tables

Table 8-64. Result of Table.RemoveColumns

Date Product Name

1/30/2023 A
1/31/2023 A
2/1/2023 C
2/1/2023 A
2/1/2023 B
2/2/2023 B
2/2/2023 A
2/3/2023 C
2/4/2023 B
2/4/2023 A
2/6/2023 C

In another case, if the name of a column is mistakenly entered in

the second input (for example, instead of "Quantity", "Quantity2" is
entered), the formula result is an error:

=Table.RemoveColumns(TableC,{"Row","Quantity2"})

In this case, the third input of this function can be used as follows:

=Table.RemoveColumns(
         TableC,
         {"Row","Quantity2"},
         MissingField.UseNull )

The result is as shown in Table 8-65.

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 Chapter 8 Tables

Table 8-65. Result of Table.RemoveColumns

Date Product Name Quantity

1/30/2023 A 17
1/31/2023 A 18
2/1/2023 C 10
2/1/2023 A 1
2/1/2023 B 6
2/2/2023 B 9
2/2/2023 A 6
2/3/2023 C 6
2/4/2023 B 10
2/4/2023 A 3
2/6/2023 C 18

T able.SelectColumns
In order to remove most of columns in a table, instead of using Table.
RemoveColumn and mentioning the name of columns that you want to
remove, Table.SelectColumns with the following syntax can be used.
In this case, the name of columns that you want to present in the output
should be entered in the second inpuy.

Table.SelectColumns(
       table as table,
       columns as any,
       optional missingField as nullable number
                     ) as table

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This function receives three inputs.

1. In the first input, the reference table is entered.

2. In the second input, the name of the column(s)

that you want to select is entered. To search for a
column, its name is directly entered in this input,
but to search for more than a column, their names
should be entered in a list.
3. This input is optional and is used to set the settings
for the case where the entered column names in
the second input are not present in the column
titles of the reference table. This input is optional
and includes three states: MissingField.Error (or
number 0), MissingField.Ignore (or number 1),
and MissingField.UseNull (or number 2).

Based on the function explanation, the results of the different states of

this function are shown in Table 8-66:

= Table.SelectColumns(TableC,"Date")

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 Chapter 8 Tables

Table 8-66. Result of Table.SelectColumns

Date

1/30/2023
1/31/2023
2/1/2023
2/1/2023
2/1/2023
2/2/2023
2/2/2023
2/3/2023
2/4/2023
2/4/2023
2/6/2023

The result of this formula is shown in Table 8-67:

= Table.SelectColumns(
         TableC,
         {"Product Name","Row","Quantity"})

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Chapter 8 Tables

Table 8-67. Result of Table.SelectColumns

Product Name Row Quantity

A 1 17
A 2 18
C 3 10
A 4 1
B 5 6
B 6 9
A 7 6
C 8 6
B 9 10
A 10 3
C 11 18

In another case, the result of the following formula is an error because

the column named Quantity2 does not exist in the base table:

= Table.SelectColumns(
         TableC,
         {"Date","Quantity2"})

In this case, using the third input of this function as follows, the result
of the function is as shown in Table 8-68 instead of an error:

= Table.SelectColumns(
         TableC,
         {"Date","Quantity2"},
         MissingField.Ignore)

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 Chapter 8 Tables

Table 8-68. Result of Table.SelectColumns

Date

1/30/2023
1/31/2023
2/1/2023
2/1/2023
2/1/2023
2/2/2023
2/2/2023
2/3/2023
2/4/2023
2/4/2023
2/6/2023

Table.DuplicateColumn
By this function, a copy of the columns in the table can be created. The
syntax of this function in Power Query is as follows:
Table.DuplicateColumn(

       table as table,
       columnName as text,
       newColumnName as text,
       optional columnType as nullable type
              ) as table

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This function takes four inputs.

1. In the first input, the reference table is entered.

2. In the second input, it is determined which column

should be duplicated by entering its name as a
text value.
3. The name of the new column is determined in
this input.

4. The format of values in the new column is specified

in the fourth input by entering the format type after
the word "type", such as "type text".

Based on the function explanation, using the following function, a

copy of the Product Name column has been added to the table and its
name has been defined in the new table as “Product Name 2”, as you can
see in Table 8-69.

= Table.DuplicateColumn(
         TableC,
         "Product Name",
         "Product Name 2")

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 Chapter 8 Tables

Table 8-69. Result of Table.DuplicateColumns

Row Date Product Name Quantity Product Name 2

1 1/30/2023 A 17 A
2 1/31/2023 A 18 A
3 2/1/2023 C 10 C
4 2/1/2023 A 1 A
5 2/1/2023 B 6 B
6 2/2/2023 B 9 B
7 2/2/2023 A 6 A
8 2/3/2023 C 6 C
9 2/4/2023 B 10 B
10 2/4/2023 A 3 A
11 2/6/2023 C 18 C

Table.TransformColumnTypes
To change the format of values in the columns of a table, this function is
used as follows:

Table.TransformColumnTypes(
       table as table,
       typeTransformations as list,
       optional culture as nullable text
       ) as table

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Based on the function syntax, it takes three inputs:

1. In the first input, the reference table is entered.

2. The name of columns and their desired formats are

entered in the lists with two values, and all the lists
are entered in a list in this input. For example, {"A",
type text} means that the format of the values in
column A should be changed to text.
3. This input is optional and specifies the mode for
changing the format.

Considering TableC, the following formula can be used to change the

column formats:

= Table.TransformColumnTypes(
         TableC,
         {{"Row", Percentage.Type},
         {"Date", type datetime}})

The result of this function is the same as TableC in which the format of
values in the Row column has been changed to percentage and the Date
column has been changed to date and time. See Table 8-70.

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 Chapter 8 Tables

Table 8-70. Result of Table.TransformColumnTypes

Row Date Product Name Quantity

100.00% 1/30/2023 12:00:00 AM A 17

200.00% 1/31/2023 12:00:00 AM A 18
300.00% 2/1/2023 12:00:00 AM C 10
400.00% 2/1/2023 12:00:00 AM A 1
500.00% 2/1/2023 12:00:00 AM B 6
600.00% 2/2/2023 12:00:00 AM B 9
700.00% 2/2/2023 12:00:00 AM A 6
800.00% 2/3/2023 12:00:00 AM C 6
900.00% 2/4/2023 12:00:00 AM B 10
1000.00% 2/4/2023 12:00:00 AM A 3
1100.00% 2/6/2023 12:00:00 AM C 18

Table.TransformColumns
To apply modifications (such as multiplying, adding a specific number to
the column values, cleaning text values, or removing extra spaces) to the
columns of a table, this function can be used as follows:

Table.TransformColumns(
       table as table,
       transformOperations as list,
       optional defaultTransformation as nullable function,
       optional missingField as nullable number
              ) as table

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Based on the function syntax, it takes four inputs:

1. The reference table is entered in the first input.

2. In the second input, the column name and

modification function are entered in a list. For
example, {{"A",Text.From},{"B",Number.From}}
means the values in column A should be changed
to text format and the values in column B should be
changed to numeric format.
3. The third input of this function is optional.

4. The fourth input of this function is optional and is

used to specify the result of the function in case the
reference table does not include the column name
entered in the second input. The three options of
MissingField.Error, MissingField.Ignore, and
MissingField.UseNull can be used in this input,
which mean respectively to show an error, the non-
matching field should be ignored, or the results of
that field should be displayed as Null.

Based on the function explanations and using TableC, the result of this
function in different scenarios is explained.
In the following formula, the value of 2 should be added to the values
in the Quantity column in TableC:

= Table.TransformColumns(
         TableC,
         {"Quantity",each _+2})

The result of this formula is shown in Table 8-71.

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 Chapter 8 Tables

Table 8-71. Result of Table.TransformColumns

Row Date Product Name Quantity

1 1/30/2023 A 19
2 1/31/2023 A 20
3 2/1/2023 C 12
4 2/1/2023 A 3
5 2/1/2023 B 8
6 2/2/2023 B 11
7 2/2/2023 A 8
8 2/3/2023 C 8
9 2/4/2023 B 12
10 2/4/2023 A 5
11 2/6/2023 C 20

In another example, the following formula states that the information

in the Date column should be displayed as day, the word “Product” should
be added in front of the product names, and the values in the Quantity
column should be multiplied by 3:

= Table.TransformColumns(
      TableC,
      {{"Date",each Date.Day(_)},
      {"Product Name",each "Product: " & _},
      {"Quantity",each _+2}})

The results are shown in Table 8-72.

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Chapter 8 Tables

Table 8-72. Result of Table.TransformColumns

Row Date Product Quantity
Name

1 30 Product: A 19
2 31 Product: A 20
3 1 Product: C 12
4 1 Product: A 3
5 1 Product: B 8
6 2 Product: B 11
7 2 Product: A 8
8 3 Product: C 8
9 4 Product: B 12
10 4 Product: A 5
11 6 Product: C 20

In another example, instead of displaying the sales volume on the

Quantity column, the share from the total sale is presented in the output
using the following formula:

= Table.TransformColumns(
         TableC,
         {"Quantity",each _/List.Sum(TableC[Quantity]) }
         )

If this formula is used, the result is obtained in the form of Table 8-73.

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 Chapter 8 Tables

Table 8-73. Result of Table.TransformColumns

Row Date Product Name Quantity

1 1/30/2023 A 0.163461538
2 1/31/2023 A 0.173076923
3 2/1/2023 C 0.096153846
4 2/1/2023 A 0.009615385
5 2/1/2023 B 0.057692308
6 2/2/2023 B 0.086538462
7 2/2/2023 A 0.057692308
8 2/3/2023 C 0.057692308
9 2/4/2023 B 0.096153846
10 2/4/2023 A 0.028846154
11 2/6/2023 C 0.173076923

Table.AddIndexColumn
Table.AddIndexColumn can be used as follows to add a new index column
to the table:

Table.AddIndexColumn(
       table as table,
       newColumnName as text,
       optional initialValue as nullable number,
       optional increment as nullable number,
       optional columnType as nullable type
                     ) as table

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Based on the function syntax, it takes five inputs.

1. The first input specifies the reference table.

2. The name of the new column is entered as text in

the second input.

3. This input is optional (its default value is 0) and

specifies the starting number for numbering the
new column.
4. This input is optional (its default value is 1) and
specifies the increment or decrement of values in
the new column in comparison to the previous row.
5. This input is optional and specifies the format of
values in the new column.

Based on the above explanation, the result of the following formula is

shown in Table 8-74:

= Table.AddIndexColumn(TableC,"Index Column")

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 Chapter 8 Tables

Table 8-74. Result of Table.AddIndexColumn

Row Date Product Name Quantity Index Column

1 1/30/2023 A 17 0
2 1/31/2023 A 18 1
3 2/1/2023 C 10 2
4 2/1/2023 A 1 3
5 2/1/2023 B 6 4
6 2/2/2023 B 9 5
7 2/2/2023 A 6 6
8 2/3/2023 C 6 7
9 2/4/2023 B 10 8
10 2/4/2023 A 3 9
11 2/6/2023 C 18 10

And in a similar example, the result of the following formula is equal

to a new column whose values start from 4 and decrease by 2 in each row.
See Table 8-75.

= Table.AddIndexColumn(
         TableC,
         "Index Column",
         4,
         -2)

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Chapter 8 Tables

Table 8-75. Result of Table.AddIndexColumn

Row Date Product Name Quantity Index Column

1 1/30/2023 A 17 4
2 1/31/2023 A 18 2
3 2/1/2023 C 10 0
4 2/1/2023 A 1 -2
5 2/1/2023 B 6 -4
6 2/2/2023 B 9 -6
7 2/2/2023 A 6 -8
8 2/3/2023 C 6 -10
9 2/4/2023 B 10 -12
10 2/4/2023 A 3 -14
11 2/6/2023 C 18 -16

Table.AddColumn
The Table.AddColumn function is one of the most important functions in
Power Query and is used to add a new column to a table as follows:

Table.AddColumn(
       table as table,
       newColumnName as text,
       columnGenerator as function,
       optional columnType as nullable type
              ) as table

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 Chapter 8 Tables

Based on the function syntax, it takes four inputs.

1. The reference table is entered in the first input.

2. In the second input, the title of the new column is

specified as a text value.

3. In the third input, the formula for calculating values

in the new column is determined. In this input,
other columns can be referred to by mentioning
their name between [ ].
4. The fourth input is optional and can be used to
specify the format of values in the new column.

For example, in this formula, a new column is added to the TableC that
specifies the year for each row. See Table 8-76.

= Table.AddColumn(TableC,"Year",each Date.Year([Date]))

Table 8-76. Result of Table.AddColumn

Row Date Product Name Quantity Year

1 1/30/2023 A 17 2023
2 1/31/2023 A 18 2023
3 2/1/2023 C 10 2023
4 2/1/2023 A 1 2023
5 2/1/2023 B 6 2023
6 2/2/2023 B 9 2023
7 2/2/2023 A 6 2023
8 2/3/2023 C 6 2023
9 2/4/2023 B 10 2023
10 2/4/2023 A 3 2023
11 2/6/2023 C 18 2023

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In the following example, the month name for each row is added to the
table. See Table 8-77.

= Table.AddColumn(
         TableC,
         "Month",
         each Date.MonthName([Date]))

Table 8-77. Result of Table.AddColumn

Row Date Product Name Quantity Month

1 1/30/2023 A 17 January
2 1/31/2023 A 18 January
3 2/1/2023 C 10 February
4 2/1/2023 A 1 February
5 2/1/2023 B 6 February
6 2/2/2023 B 9 February
7 2/2/2023 A 6 February
8 2/3/2023 C 6 February
9 2/4/2023 B 10 February
10 2/4/2023 A 3 February
11 2/6/2023 C 18 February

In the following example, by examining the value of the Quantity

column, it is determined which of the rows in the table contain a number
greater than 10. The formula adds a new column called “Greater than 10”
to TableC and uses the "each [Quantity]>10" function to check if the
quantity value in each row is greater than 10 (Table 8-78).

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Table 8-78. Result of Table.AddColumn

Row Date Product Quantity Greater
Name than 10

1 1/30/2023 A 17 TRUE
2 1/31/2023 A 18 TRUE
3 2/1/2023 C 10 FALSE
4 2/1/2023 A 1 FALSE
5 2/1/2023 B 6 FALSE
6 2/2/2023 B 9 FALSE
7 2/2/2023 A 6 FALSE
8 2/3/2023 C 6 FALSE
9 2/4/2023 B 10 FALSE
10 2/4/2023 A 3 FALSE
11 2/6/2023 C 18 TRUE

Table.AddRankColumn
Using Table.AddRankColumn, the rows of a table can be ranked based on
their values as follows:

Table.AddRankColumn(
       table as table,
       newColumnName as text,
       comparisonCriteria as any,
       optional options as nullable record
                     ) as table

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Based on the function syntax, it takes four inputs.

1. In the first input, the reference table is entered.

2. The title of the new column is determined in the

second input.

3. The comparison criterion of the rows is specified in

this input. In the simplest case, in this input, the title
of a column can be entered textually as the ranking
criterion.

4. The fourth input of this function represents the

settings related to ranking. This input is optional
and you can use the following options: RankKind.
Competition (equivalent to the number 0),
RankKind.Dense (equivalent to the number 1), and
RankKind.Ordinal (equivalent to the number 2).
RankKind.Competition is the default value and
determines that rows with the same value receive
the same rank and a gap is created between their
rank and the rank of next value (for example, there
are two rows with rank 1 and the next row has rank
3, and there is no row with rank 2). In RankKind.
Dense, rows with the same value receive the same
rank, and there is no gap between their rank and
the rank of next value (for example, two rows with
rank 1 are created and the rank of the next row is 2).
In the RankKind.Ordinal state, all rows (even those
with the same value) receive a unique rank.

According to the function explanation, the result of the following

formula is equal to Table 8-79:

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= Table.AddRankColumn(
         TableC,
         "rank",
         "Quantity")

Table 8-79. Result of Table.AddRankColumn

Row Date Product Name Quantity rank

4 2/1/2023 A 1 1
10 2/4/2023 A 3 2
5 2/1/2023 B 6 3
7 2/2/2023 A 6 3
8 2/3/2023 C 6 3
6 2/2/2023 B 9 6
3 2/1/2023 C 10 7
9 2/4/2023 B 10 7
1 1/30/2023 A 17 9
2 1/31/2023 A 18 10
11 2/6/2023 C 18 10

In another case, the result of the following formula is equal to a ranked

table with the difference that rows receive higher rankings based on their
higher sales, as shown in Table 8-80.

= Table.AddRankColumn(
         TableC,
         "rank"
         ,{"Quantity",Order.Descending})

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Table 8-80. Result of Table.AddRankColumn

Row Date Product Name Quantity rank

2 1/31/2023 A 18 1
11 2/6/2023 C 18 1
1 1/30/2023 A 17 3
3 2/1/2023 C 10 4
9 2/4/2023 B 10 4
6 2/2/2023 B 9 6
5 2/1/2023 B 6 7
7 2/2/2023 A 6 7
8 2/3/2023 C 6 7
10 2/4/2023 A 3 10
4 2/1/2023 A 1 11

In another situation, if you want to change the logic of ranking, you can
use the following formula:

= Table.AddRankColumn(
         TableC,
         "rank",
         {"Quantity",Order.Descending},
          [RankKind =RankKind.Dense])

In this situation, the result is obtained in the form of Table 8-81.

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Table 8-81. Result of Table.AddRank

Row Date Product Quantity rank
Name

2 1/31/2023 A 18 1
11 2/6/2023 C 18 1
1 1/30/2023 A 17 2
3 2/1/2023 C 10 3
9 2/4/2023 B 10 3
6 2/2/2023 B 9 4
5 2/1/2023 B 6 5
7 2/2/2023 A 6 5
8 2/3/2023 C 6 5
10 2/4/2023 A 3 6
4 2/1/2023 A 1 7

Table.SplitColumn
Table.SplitColumn can be used to divide the values in a column of a
table into multiple columns based on a specific criterion. This function is
defined in Power Query as follows:

Table.SplitColumn(
       table as table,
       sourceColumn as text,
       splitter as function,
       optional columnNamesOrNumber as any,
       optional default as any,
       optional extraColumns as any
              ) as table
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Based on the function syntax, it takes six inputs.

1. The first input is the reference table.

2. The second input is the name of the column that

you want to divide into multiple columns.

3. The splitter function is entered as the third input.

In this input, one of the following functions can
be used:

Splitter.SplitByNothing
Splitter.SplitTextByCharacterTransition
Splitter.SplitTextByAnyDelimiter
Splitter.SplitTextByDelimiter
Splitter.SplitTextByEachDelimiter
Splitter.SplitTextByLengths
Splitter.SplitTextByPositions
Splitter.SplitTextByRanges
Splitter.SplitTextByRepeatedLengths
Splitter.SplitTextByWhitespace

4. The names or numbers of the new columns are

specified in the fourth input of this function.
5. The fifth input of this function is optional and
determines the default value of the function. In
the normal state, the default value of the function
is null. After separating, null is presented in the
columns with no value. While using this input,
instead of the word null, another word can
be shown.

6. The sixth input of this function is also optional.

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Based on the above explanation, considering TableC and assuming

that the information in the date column is in text format, this formula
indicates that the information in the date column should be divided into
multiple columns based on the “/” and displayed in three columns named
Date.1, Date.2, and Date.3:

= Table.SplitColumn(
         TableC,
         "Date",
         Splitter.SplitTextByDelimiter("/"),

         {"Date.1", "Date.2", "Date.3"})

Therefore, the result of this formula is equal to Table 8-82.

Table 8-82. Result of Table.SplitColumn

Row Date.1 Date.2 Date.3 Product Name Quantity

1 1 30 2023 A 17
2 1 31 2023 A 18
3 2 1 2023 C 10
4 2 1 2023 A 1
5 2 1 2023 B 6
6 2 2 2023 B 9
7 2 2 2023 A 6
8 2 3 2023 C 6
9 2 4 2023 B 10
10 2 4 2023 A 3
11 2 6 2023 C 18

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It is possible to change the column names and use two similar

columns instead of three with the following formula:

= Table.SplitColumn(
         TableC,
         "Date",
         Splitter.SplitTextByDelimiter("/"),
         {"Day", "Month"})

The result of this function is shown in Table 8-83.

Table 8-83. Result of Table.SplitColumn

Row Day Month Product Name Quantity

1 1 30 A 17
2 1 31 A 18
3 2 1 C 10
4 2 1 A 1
5 2 1 B 6
6 2 2 B 9
7 2 2 A 6
8 2 3 C 6
9 2 4 B 10
10 2 4 A 3
11 2 6 C 18

The following formula specifies that the information in this column

should be separated into three separate columns, each consisting of three
characters:

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= Table.SplitColumn(
         TableC,
         "Date",
         Splitter.SplitTextByRepeatedLengths(3),
         {"Date.1", "Date.2", "Date.3"})

The result of this function is shown in Table 8-84.

Table 8-84. Result of Table.SplitColumn

Row Date.1 Date.2 Date.3 Product Name Quantity

1 1/3 0/2 023 A 17

2 1/3 1/2 023 A 18
3 2/1 /20 23 C 10
4 2/1 /20 23 A 1
5 2/1 /20 23 B 6
6 2/2 /20 23 B 9
7 2/2 /20 23 A 6
8 2/3 /20 23 C 6
9 2/4 /20 23 B 10
10 2/4 /20 23 A 3
11 2/6 /20 23 C 18

Table.CombineColumns
Using Table.CombineColumns, the values of two or more columns can be
merged into a new column. This function is defined in Power Query as
follows:

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Table.CombineColumns(
       table as table,
       sourceColumns as list,
       combiner as function,
       column as text
              ) as table

This function receives four inputs.

1. The name of the reference table is entered in

this input.

2. In this input, a list of column names that you want to

merge together is entered.

3. In this input, the column combination function is

determined by entering one of the following values:

Combiner.CombineTextByDelimiter
Combiner.CombineTextByEachDelimiter
Combiner.CombineTextByLengths
Combiner.CombineTextByPositions
Combiner.CombineTextByRanges
4. In the last input of this function, the name of the
new column is entered as a text value.

To examine this function, consider Table 8-85 named TableG.

Table 8-85. Definition of TableG

Name Family Age

Sara Sani 18
Omid Motamedi 32
Mohamad Abed 26

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In this case, the result of

= Table.CombineColumns(
         TableG,
         {"Name", "Family"},
         Combiner.CombineTextByDelimiter(","),
         "New Column")

is equal to Table 8-86, in which the name and family are placed next to
each other and separated by a comma.

Table 8-86. Result of Table.CombineColumns

New Column Age

Sara, Sani 18
Omid, Motamedi 32
Mohamad, Abed 26

If the following formula is used, the first three characters of the name
and the first two characters of the family will be placed next to each other:

= Table.CombineColumns(
         TableG,
         {"Name", "Family"},
         Combiner.CombineTextByLengths({3,2}),
         "New Column")

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The result of this formula is as shown in Table 8-87.

Table 8-87. Result of Table.CombineColumns

New Column Age

SarSa 18
OmiMo 32
MohAb 26

Table.CombineColumnsToRecord
Table.CombineColumnsToRecord is used to combine values from two or
more columns into a record and display them in one column in Power
Query as follows:

Table.CombineColumnsToRecord(
       table as table,
       newColumnName as text,
       sourceColumns as list,
       optional options as nullable record
                            ) as table

This function receives four inputs.

1. The reference table is entered in the first input.

2. The name of the new column is specified as a text

value in the second input of the function.

3. The list of column names that you want to merge is

defined in the third input of the function.
4. This input is optional and contains settings related
to the merger.

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To evaluate the result of this function, consider TableK as shown in

Table 8-88.

Table 8-88. Definition of TableK

New Column Age

Sara, Sani 18
Omid, Motamedi 32
Mohamad, Abed 26

The result of

= Table.CombineColumnsToRecord(
         TableK,
         "New Column",
         {"Name", "Family"})

is shown in Table 8-89.

Table 8-89. Result of Table.CombineColumnsToRecord

New Column Age

[Record] 18
[Record] 32
[Record] 26

In this output, each of the values in the New Column is a record that
includes the name and surname.

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Table.ReorderColumns
To change the order of columns in a table, Table.ReorderColumns can be
used as follows:

Table.ReorderColumns(
       table as table,
       columnOrder as list,
       optional missingField as nullable number
                     ) as table

The output of this function is the same as the input table, except
that the order of columns in the output table has changed. This function
receives three inputs:
1. The first input of this function specifies the
reference table.

2. The second input is a list that includes the names of

columns in the desired order.

3. This input is optional and determines the logic of

calculation if the reference table does not contain
columns with the name equal to what is entered in
the second input. MissingField.Error (or number
0), MissingField.Ignore (or number 1), and
MissingField.UseNull (or number 2) can be used
in this input.

Based on the function explanation, the result of the following formula

is shown in Table 8-90:

= Table.ReorderColumns(TableC,{"Product Name","Row","Quantity
","Date"})

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 Chapter 8 Tables

Table 8-90. Result of Table.ReorderColumns

Product Name Row Quantity Date

A 1 17 1/30/2023
A 2 18 1/31/2023
C 3 10 2/1/2023
A 4 1 2/1/2023
B 5 6 2/1/2023
B 6 9 2/2/2023
A 7 6 2/2/2023
C 8 6 2/3/2023
B 9 10 2/4/2023
A 10 3 2/4/2023
C 11 18 2/6/2023

Table.Pivot
By using the Table.Pivot, values entered in a column of a table can be
displayed as separate columns in a wider table. This function is defined in
Power Query as follows:

Table.Pivot(
       table as table,
       pivotValues as list,
       attributeColumn as text,
       valueColumn as text,
       optional aggregationFunction as nullable function
              ) as table

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For example, when using this function, instead of writing product

names in one column in TableC, different product names can be entered
in separate columns and their sales figures can be displayed underneath,
as shown in Table 8-91.

Table 8-91. Example of Table.Pivot

Date A C B

1/30/2023 17 null Null

1/31/2023 18 null Null
2/1/2023 1 10 6
2/2/2023 6 null 9
2/3/2023 null 6 Null
2/4/2023 3 null 10
2/6/2023 null 18 null

This function receives five inputs.

1. In the first input, the reference table is specified.

2. In this input, the names of new columns are entered

in a list, such as {"A", "B", "C"}.

3. This input is in text format, and the name of the

column that includes the values of new columns
(entered in the second input) is entered in the
format of text.
4. The column name whose values should be
summarized in the new table beneath the new
columns is entered in this input as text.

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5. This input is optional and determines how the

values are summarized by using functions like List.
Sum or List.Average.

Based on the function explanations and considering TableE, which is

equal to TableC after removing the Row column, the result of the following
formula is equal to Table 8-92:

= Table.Pivot(TableE, {"A", "B", "C"}, "Product Name",

"Quantity", List.Sum)

Table 8-92. Definition of TableE

Date A B C

1/30/2023 17 null null

1/31/2023 18 null null
2/1/2023 1 6 10
2/2/2023 6 9 null
2/3/2023 null null 6
2/4/2023 3 10 null
2/6/2023 null null 18

The problem with this formula is that if a product name (such as D) is

added to the product list, it will not be automatically added to the result
table. Therefore, the second input of this function is modified as follows:

= List.Distinct(TableE[Product Name])

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The output of this function is equal to the list of all product names, so
by the following formula, if new products are added to TableE, they are
automatically considered:
= Table.Pivot(

         TableE,
         List.Distinct(TableE[Product Name]),
         "Product Name",
         "Quantity",
         List.Sum)

Table.Unpivot
This function with the following syntax is used to unpivot columns, which
means transforming some column headers into a single column and their
values into another column in front of them (display the values entered in
2 or more columns under each other in two columns):

Table.Unpivot(
       table as table,
       pivotColumns as list,
       attributeColumn as text,
       valueColumn as text
              ) as table

Based on the function syntax, it takes four inputs:

1. The first input defines the reference table.

2. In the second input, the titles of the columns for

which you want to place their values under two
columns are entered as a list.

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 Chapter 8 Tables

3. In the third input of this function, the name of

first new column (including the title of previous
columns) is entered.
4. In the fourth input of this function, the name of
the second new column (including the values of
previous columns) is entered.

For example, if the values related to the sales of different products is

stored in TableF, as shown in Table 8-93, to display them under each other
instead of displaying the sales of each product in a separate column, this
function can be used as follows:

Table 8-93. Definition of TableF

Date A C B

1/30/2023 17 null null

1/31/2023 18 null null
2/1/2023 1 10 6
2/2/2023 6 null 9
2/3/2023 null 6 null
2/4/2023 3 null 10
2/6/2023 null 18 null

= Table.Unpivot(
         TableF,
         {"A","B","C"},
         "Product Name",
         "Quantity")

The result is shown in Table 8-94.

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Chapter 8 Tables

Table 8-94. Result of Table.Unpivot

Date Product Name Quantity

1/30/2023 A 17
1/31/2023 A 18
2/1/2023 A 1
2/1/2023 C 10
2/1/2023 B 6
2/2/2023 A 6
2/2/2023 B 9
2/3/2023 C 6
2/4/2023 A 3
2/4/2023 B 10
2/6/2023 C 18

By using this formula, columns A, B, and C are collected under a

column called Product Name and their sales volumes are displayed in
a column called Quantity. Similarly, the Table.UnpivotOtherColumns
function can be used to unpivot data, but in the second input of this
function, instead of entering a list of column titles that you want to
unpivot, you can enter a list of column names that you want to remain
unchanged. Therefore, the above function can be revised as follows:

= Table.UnpivotOtherColumns(
         TableF,
         {"Date"},
         "Attribute",
         "Value")

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Table.Group
Table.Group is one of the most important functions in Power Query and it
can be used to summarize values in a table. For example, the annual sales
per product can be easily extracted from a large database of historical sales
by this function. The Table.Group function in Power Query is defined as
follows:

Table.Group(
       table as table,
       key as any,
       aggregatedColumns as list,
       optional groupKind as nullable number,
       optional comparer as nullable function
              ) as table

This function takes five inputs.

1. In the first input, the reference table is entered.

2. The name of the columns you want base the report

on are entered in this column. To provide the yearly
sales, the name of the column with the values of
the years is entered in this input, and to provide the
yearly sales by each product, the name of columns
with the values of years and product names are
entered in a list in this input.
3. In the third input, the name of the columns for
applying the calculation and the calculation
function are entered in the lists.

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4. The fourth input of this function is optional and can

define the grouping method as either GroupKind.
Local (neighbors’ values just used for grouping) or
GroupKind.Global (values across the whole tables
are grouped).
5. The fifth input of this function is optional and can be
one of the values of Comparers.Equals, Comparer.
FromCulture, Comparer.Ordinal, and Comparer.
OrdinalIgnoreCase.

Based on the function explanation and considering TableC, the result

of this function can be seen below.
The following formula results in the sales value by product:

= Table.Group(
         TableC,
         "Product Name",
         {"Total",each List.Sum([Quantity])})

The result of this formula is in Table 8-95.

Table 8-95. Result of Table.Group

Product Name Total

A 45
C 34
B 25

In the above formula, since no value is entered for the fourth input
of this function, the grouping type is considered as GroupKind.Global.
However, if you enter the grouping type as GroupKind.Local in the fourth
input of this function, grouping occurs based on the neighbors’ product
names. The result is shown in Table 8-96.

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 Chapter 8 Tables

= Table.Group(
         TableC,
         "Product Name",
         {"Total",each List.Sum([Quantity])},
         GroupKind.Local)

Table 8-96. Result of Table.Group

Product Name Total

A 35
C 10
A 1
B 15
A 6
C 6
B 10
A 3
C 18

In another example, using the following formula, in addition to

calculating the total sales for each product, its average is also calculated:

= Table.Group(
         TableC,
         "Product Name",
         {
                  {"Total",each List.Sum([Quantity])},
                  {"AVG", each List.Average([Quantity])}
         })

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The result of this formula is as shown in Table 8-97.

Table 8-97. Result of Table.Group

Product Name Total AVG

A 45 9
C 34 11.33333333
B 25 8.333333333

In this function, to bring the values related to each product in the form
of a table next to that product, this function can be used as follows:

=Table.Group(
         TableC,
         {"Product Name"},
         {"Count", each _})

In this case, the result is shown in Table 8-98.

Table 8-98. Result of Table.Group

Product Name Count

A [Table]
C [Table]
B [Table]

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For each product, all rows related to its sales are listed. For example,
the table related to product C is visible. See Figure 8-3.

Figure 8-3. Product C Information

Table.Transpose
This function is used to transpose (swap rows and columns of a table) a
table as follows:

Table.Transpose(
       table as table,
       optional columns as any
              ) as table

Based on the function syntax, it takes the two inputs.

1. In the first input, the reference table is entered.

2. The second input of this function is optional

and determines the names of columns in the
output table.

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For example, consider Table 8-99 as TableS.

Table 8-99. Definition of TableS

Columns Person 1 Person 2 Person 3

Name Sara Omid Mohamad

Family Sani Motamedi Abed
Age 18 32 26

The result of Table.Transpose(TableS) is shown in Table 8-100.

Table 8-100. Result of Table.Transpose(TableS)
Column1 Column2 Column3

Name Family Age

Sara Sani 18
Omid Motamedi 32
Mohamad Abed 26

And the result of

= Table.Transpose(TableS,{"Name","Family","Age"})

is shown in Table 8-101.

Table 8-101. Result of Table.Transpose
Name Family Age

Name Family Age

Sara Sani 18
Omid Motamedi 32
Mohamad Abed 26

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 Chapter 8 Tables

Combining Tables
There are two methods for combining tables. In the first method, which is
known as appending, the values of two tables are placed under each other.
For example, table one is the sales values for 2019 and table two is the
sales values for 2020. By appending these two tables, a new table is created
including the sales values in both the years 2019 and 2020.
However, sometimes it is necessary to bring the values from a column
of Table A and display it in a new column in Table B. For example, if the
values of product prices are in Table A and Table B include the historical
sales volume, to calculate the total sales in dollar, it is necessary to call the
price from Table A and display it in Table B. This method of combining
tables, which ends with adding new columns to the reference table, is
called merging.
In this section, the functions related to both methods of combining
tables are discussed.

Table.Combine
Table.Combine is used to append two or more tables in Power Query as
follows:

Table.Combine(
       tables as list,
       optional columns as any
              ) as table

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This function receives two inputs.

1. In the first input, the tables that you want to append

are mentioned as the separate values of a list.

2. In the second input of this function, the list of

column names that you want to display in the
output table is defined. This input is optional; if no
value is entered, all columns of the tables (common
and non-common) are displayed in the output.

For this example, consider TableH, TableI, and TableJ (shown in Tables
8-102, 8-103, and 8-104, respectively).

Table 8-102. Definition of TableH

Row Date Product Name Quantity

1 1/30/2023 A 17
2 1/31/2023 A 18
3 2/1/2023 C 10
4 2/1/2023 A 1

Table 8-103. Definition of TableI

Row Date Product Name Quantity

5 2/1/2023 B 6
6 2/2/2023 B 9
7 2/2/2023 A 6
8 2/3/2023 C 6

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 Chapter 8 Tables

Table 8-104. Definition of Table J

Row Date Product Name Quantity

9 2/4/2023 B 10
10 2/4/2023 A 3
11 2/6/2023 C 18

In this case, the result of = Table.Combine({TableH,TableI,TableJ})

is shown in Table 8-105.

Table 8-105. Result of Table.Combine

Row Date Product Name Quantity

1 1/30/2023 A 17
2 1/31/2023 A 18
3 2/1/2023 C 10
4 2/1/2023 A 1
5 2/1/2023 B 6
6 2/2/2023 B 9
7 2/2/2023 A 6
8 2/3/2023 C 6
9 2/4/2023 B 10
10 2/4/2023 A 3
11 2/6/2023 C 18

The result of = Table.Combine({TableH,TableI,TableJ},{"Date",

"Quantity"}) is presented in Table 8-106.

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Table 8-106. Result of Table.Combine

Date Quantity

1/30/2023 17
1/31/2023 18
2/1/2023 10
2/1/2023 1
2/1/2023 6
2/2/2023 9
2/2/2023 6
2/3/2023 6
2/4/2023 10
2/4/2023 3
2/6/2023 18

In a similar example, if the name of column Product Name in table J is

changed to Products, the result of the formula = Table.Combine({TableH,
TableI,TableJ}) would be equal to Table 8-107.

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 Chapter 8 Tables

Table 8-107. Result of Table.Combine

Row Date Product Name Quantity ProductS

1 1/30/2023 A 17 null
2 1/31/2023 A 18 null
3 2/1/2023 C 10 null
4 2/1/2023 A 1 null
5 2/1/2023 B 6 null
6 2/2/2023 B 9 null
7 2/2/2023 A 6 null
8 2/3/2023 C 6 null
9 2/4/2023 Null 10 B
10 2/4/2023 Null 3 A
11 2/6/2023 Null 18 C

Another way of combine tables, instead of using Table.Combine, is to

use the & operator, as follows:

= TableH & TableI & TableJ

The result of this formula is the same as the following formula:

= Table.Combine ({TableH, TableI, TableJ})

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Table.Join
To merge tables (add columns of one table to another table as new
columns), Table.Join can be used. To match the rows of the tables, both
tables should include a common column (such as product ID or customer
ID) with the same format and common values. This function can be used
as follows:

Table.Join(
       table1 as table,
       key1 as any,
       table2 as table,
       key2 as any,
       optional joinKind as nullable number,
       optional joinAlgorithm as nullable number,
       optional keyEqualityComparers as nullable list
              ) as table

Based on the function syntax, it takes the following inputs:

1. The first input specifies the reference table (Table A)

to which new columns will be added.
2. In the second input, the name of the common
column in the reference table is entered as a
text value.
3. The name of the second table (Table B), from which
the values should be extracted, is entered in the
third input.
4. In the fourth input, the name of the common
column in the second table is entered.

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 Chapter 8 Tables

5. The fifth input, known as joinKind, determines the

merging model by entering one of these values:

JoinKind.Inner

JoinKind.LeftOuter

JoinKind.RightOuter

JoinKind.FullOuter

JoinKind.LeftAnti

JoinKind.RightAnti

6. The sixth input is optional and determines the

algorithm for calculation and can be one of the
values in Table 8-108.

Table 8-108. Types of Join Algorithms

Algorithm Value

JoinAlgorithm.Dynamic 0
JoinAlgorithm.PairwiseHash 1
JoinAlgorithm.SortMerge 2
JoinAlgorithm.LeftHash 3
JoinAlgorithm.RightHash 4
JoinAlgorithm.LeftIndex 5
JoinAlgorithm.RightIndex 6

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Chapter 8 Tables

7. The seventh input of this function is also optional

and determines the comparison criterion by
entering one of the following values:

Comparer.Equals

Comparer.FromCulture

Comparer.Ordinal

Comparer.OrdinalIgnoreCase

For example, consider TableP as shown in Table 8-109.

Table 8-109. Definition of TableP

Date Product Quantity

3/21/2021 A 5
3/21/2021 B 4
3/23/2021 A 3
3/23/2021 C 5
3/24/2021 D 1

TabelQ is shown in Table 8-110.

Table 8-110. Definition of TableQ

Product Name Price

A 100
B 150
E 200
F 100

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 Chapter 8 Tables

If products A and B are both present on the two tables, and product
A has been repeated twice in the first table, the result of the following
formula is shown in Table 8-111:

= Table.Join(TableP,"Product",TableQ,"Prod
uct Name")

Table 8-111. Result of Table.Join

Date Product Quantity Product Name Price

3/21/2021 A 5 A 100
3/23/2021 A 3 A 100
3/21/2021 B 4 B 150

In the above formula, the type of merger is not specified, and in this
case, the default method of merging, which is known as inner merger, is
applied, which will lead to a table for the rows with the product name that
existed in both tables.
To explain inner merge, consider Figure 8-4. The left circle represents
the names of the products listed in the first table and the right circle
represents the names of the products listed in the second table. In this
example, two products, A and B, are listed in both tables (shown in the
common area of two circles).

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Chapter 8 Tables

Figure 8-4. Table members

Therefore, the result of the above formula is equal to the intersection
area between two tables, which is highlighted in Figure 8-5.

Figure 8-5. Intersection area

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 Chapter 8 Tables

By changing the merging method (fifth input), different results will be

achieved, as you can see in Table 8-112.

Table 8-112. Different Types of Joins

JoinKind.Inner

JoinKind.LeftOuter

JoinKind.RightOuter

JoinKind.FullOuter

JoinKind.LeftAnti

JoinKind.RightAnti

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The results of this function in different scenarios are presented in the

following examples (see Tables 8-113 through 8-117).

= Table.Join(TableP,
         "Product",
         TableQ,
         "Product Name",
         JoinKind.LeftOuter)

Table 8-113. Result of Table.Join in Left Outer

Date Product Quantity Product Name Price

3/21/2021 A 5 A 100
3/23/2021 A 3 A 100
3/21/2021 B 4 B 150
3/23/2021 C 5 null null
3/24/2021 D 1 null null

= Table.Join(
         TableP,
         "Product",
         TableQ,
         "Product Name",
         JoinKind.RightOuter)

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 Chapter 8 Tables

Table 8-114. Result of Table.Join in Right Outer

Date Product Quantity Product Name Price

3/21/2021 A 5 A 100
3/23/2021 A 3 A 100
3/21/2021 B 4 B 150
Null null null E 200
Null null null F 100

= Table.Join(
         TableP,
         "Product",
         TableQ,
         "Product Name",
         JoinKind.FullOuter)

Table 8-115. Result of Table.Join in Full Outer

Date Product Quantity Product Name Price

3/21/2021 A 5 A 100
3/23/2021 A 3 A 100
3/21/2021 B 4 B 150
3/23/2021 C 5 null null
3/24/2021 D 1 null null
Null null null E 200
Null null null F 100

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Chapter 8 Tables

= Table.Join(
         TableP,
         "Product",
         TableQ,
         "Product Name",
         JoinKind.LeftAnti)

Table 8-116. Result of Table.Join in Left Anti

Date Product Quantity Product Name Price

3/23/2021 C 5 null null

3/24/2021 D 1 null null

= Table.Join(
         TableP,
         "Product",
         TableQ,
         "Product Name",
         JoinKind.RightAnti)

Table 8-117. Result of Table.Join in Right Anti

Date Product Quantity Product Name Price

null null null E 200

null null null F 100

The main drawback of this function is that the column names in the
first and second tables must be completely unique and distinct. If there
is a column with the same name in both tables, this function will result in
an error.

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 Chapter 8 Tables

Table.NestedJoin
Table.NestedJoin is like the Table.Join function; the difference is that in
the output of this function, the related rows in the second table are added
to a column in the first table as values in the format of the table. Since the
name of the new column is specified by the user, if the tables have columns
with the same name, the output of this function is not an error.
This function is defined in the query as follows:

Table.NestedJoin(
table1 as table,
key1 as any,
table2 as any,
key2 as any,
newColumnName as text,
optional joinKind as nullable number,
optional keyEqualityComparers as nullable list
) as table

Based on the function syntax, it takes the following inputs:

1. The first input specifies the reference table (Table A)
where you want the new column added.
2. In the second input, the name of the common
column in the reference table is entered as a
text value.
3. The name of the second table (Table B), from
which the values should be extracted, is entered in
this input.
4. In this input, the name of the common column in
the second table is entered.

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Chapter 8 Tables

5. The name of the new column is determined as a text

in this input.

6. This input, known as joinKind, determines the

merging model entering one of the following values:

JoinKind.Inner

JoinKind.LeftOuter

JoinKind.RightOuter

JoinKind.FullOuter

JoinKind.LeftAnti

JoinKind.RightAnti
7. The seventh input of this function is optional and
determines the comparison criterion entering one
of the following values:

Comparer.Equals

Comparer.FromCulture

Comparer.Ordinal

Comparer.OrdinalIgnoreCase

Given the function explanation, the result of the following formula is

equal to the first table in which a new column named New Data has been
added (see Table 8-118):

= Table.NestedJoin(
         TableP,
         "Product",
         TableQ,
         "Product Name",
         "New Data")

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 Chapter 8 Tables

Table 8-118. Result of Table.NestedJoin

Date Product Quantity New Data

3/21/2021 A 5 [Table]
3/21/2021 B 4 [Table]
3/23/2021 A 3 [Table]
3/23/2021 C 5 [Table]
3/24/2021 D 1 [Table]

As seen, the New Data column only contains the table expression. By
clicking the first value of this column, the data summary will be displayed,
as shown in Figure 8-6.

Figure 8-6. Displaying table data values

Expanding Columns
In the case that values in a column are in the format of list, record, or table,
the functions of this section can be used to expand such values.

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Chapter 8 Tables

Table.ExpandListColumn
If one of the columns in the table contains information of type list, this
function can be used as follows to expand the values as new rows:

Table.ExpandListColumn(
       table as table,
       column as text
              ) as table

This function is very simple and receives two inputs.

1. The first input specifies the reference table.

2. In the second input, the column name, including

the values in the format of list that you want to
expand, is entered as text.

For example, use TableM (shown in Table 8-119).

Table 8-119. Definition of TableM

Date Product Name

1/30/2023 [List]
1/31/2023 [List]
2/1/2023 [List]
2/2/2023 [List]
2/3/2023 [List]
2/4/2023 [List]
2/6/2023 [List]

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 Chapter 8 Tables

In the Product Name column, the names of the products sold on that
date are listed. For example, in Figure 8-7, the list of products sold on the
date 2/1/2023 is displayed.

Figure 8-7. Displaying data members in list format

To display these values as new rows, the following formula can

be used:

= Table.ExpandListColumn(TableM,"Product Name")

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The results are shown in Table 8-120.

Table 8-120. Result of Table.ExpandListColumn

Date Product Name

1/30/2023 A
1/30/2023 B
1/31/2023 A
2/1/2023 C
2/1/2023 A
2/1/2023 B
2/2/2023 B
2/2/2023 A
2/3/2023 C
2/4/2023 B
2/4/2023 A
2/6/2023 C

Table.ExpandRecordColumn
To expand the values entered in the format of records in a table, Table.
ExpandRecordColumn can be used as follows:

Table.ExpandRecordColumn(
       table as table,
       column as text,
       fieldNames as list,
       optional newColumnNames as nullable list
              ) as table

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This function receives four inputs.

1. The first input is the reference table.

2. In the second input, the name of the column

containing record values is entered as text.

3. In the third input, the names of the fields you want

to extract from the records are entered as a list.

4. This input is optional and is used to define the new

names for the extracted columns.

For example, he values in the TableN are as shown in Table 8-121.

Table 8-121. Definition of TableN

Date Info

1/30/2023 [Record]
1/31/2023 [Record]
2/1/2023 [Record]
2/2/2023 [Record]
2/3/2023 [Record]
2/4/2023 [Record]
2/6/2023 [Record]

Here the values related to sales (including product name and quantity)
for each date are entered as records in the Info column. Figure 8-8
shows the details of the record entered in the Info column for the date of
2023/2/2.

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Chapter 8 Tables

Figure 8-8. Display of record data

To extract the values of this column, the following formula can be used:

= Table.ExpandRecordColumn(TableN,"Info",{"Quantity"})

The result of this formula is as shown in Table 8-122.

Table 8-122. Result of Table.ExpandRecordColumn

Date Quantity

1/30/2023 10
1/31/2023 3
2/1/2023 5
2/2/2023 21
2/3/2023 11
2/4/2023 12
2/6/2023 8

Similarly, the result of

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 Chapter 8 Tables

= Table.ExpandRecordColumn(TableN,
         "Info",
         {"Product Name","Quantity"})

is shown in Table 8-123.

Table 8-123. Result of Table.ExpandRecordColumn

Date Product Name Quantity

1/30/2023 A 10
1/31/2023 B 3
2/1/2023 A 5
2/2/2023 C 21
2/3/2023 C 11
2/4/2023 A 12
2/6/2023 B 8

Similarly, to change the names of new columns, the following formula

can be used:

= Table.ExpandRecordColumn(
         TableN,
         "Info",
         {"Product Name","Quantity"},
         {"X1","X2"})

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Chapter 8 Tables

In this case, the result is shown in Table 8-124.

Table 8-124. Result of Table.ExpandRecordColumn

Date X1 X2

1/30/2023 A 10
1/31/2023 B 3
2/1/2023 A 5
2/2/2023 C 21
2/3/2023 C 11
2/4/2023 A 12
2/6/2023 B 8

Table.ExpandTableColumn
To expand the values in the format of a table, entered in a column, this
function can be used as follows:

Table.ExpandTableColumn(
              table as table,
              column as text,
              columnNames as list,
              optional newColumnNames as nullable list
                     ) as table

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 Chapter 8 Tables

This function receives four inputs.

1. The reference table is entered in the first input.

2. The name of the column you want to expand the

values of (in the format of table) is entered in
this input.

3. In this input, it is determined which columns of the

tables determined in the second input should be
extracted.

4. This input is optional and is used to change the

name of extracted columns.

For example, consider TableO (shown in Table 8-125).

Table 8-125. Definition of TableO

Date Info

1/30/2023 [Table]
1/31/2023 [Table]
2/1/2023 [Table]

The product names and sales quantity for each date are presented in
the format of the table in front of each table. Figure 8-9 shows the entered
values for the last date.

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Chapter 8 Tables

Figure 8-9. Display of table data

To extract the values from the Info column, this function can be used
as follows:

= Table.ExpandTableColumn(
         TableO,
         "Info",
         {"Product Name","Quantity"})

The result is shown in Table 8-126.

Table 8-126. Result of Table.ExpandTableColumn in Left Outer

Date Product Name Quantity

1/30/2023 A 2
1/30/2023 B 12
1/30/2023 C 6
1/31/2023 B 8
1/31/2023 C 9
2/1/2023 A 3
2/1/2023 C 7

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 Chapter 8 Tables

Table.AggregateTableColumn
Instead of extracting values from the tables entered in the Info
column, the summary of values can be extracted by using Table.
AggregateTableColumn. This function can be used as follows:

Table.AggregateTableColumn(
              table as table,
              column as text,
              aggregations as list
                     ) as table

Based on the function syntax, it takes three inputs.

1. In the first input, the reference table is specified.

2. The name of the column that includes the values in

the format of the table is entered in this input.

3. In this input, you list three values: the name of

column you want to summarize, the operation
for summarizing the values, and the name of
new column in the result table. So {{"A",List.
Sum,"X"}} means that by using the List.Sum
function, values from column A are used and their
summation result in a new column, namely X.

To examine the performance of this function, use TableO. In this case,

the results of this function in different formulas are shown in Tables 8-127
and 8-128.

= Table.AggregateTableColumn(
         TableO,
         "Info",
         {{"Quantity",List.Sum,"Sum of Quantity"}})

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Chapter 8 Tables

Table 8-127. Result of Table.AggregateTableColumn

Date Sum of Quantity

1/30/2023 20
1/31/2023 17
2/1/2023 10

= Table.AggregateTableColumn(

         TableO,
         "Info",
         {{"Quantity",List.Sum,"Sum of Quantity"},
                  {"Quantity",List.Average,"Average of
Quantity"},
                  {"Product",List.Count,"Count of Product"}})

Table 8-128. Result of Table.AggregateTableColumn

Date Sum of Quantity Average of Quantity Count of Product

1/30/2023 20 6.666666667 3
1/31/2023 17 8.5 2
2/1/2023 10 5 2

Replacing Column Values

In this section, functions related to replacing values in table columns with
new values are presented.

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 Chapter 8 Tables

Table.FillDown and Table.FillUp

Functions Table.FillDown and Table.FillUp are used to fill null cells
with the value of the above or below cells, as follows:

Table.FillDown(
       table as table,
       columns as list
              ) as table
Table.FillUp(
       table as table,
       columns as list
              ) as table

These two functions receive two inputs.

1. In the first input, the reference table is specified.

2. The name of the column or columns that you want

to apply the function to is entered in this input as a
list format.

Based on the function explanation and considering TableL (shown in

Table 8-129),

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Chapter 8 Tables

Table 8-129. Definition of TableL

Row Date Product Name Quantity

1 1/30/2023 A 17
2 null A 18
3 2/1/2023 C 10
4 null A 1
5 null B 6
6 2/2/2023 B 9
7 null A 6
8 2/3/2023 C 6
9 2/4/2023 B 10
10 null A 3
11 2/6/2023 C 18

the result of = Table.FillDown(TableL,{"Date"}) is shown in

Table 8-130.

Table 8-130. Result of Table.FillDown

Row Date Product Name Quantity

1 1/30/2023 A 17
2 1/30/2023 A 18
3 2/1/2023 C 10
4 2/1/2023 A 1
5 2/1/2023 B 6
(continued)

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 Chapter 8 Tables

Table 8-130. (continued)

Row Date Product Name Quantity

6 2/2/2023 B 9
7 2/2/2023 A 6
8 2/3/2023 C 6
9 2/4/2023 B 10
10 2/4/2023 A 3
11 2/6/2023 C 18

The result of the following formula is shown in Table 8-131:

= Table.FillUp(TableL,{"Date"})

Table 8-131. Result of Table.FillUp

Row Date Product Name Quantity

1 1/30/2023 A 17
2 2/1/2023 A 18
3 2/1/2023 C 10
4 2/2/2023 A 1
5 2/2/2023 B 6
6 2/2/2023 B 9
7 2/3/2023 A 6
8 2/3/2023 C 6
9 2/4/2023 B 10
10 2/6/2023 A 3
11 2/6/2023 C 18

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Chapter 8 Tables

Table.ReplaceErrorValues
This function is used to replace error values in one or more columns of a
table with new values as follows:

Table.ReplaceErrorValues(
       table as table,
       errorReplacement as list
              ) as table

This function receives two inputs.

1. The first input is the reference table.

2. In the second input, the name of columns and

values that should replace the error values in each
column are entered in lists with two values. For
example, to replace error values in column A with
the value NEW Value1, this input is entered as
{"A","New Value1"}, and to replace error values
in column B with New Value2 simultaneously, this
input can be defined as follows:
={{"A","New Value1"},{"B","New Value2"}}

To check the application of this function, consider Table 8-132

as TableR.

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 Chapter 8 Tables

Table 8-132. Definitoin of TableR

Row Date Product Name Quantity Rank

2 1/31/2023 A 18 1
11 2/6/2023 Error 18 1
1 1/30/2023 A 17 2
3 2/1/2023 C 10 3
9 2/4/2023 B 10 3
6 2/2/2023 Error 9 4
5 2/1/2023 B Error 5
7 2/2/2023 A 6 5
8 2/3/2023 C 6 5
10 2/4/2023 A Error 6
4 2/1/2023 A 1 Error

So, the following formulas come with different results. See Tables 8-133
and 8-134.

Table.ReplaceErrorValues(
         TableR,
         {"Product Name","New Value1"})

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Chapter 8 Tables

Table 8-133. Result of Table.ReplaceErrorValues

Row Date Product Name Quantity Rank

2 1/31/2023 A 18 1
11 2/6/2023 New Value1 18 1
1 1/30/2023 A 17 2
3 2/1/2023 C 10 3
9 2/4/2023 B 10 3
6 2/2/2023 New Value1 9 4
5 2/1/2023 B Error 5
7 2/2/2023 A 6 5
8 2/3/2023 C 6 5
10 2/4/2023 A Error 6
4 2/1/2023 A 1 Error

Table.ReplaceErrorValues(
TableR,
{
         {"Product Name","New Value1"},
         {"Quantity","New Value2"},
         {"rank","New Value3"}
})

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 Chapter 8 Tables

Table 8-134. Result of Table.ReplaceErrorValues

Row Date Product Name Quantity rank

2 1/31/2023 A 18 1
11 2/6/2023 New Value1 18 1
1 1/30/2023 A 17 2
3 2/1/2023 C 10 3
9 2/4/2023 B 10 3
6 2/2/2023 New Value1 9 4
5 2/1/2023 B New Value2 5
7 2/2/2023 A 6 5
8 2/3/2023 C 6 5
10 2/4/2023 A New Value2 6
4 2/1/2023 A 1 New Value3

Table.ReplaceValue
To replace the values recorded in the columns of a table with new values,
the Table.ReplaceValue can be used as follows.

Table.ReplaceValue(
       table as table,
       oldValue as any,
       newValue as any,
       replacer as function,
       columnsToSearch as list
              ) as table

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Chapter 8 Tables

This function receives five inputs:

1. In the first input of this function, the reference table

is defined.

2. In the second input, the value that you want to

replace with a new one is entered.

3. In the third input of this function, the new value is

entered.

4. The type of replacement function is determined

in this input. To replace one text with another,
Replacer.ReplaceText is entered, and to replace a
number with a number, Replacer.ReplaceValue is
entered.
5. In this input, the names of columns on which the
replacements should be applied are entered as a list.

Based on the function explanations, to replace the name of product A

with Mobile in TableC, the following formula can be used. See Table 8-135.

= Table.ReplaceValue(
         TableC,
         "A",
         "Mobile",
         Replacer.ReplaceText,
         {"Product Name"})

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 Chapter 8 Tables

Table 8-135. Result of Table.ReplaceValue

Row Date Product Name Quantity

1 1/30/2023 Mobile 17
2 1/31/2023 Mobile 18
3 2/1/2023 C 10
4 2/1/2023 Mobile 1
5 2/1/2023 B 6
6 2/2/2023 B 9
7 2/2/2023 Mobile 6
8 2/3/2023 C 6
9 2/4/2023 B 10
10 2/4/2023 Mobile 3
11 2/6/2023 C 18

Or in a similar situation, to replace the number 1 with the number

100 in the Quantity and Row columns, the following formula can be used.
See Table 8-136.

= Table.ReplaceValue(
         TableC,
         1,
         100,
         Replacer.ReplaceValue,
         {"Row","Quantity"})

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Chapter 8 Tables

Table 8-136. Result of Table.ReplaceValue

Row Date Product Name Quantity

100 1/30/2023 A 17
2 1/31/2023 A 18
3 2/1/2023 C 10
4 2/1/2023 A 100
5 2/1/2023 B 6
6 2/2/2023 B 9
7 2/2/2023 A 6
8 2/3/2023 C 6
9 2/4/2023 B 10
10 2/4/2023 A 3
11 2/6/2023 C 18

Finding a Value in a Table

In this section, the functions related to determining the location of values
in the table are presented.

Table.FindText
This function is used to extract rows from a table that contain a specific
text. This function is defined in Power Query as follows:

Table.FindText(
       table as table,
       text as text
       ) as table

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 Chapter 8 Tables

Table.FindText receives two inputs.

1. The first input of this function is the reference table.

2. The text that you are searching for is entered in the

second input.

The output of the function is the rows of the reference table that
include the searching text. Therefore, the result of the formula = Table.
FindText(TableC, "A") is equal to Table 8-137.

Table 8-137. Result of Table.FindText

Row Date Product Name Quantity

1 1/30/2023 A 17
2 1/31/2023 A 18
4 2/1/2023 A 1
7 2/2/2023 A 6
10 2/4/2023 A 3

Table.PositionOf
Table.PositionOf is used to extract the number of rows including specific
values, as follows:

Table.PositionOf(
       table as table,
       row as record,
       optional occurrence as any,
       optional equationCriteria as any
              ) as any

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Chapter 8 Tables

This function receives four inputs as follows:

1. The reference table is entered in the first input of

this function.

2. The second input is defined as a record and

specifies the rows you are searching for. For
example, [a=1] is entered if you are searching for the
number of rows with the value of 1 in the column
named a.

3. This input is optional and specifies which

occurrence should be displayed as output
via Occurrence.First, Occurrence.Last,
Occurrence.All, Occurrence.Optional,
Occurrence.Required, or Occurrence.Repeating.

4. This input is optional and allows you to specify

custom criteria for comparing the values.

The result of this function is always a number indicating the row

number with the desired conditions. If the desired row is not found, the
output of this function is -1.
Consider TableT (shown in Table 8-138).

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 Chapter 8 Tables

Table 8-138. Definition of TableT

Product Name Quantity

A 1
B 3
A 2
B 3
A 2
C 1
A 2
C 3
B 2

The result of this function in the following formula is equal to the

number 6, meaning that the row with the product name equal to C and a
quantity of 1 is in the seventh row of the table:

= Table.PositionOf(TableT,[Product Name="C",Quantity=1])

Similarly, the result of the following formula is equal to 2. It is true that

the product name A is registered in the third row and its Quantity column
is 2, but since it is not specified which occurrence is desired in the third
input, the first occurrence is displayed in the output.

= Table.PositionOf(
TableT,
[Product Name="A",Quantity=2])

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If you want to display all occurrences in the output, use the following
formula:

= Table.PositionOf(
TableT,
[Product Name="A",Quantity=2]
,Occurrence.All)

Table.PositionOfAny
Table.PositionOfAny is like the Table.PositionOfAny function, with the
difference that in the second input of this function, several conditions can
be defined like

{[Product Name=“A”,Quantity=2], [Product

Name=“C”,Quantity=1]}

This function is defined in Power Query as follows:

Table.PositionOfAny(
       table as table,
       rows as list,
       optional occurrence as nullable number,
       optional equationCriteria as any
              ) as any

According to the function explanations, the result of the following

formula is equal to a list in the form of {2,4,5,6}:

= Table.PositionOfAny(
         TableT,
         {

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                   [Product Name="A",Quantity=2],
                   [Product Name="C",Quantity=1]
         },
         Occurrence.All)

Summary
This chapter was a journey through the intricate landscape of table
functions within Power Query, providing a comprehensive understanding
of how tables serve as the foundation for structured data analysis and
manipulation.
The chapter commenced with a fundamental exploration of tables
as dynamic data containers. You grasped the essence of columns and
rows, understanding how Power Query views tables as versatile structures
capable of holding diverse data types and relationships. Through this, you
learned to manually create tables and generate them through calculated
expressions.
As you delved deeper, you uncovered the transformative power of
table functions. These functions empower you to filter, sort, reshape, and
aggregate data within tables with precision. The art of crafting tables that
align with your analytical goals became second nature, enhancing your
data manipulation abilities.
The chapter led you into the realm of table relationships, where data
connections unveiled themselves. You explored techniques for joining,
merging, and relating tables, piecing together data from diverse sources to
weave coherent narratives. This skillset allows you to unearth insights that
span multiple datasets.
Furthermore, you delved into the world of data enrichment and
summarization. The potential of these functions came to light as you
discovered how to distill complex datasets into concise, insightful
summaries. This skill empowers you to identify trends, patterns, and
anomalies hidden within the data.
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Throughout the chapter, practical examples were seamlessly integrated

to illustrate the real-world application of table functions. As you concluded
this chapter, you emerged with the ability to transform raw data into
organized narratives of knowledge. Your newfound mastery of table
manipulation can redefine your approach to data analysis, offering a
deeper understanding of relationships, trends, and opportunities.
In the next chapter, the functions for extracting the values and tables
from different data sources are presented. You will learn how to connect
Power Query with different data sources and extract the desired info from
the data sources.

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Extracting from Data

Sources
In the dynamic landscape of data-driven decision-making, information
resides in diverse corners of the digital world. Whether it’s buried in
spreadsheets, residing in databases, or streaming from APIs, the ability to
extract, unify, and analyze data from these sources is paramount. Welcome
to a chapter dedicated to the mastery of Power Query’s data source
functions, which are your passport to seamlessly accessing and harnessing
information from various origins, transforming it into the fuel that powers
informed choices.
Data, in its multitude of forms, fuels the engine of modern business
and research. But data is often dispersed across a spectrum of platforms,
each with its own structure, language, and rules. Power Query’s data
source functions emerge as the bridge that connects these disparate
islands of information, paving the way for unified analysis.
Your journey through this chapter begins with a fundamental
exploration of data source functions: the tools that enable Power Query
to communicate with different data origins. You’ll delve into the world
of connectors, each designed to interpret the language of a specific
data source.

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Folder.Contents
Using Folder.Contents, values stored in files with various formats (such as
.xlsx, .accdb, .txt, and CSV) in a folder can be called as follows:

Folder.Contents(
       path as text,
       optional options as nullable record
       ) as table

According to the above explanation, this function takes these

two inputs:

1. In the first input of this function, the path of folder is

entered.

2. The second input of this function is optional and is

set as a record for settings.

Based on the above explanation, if various files are stored in a specific

path such as C:\Users\omid_\OneDrive\Desktop\Data, as in Figure 9-1,

Figure 9-1. Folder contents

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the result of the following formula will be equal to Figure 9-2:

= Folder.Contents("C:\Users\omid_\OneDrive\
Desktop\Data")

Figure 9-2. Data called from a specific address

In the output of this function, the Content column is the most

important one. It includes the values stored in the relevant files at the
entered address. By using the functions explain in the rest of this chapter,
these values can be extracted.

Csv.Document
By using Folder.Contents to load values from text or CSV files, saved in a
specific path, the information will be shown in the format of binary in the
column with the name “content”. To extract such values, CSV.Document can
be used as follows:

Csv.Document(
source as any,
optional columns as any,
optional delimiter as any,
optional extraValues as nullable number,
optional encoding as nullable number
) as table

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This function takes these five inputs:

1. In the first input, a binary value, including the values

of a CSV or text file, is entered.

2. The second input is optional, and the column

names can be entered into it.

3. The third input of this function is optional, and the

values separator can be specified by it.

4. This input specifies the text encoding used in the

CSV file.

5. The last input allows the user to specify how Power

Query should handle rows in the CSV file that
contain more or fewer values than the defined
columns, by entering 0,1 or 2.

According to the function explanations, and considering the previous

example after removing all the columns except Content, Name, and
Extension and then calling its result as #“Removed Other Columns”, then
using CSV.Document as

= Table.AddColumn(#“Removed Other Columns”,

“Custom”,

each CSV.Document([Content]))

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results in the information shown in Figure 9-3.

Figure 9-3. CSV.Document function result

As you can see, the word Table is shown in the new column in all rows.
By selecting the value of this column in front of the CSV or text files (rows
1, 2, 4, and 5), the values inside that file will be displayed correctly, as
shown in Figure 9-4.

Figure 9-4. Result of the function for CSV tables

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But, by selecting the value of this column in the row where the data
format is XLSX (Excel file), the result will be disordered and displayed as
shown in Figure 9-5.

Figure 9-5. Result of the function for Excel tables

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The same result can be shown by selecting the Table in the rows for
PDF files. See Figure 9-6.

Figure 9-6. Result of the function for PDF files

Excel.Workbook
Following the previous example, after calling the Excel files stored in a
specific path by Folder.Content as binary values, to extract the tables in
the excel files from binary values, Excel.Workbook can be used as follows:

Excel.Workbook(
       workbook as binary,
       optional useHeaders as any,
       optional delayTypes as nullable logical
              ) as table

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Based on the syntax of this function, it takes these three arguments:

1. In the first argument, the name or address of the

binary file is entered.

2. The second argument is optional and can be set to

True or False for header settings.

3. The third input of this function is also optional and

is used to determine the format of values in columns
entering True or False.

In the previous example, entering the following formula instead of

Csv.Document will get the result shown in Figure 9-7:

= Table.AddColumn(#"Removed Other Columns",

"Custom",

each Excel.Workbook([Content]))

Figure 9-7. Result of Excel.Workbook

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As you can see, for binary files with the XLSX extension, the result of
this function is a new table containing values of that file, and for other file
formats, the result of this function is an error.

Pdf.Tables
In the previous example, by using Pdf.Tables as follows, instead of Excel.
Workbook, the values in the PDF file can be extracted:

Pdf.Tables(
       pdf as binary,
       optional options as nullable record
       ) as table

Based on the function syntax, this function receives these two inputs:

1. The name or address of the binary file for PDF is

entered in the first input.

2. The second input of this function is optional, and

settings related to the extracting values are entered.

According to the function explanations, by using the below formula in

the previous example, instead of Excel.Workbooks, the values in the PDF
file can be extracted:

= Table.AddColumn(#"Removed Other Columns",

"Custom", each Excel.Workbook([Content]))

The result is shown in Figure 9-8, where for binary files with the .pdf
extension, the result of this function is equal to the new table containing
the values stored in the PDF file. For other file types, the result of this
function is an error.

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Figure 9-8. Extracting from PDF files

Sql.Database
Sql.Database is defined in Power Query to call tables from a SQL database
as follows:

Sql.Database(
server as text,
database as text,
optional options as nullable record
) as table

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Based on the function syntax, this function receives three inputs:

1. The name of the server is entered as a text value in

the first input.

2. The name of the database is entered as a text value

in the second input.

3. The third input of this function is optional, and

can be entered as CreateNavigationProperties,
NavigationPropertyNameGenerator,
MaxDegreeOfParallelism, CommandTimeout,
ConnectionTimeout, HierarchicalNavigation,
MultiSubnetFailover, UnsafeTypeConversions,
OmitSRID, and ssDatabaseFolding.

Excel.CurrentWorkbook
Excel.CurrentWorkbook can be used in Excel for calling all tables in a
current workbook into Power Query, like so:

Excel.CurrentWorkbook() as table

The Excel.CurrentWorkbook function is only used in Power Query in

Excel. Excel.CurrentWorkbook() does not receive any input and always
returns the tables stored in different sheets of the same Excel file where
Power Query is active.

Summary
In this chapter, you embarked on a comprehensive journey through the
realm of data extraction using Power Query’s data source functions. The
chapter highlighted the significance of accessing and unifying data from
diverse sources to fuel informed decision-making.

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The chapter commenced with an exploration of the fundamental

concepts of data source functions. You saw how these functions
enable Power Query to communicate with a range of data origins,
from spreadsheets and databases to structured files. This foundational
understanding set the stage for a deeper dive into data extraction
techniques.
In the next chapter, which is the last one, some other functions for
handling errors, conditions, and combining functions are presented.

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Other Functions
While Power Query’s foundational functions empower you to navigate,
shape, and aggregate data, there are moments when your data
transformations demand an extra layer of sophistication. This is where the
advanced functions come into play. They offer the ability to make nuanced
decisions, handle exceptions gracefully, and craft custom expressions
tailored to your specific needs.
Your journey through this chapter begins with the exploration of
conditional logic, which is the art of asking questions of your data.
Functions like IF introduce decision-making abilities into your data
transformations. Whether it’s filtering data based on specific conditions
or dynamically altering calculations based on input, these functions
empower you to craft custom, context-aware data flows.
But data isn’t always pristine, and errors can creep in unexpectedly.
This is where functions like TRY, OTHERWISE, and ERROR come to the rescue.
You’ll delve into the world of error handling, learning how to gracefully
manage exceptions, replace missing values, and ensure that your data
transformations continue even in the face of unforeseen challenges.
As you venture deeper into this chapter, you’ll unveil the potential of
LET, a function that might seem modest but holds the key to streamlining
complex expressions. Learn how LET functions enhance readability and
maintainability by breaking down intricate transformations into more
digestible parts.

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Chapter 10 Other Functions

Throughout your exploration, practical examples will illustrate the

application of these advanced functions, bridging the gap between
theory and real-world data scenarios. By the time you navigate through
the intricacies of advanced functions in Power Query, you’ll emerge with
the ability to sculpt your data manipulations with a precision that goes
beyond the surface. Your newfound mastery of conditional logic, error
handling, and custom expressions will redefine the way you approach data
transformation, enabling you to create solutions that elegantly adapt to the
nuances of your data landscape.

if
The if in Power Query is very simple and is usually used within the Table.
AddColumns function. This function is generally defined as follows:

if (condition) then (result if the condition is true)

else (result if the condition is false)

For example,

=if a>2 then “Greater Than” else “Less Than”

In the above formula, the value of a is compared to the number 2. If the

value of a is greater than 2, the result of the function will be “Greater Than”
and if the number a is equal to or less than 2, the result of this formula will
be “Less Than”.

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Consider TableC, as shown in Table 10-1.

Table 10-1. TableC

Row Date Product Name Quantity

1 1/30/2023 A 17
2 1/31/2023 A 18
3 2/1/2023 C 10
4 2/1/2023 A 1
5 2/1/2023 B 6
6 2/2/2023 B 9
7 2/2/2023 A 6
8 2/3/2023 C 6
9 2/4/2023 B 10
10 2/4/2023 A 3
11 2/6/2023 C 18

The result of the following formula is equal to 11 (the number of rows)

because TableC does not include duplicate rows:

= if Table.IsDistinct(TableC) then List.Count(TableC[Row]) else

"Table is not distinct"

However, if this table (TableC) contains duplicate rows, the result of

this formula will be the text of “table is not distinct”.
In another example, if the prices of product A, B, and C are respectively
10, 13, and 7 dollars, to add the sales column as a new column in TableC,
the if function can be used inside Table.AddColumn as follows:

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= Table.AddColumn(
         TableC,
         "Sales",
         each
          (if [Product Name]="A" then 10 else if [Product
Name]="B" then 13 else 7)*[Quantity])

The result is shown in Table 10-2.

Table 10-2. Result of if Function

Row Date Product Name Quantity Sales

1 1/30/2023 A 17 170
2 1/31/2023 A 18 180
3 2/1/2023 C 10 70
4 2/1/2023 A 1 10
5 2/1/2023 B 6 78
6 2/2/2023 B 9 117
7 2/2/2023 A 6 60
8 2/3/2023 C 6 42
9 2/4/2023 B 10 130
10 2/4/2023 A 3 30
11 2/6/2023 C 18 126

Combining Conditions
To evaluate two or more conditions simultaneously, and and or can be
used. For example, to identify the rows where the quantity of product A is
greater than 10, two conditions can be defined as follows:

"Product Name" = "A" and "Quantity" > 10

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When the word and is used between two conditions, the result will be
true for the rows where the value of “A” is entered in the column of product
name and the number registered in the quantity column is greater than 10.
Therefore, the result of

= Table.AddColumn(
         TableC,
         "A and Greater than 10",
         each [Product Name]="A" and [Quantity]>10)

is equal to Table 10-3.

Table 10-3. Combinations of Conditions by and

Row Date Product Name Quantity A and Greater than 10

1 1/30/2023 A 17 TRUE
2 1/31/2023 A 18 TRUE
3 2/1/2023 C 10 FALSE
4 2/1/2023 A 1 FALSE
5 2/1/2023 B 6 FALSE
6 2/2/2023 B 9 FALSE
7 2/2/2023 A 6 FALSE
8 2/3/2023 C 6 FALSE
9 2/4/2023 B 10 FALSE
10 2/4/2023 A 3 FALSE
11 2/6/2023 C 18 FALSE

However, in the case where the word or is used between two

conditions, the result will be true for rows where at least one of the two
conditions (or both conditions) is met. In other words, for rows where the

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value “A” is recorded in the product name column or the number entered
in the quantity column is greater than 10, the formula result will be true.
Therefore, the result of

= Table.AddColumn(
         TableC,
         "A or Greater than 10",
         each [Product Name]="A" or [Quantity]>10)

is shown in Table 10-4.

Table 10-4. Combinations of Conditions by or

Row Date Product Name Quantity A or Greater than 10

1 1/30/2023 A 17 TRUE
2 1/31/2023 A 18 TRUE
3 2/1/2023 C 10 FALSE
4 2/1/2023 A 1 TRUE
5 2/1/2023 B 6 FALSE
6 2/2/2023 B 9 FALSE
7 2/2/2023 A 6 TRUE
8 2/3/2023 C 6 FALSE
9 2/4/2023 B 10 FALSE
10 2/4/2023 A 3 TRUE
11 2/6/2023 C 18 TRUE

It should be noted that in addition to the and and or functions, there

is another function called not which is used to reverse the result of a
condition. This function is always placed before the condition, and if the
condition result is true, it is converted to false and vice versa. Therefore,

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when using the not in the last example (shown below), wherever the
formula value in column A or Greater than 10 is equal to true, it is changed
to false, and wherever the function value is equal to false, it is changed to
true. See Table 10-5.

= Table.AddColumn(
         TableC,
         "A and Greater than 10",
         each not ([Product Name]="A" or [Quantity]>10))

         )

Table 10-5. Application of not in Conditions

Row Date Product Name Quantity A and Greater than 10

1 1/30/2023 A 17 FALSE
2 1/31/2023 A 18 FALSE
3 2/1/2023 C 10 TRUE
4 2/1/2023 A 1 FALSE
5 2/1/2023 B 6 TRUE
6 2/2/2023 B 9 TRUE
7 2/2/2023 A 6 FALSE
8 2/3/2023 C 6 TRUE
9 2/4/2023 B 10 TRUE
10 2/4/2023 A 3 FALSE
11 2/6/2023 C 18 FALSE

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The try Function

The try function is used to handle errors in Power Query and can be used
to prevent showing errors. For example, if the following formula is entered
in Power Query, the result will be equal to the number 2. (The data format
is converted from text to number.)

=Number.From("2")

However, using Number.From for the text “A” as follows will result in
an error:

=Number.From("A")

In this case, the calculation stops due to the error, and the result shown
in Figure 10-1 is obtained.

Figure 10-1. Error result

Therefore, to handle these conditions, the try function is used. The

result of this function is equal to a record with two fields in the form of
[HasError=False, Value=2].

=try Number.From("2")

Using this function in a case where the result of the function is an error
(as in the following example), the function result will contain a record that
specifies the cause of the error:

=try Number.From("A")

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For the above function, the result is equal to the following record:

[HasError=True, Error=
         [Reason= "DataFormat.Error",
         Message="We couldn't convert to Number.",
         Detail="A",
         Message.Format= "We couldn't convert to Number.",
         Message.Parameters= null]]

As you can see, the first field of the output specifies that the formula
result is an error, and the second field (Error) provides additional
information about the reason for the error and the message displayed to
the user.
In a more complete form of the try function, it can be used with the
otherwise operator as follows:

= try Number.From("2") otherwise " Wrong Input "

In this case, the function tries to calculate Number.From("2") and

display its result in the output. If the result of the formula Number.
From("2") is an error, the expression " Wrong Input " will be displayed
in the output. In other cases, the result of the formula will be displayed in
the output.
Therefore, the result of the following formula is equal to the number 2:

= try Number.From("2") otherwise " Wrong Input "

And the result of the following formula is equal to the expression

"Wrong Input":

= try Number.From("A") otherwise "Wrong Input"

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The let-in Command

In Power Query, the cleaning and transformation operations (such
as merging tables, deleting columns, and adding new columns) are
commonly more complex than stating one function in a single step.
To simplify the process, this function is used to divide the whole
command into several lines by defining new variables. For example, in the
following formula, this function is used to define variables A and B with
the value of 2 and 3, and finally, the variable C is defined; its value equals
A*B, and its value (6) is shown as the result of all steps.

let
    A=2,
    B=3,
    C=A*B
in
    C

As you can see, the commands start with the let expression, followed
by the variable name and its value after the equal sign. The variable name
can include spaces (e.g., A A), which should be defined in double quotes
after the # sign, as in #"A A". Each command ends with a comma (except
the last one before the in expression) and is followed by the next variable
definition. In each command, the user can refer to the variables defined
in other commands (the previous or next one). This function ends with
the keyword in and then the name of variable you want to show as the
function output is mentioned.
The following is an example of the let-in function in Power Query:

let
    Table = Table.FromColumns(
            {{1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11},

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            {44956,44957,44958,44958,44958,44959,44959,44960,
44961,44961,44963},
            {"A","A","C","A","B","B","A","C","B","A","C"},
            {17,18,10,1,6,9,6,6,10,3,18}},
            {"Row" ,"Date","Product Name","Quantity"}),
    Changed_Type_ColumnDate = Table.TransformColumnTypes
(Table,{{"Date", type date}}),
    Removed_Column_Row = Table.RemoveColumns
(Changed_Type_ColumnDate,{"Row"}),
    Added_Column_Sales = Table.AddColumn(Removed_Column_Row,
"Sale", each [Quantity]*10)
in
    Added_Column_Sales

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In this command, initially the variable named table is defined, and

the result is shown in Table 10-6.

Table 10-6. First Step: Define the Table

Row Date Product Name Quantity

1 44956 A 17
2 44957 A 18
3 44958 C 10
4 44958 A 1
5 44958 B 6
6 44959 B 9
7 44959 A 6
8 44960 C 6
9 44961 B 10
10 44961 A 3
11 44963 C 18

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In the next step, which is named Changed_Type_ColumnDate,

the format of the Date column is changed to date by using Table.
TransformColumnTypes. The result of this step is shown in Table 10-7.

Table 10-7. Second Step: Change the Data Type

Row Date Product Name Quantity

1 1/30/2023 A 17
2 1/31/2023 A 18
3 2/1/2023 C 10
4 2/1/2023 A 1
5 2/1/2023 B 6
6 2/2/2023 B 9
7 2/2/2023 A 6
8 2/3/2023 C 6
9 2/4/2023 B 10
10 2/4/2023 A 3
11 2/6/2023 C 18

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In the next step, which is titled Removed_Column_Row, the column with

the name of Row is removed from the previous table using the Remove.
TableColumns function. The result is shown in Table 10-8.

Table 10-8. Third Step: Remove the

Row Column
Date Product Name Quantity

1/30/2023 A 17
1/31/2023 A 18
2/1/2023 C 10
2/1/2023 A 1
2/1/2023 B 6
2/2/2023 B 9
2/2/2023 A 6
2/3/2023 C 6
2/4/2023 B 10
2/4/2023 A 3
2/6/2023 C 18

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Finally, in the last step, named Added_Column_Sales, a new column

named Sales is added to the previous table. See Table 10-9.

Table 10-9. Fourth Step: Add a New Column

Date Product Name Quantity Sales

1/30/2023 A 17 170
1/31/2023 A 18 180
2/1/2023 C 10 100
2/1/2023 A 1 10
2/1/2023 B 6 60
2/2/2023 B 9 90
2/2/2023 A 6 60
2/3/2023 C 6 60
2/4/2023 B 10 100
2/4/2023 A 3 30
2/6/2023 C 18 180

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So, by using let-in, several actions have been done on a table in

different steps.
It should be noted that instead of the let-in command, records can
also be used to divide calculations into multiple steps. For example, [A=2,
B=3, C=A*B][C] can be used to calculate the C in three steps.
The following points should be considered in the use of Power Query
commands:

1. Case sensitivity: As well as function names, the

names of variables are also case-sensitive.

2. Variable addressing: The order of defining

variables in the let-in command is not important,
and you can reference previous or next variables in
the formula for each variable (since causing a loop).

3. Unique variable names: In the let-in command,

the name of variables should be unique.

4. Commenting: To enter a comment at the end of

a command, it can be entered after the // sign. To
enter the comment in multiple lines, it should be
put between the /* and */ signs. The comments are
only visible in the Power Query editor and will not
be displayed in the formula bar.

5. Writing code in multiple lines: Each command line

in the M language should end with a semicolon. So,
a long command can easily be entered in multiple
lines, starting with the variable name and ending
with a semicolon.

6. Sensitivity to value format: As mentioned, the type

of variable is very important in the M language,
and each function can be applied to a specific type
of value.

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Defining a New Function

In addition to the functions taught in this book, it is possible to define a
new function in Power Query. To create a function in Power Query, first the
variable names are listed in parentheses, followed by the symbol =>, as the
function symbol. Then the desired formula is entered. The following is an
example of a simple function that can add 1 to numerical values:

(X) => X+1

In the above formula, parameter x is the input of defined function and

its output is equal to X+1.
In another example, the following function receives two parameters, X
and Y, as input and displays their product in the output:

(X,Y)=> X*Y

Since the required functions in practical examples are usually more

complex than the previous example and need to be write in multiple lines,
you can usually use the let command to divide the function calculation
section into several lines, as in the following formula:

(x)=>
    let
        a=x+1,
        b=a*x,
        c= if b > 10 then b*2 else b-2
    in
    c

In this function, variable x is the input and the output is calculated in

three stages. In the first stage, the value of x is added to the number 1. In
the second stage, the number x is multiplied by the value obtained from
the previous stage (a). Finally, based on the value obtained in the previous

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Chapter 10 Other Functions

stage, if the result is greater than 10, it is multiplied by 2 and displayed in

the output, and if the result is smaller than 10, the obtained number is
subtracted by 2 and displayed in the output.
Based on the function explanation, let’s discuss a few examples of
creating a new function in Excel. See Figure 10-2.

Figure 10-2. Tax evaluation

• Tax calculation function:

In this example, we want to create a new function in
Power Query that takes a number as the input and
calculates the amount of tax based on its value. If
the number is less than 100, the tax rate is 0%, and if
the number is greater than 100, the tax rate is 10%.
So the new function can be defined as follows:
(x) => if x<100 then 0 else 0.1*x
• Sum of numbers between a and b:
Say you want to define a new function that takes two
numbers, a, and b, as the input and displays the sum
of integer numbers between a and b in the output.
To solve this problem, you need to create all the
integers between a and b and then add them up. To
do this, you can use the following formula to create
a new function:

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 Chapter 10 Other Functions

(a,b) => List.Sum({a..b})

In this case, if the numbers 1 and 5 are entered

instead of a and b, the result of the function is 15.
However, if the number 1.1 is entered instead of 1 in
parameter a, the result is an error. Let’s change the
above formula to the following formula:

(a,b) => ­List.Sum({Number.RoundUp(a)..Number.

RoundDown(b)})

In this case, both parameter a and parameter b are

first converted to integers and then are used in the
calculations.

In the above definition, the format of the functions’

inputs and output are not specified, so the user can
enter any value. The formula result will be an error if
text values are entered. See Figure 10-3.

Figure 10-3. Function inputs

However, if you want to define the format of the

function’s inputs and output, you can specify them,
as follows:

377
Chapter 10 Other Functions

(an as number,b as number) as number =>

List.Sum({Number.RoundUp(a)..Number.
RoundDown(b)})

As you can see in Figure 10-4, here the types of

function inputs and outputs are specified.

Figure 10-4. Function inputs with specific format

• Sum of numbers between b and a with optional input:

Similar to the previous example, here you want to

define a function that receives two inputs, b and a
(where b is greater than a), and displays the sum
of all numbers between a and b in the output. The
difference is that in this function, parameter a is
optional, and if no value is entered instead of this
parameter, the number 1 is considered.

To do this, you can define the optional input in a

new function as “optional x”, so the new function is
defined as follows:

(b as number, optional a as number) as number =>

List.Sum({Number.RoundUp(if a=null then 1 else
a)..Number.RoundDown(b)})

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 Chapter 10 Other Functions

In this case, since parameter a is defined as

optional, parameter b will be mandatory, and the
user will be faced with the form in Figure 10-5 when
entering data.

Figure 10-5. Definition of optional input

• Nth number in a Fibonacci sequence:

In this example, you want to write a function that

takes an integer (n) as the input and displays the
nth number from the Fibonacci sequence in the
output. (The Fibonacci sequence is {1,1,2,3,5,8,13,
...} and each number is obtained by adding the two
previous numbers.) To solve this problem, you need
to be familiar with recursive functions. Recursive
functions are functions in which the function
name is used again in the formula based on the
conditions.

Before solving this problem, let’s assume that you

name the fifth number from the Fibonacci sequence
as a5 and want to calculate it. To do this, according
to the general formula of the Fibonacci function, the
value of a5 is calculated as follows:

a5 = a4 + a3

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Chapter 10 Other Functions

Therefore, to calculate the value of a5 in the

Fibonacci sequence, you need to use the definition
of the Fibonacci sequence again and calculate
the values of a4 and a3, which are equal to the
following values:

a4 = a3 + a2

a3 = a2 + a1

To calculate each of the above values, you need to

use the definition of the Fibonacci sequence again
and calculate the lower values, and this process
continues until you reach the two values a1 and a0.
Therefore, the Fibonacci calculation formula needs
to be defined recursively.

To do this, first change the query name to fibo and

use the following to obtain the nth value in the
Fibonacci sequence:

(n) => if n<=1 then 1 else fibo(n-1)+fibo(n-2)

Using Defined Function in Other Queries

After creating a new function in Power Query, the query name can be
changed from the query settings (right window). After defining the desired
name for the function, like other functions, the new function can be used
in advanced calculations of other queries in the same power query file. See
Figure 10-6.

380
 Chapter 10 Other Functions

Figure 10-6. Changing a function’s name

381
Index
A, B number format, 33, 34
record format, 35, 36
Binary values, 30, 350, 353
text, 79–81
text format, 34, 35
C Data sources
Columns names, 349 Csv.Document, 349–353
Table.ColumnNames, 246 Excel.CurrentWorkbook, 357
Table.ColumnsOfType, 250, 251 Excel.Workbook, 353–355
Table.DemoteHeaders, 246, 247 Folder.Contents, 348, 349
Table.HasColumns, 249–251 functions, 347
Table.PrefixColumns, 251, 252 Pdf.Tables, 355, 356
Table.PromoteHeaders, 247–249 Power Query, 347
Table.RenameColumns, Sql.Database, 356, 357
252, 253 Data types, 46, 99, 157, 159,
Combinations of 179, 345
conditions, 363–367 binary value, 30
Combining tables function, 31
Table.Combine, 303–308 initial characters, 23
Table.Join, 308–316 list, 30
Table.NestedJoin, 317–320 logical values, 25
Constant values, 37, 38 null value, 25
Csv.Document, 349–353 numbers, 26, 27
in Power Query, 24, 25
record, 31
D samples, 24
Data conversion table, 31
data formats, 32 text, 30
date and time format, 35 time and date, 27–30

© Omid Motamedisedeh 2024 383

O. Motamedisedeh, The Ultimate Guide to Functions in Power Query,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-9754-4
INDEX

Date and time functions E

date specifications, 94–99
Excel.CurrentWorkbook
information lists, 84–87
function, 357
Power Query, 83
Excel.Workbook function, 353–355
record conversion, 93
Extract, clean, and load (ETL), 2
shifting dates, 90–93
temporal data manipulation, 83
value addition, 89, 90 F, G, H
Date.Day, 94 Fibonacci function, 379
Date.DayOfWeek, 94, 95 Folder.Contents, 348, 349
Date.DayOfWeekName, 95 Function inputs, 378
Date.DayOfYear, 97, 98
Date information functions, 85–88
Date.IsInCurrentMonth, 84 I, J, K
Date.Month, 96, 97 if functions
Date.MonthName, 97 combining conditions, 362–366
Date specifications Power Query, 360
Date.Day, 94 results, 362
Date.DayOfWeek, 94, 95 TableC, 361
Date.DayOfWeekName, 95 Information functions, 38, 39
Date.DayOfYear, 97, 98 date, 85–88
Date.Month, 96, 97 groups, 87
Date.MonthName, 97 lists, 139–144
Date.WeekOfMonth, 95, 96
Date.WeekOfYear, 96
Date.Year, 98 L
DateTime Information, 87–89 LET functions, 359
DateTime.LocalNow(), 84 Let-in command, 368–375
Date.WeekOfMonth, 95, 96 List.AllTrue, 144
Date.WeekOfYear, 96 List.Alternate, 129–131
Date.Year, 98 List.AnyTrue, 144
Decision-making List.Combine, 131
abilities, 359 List.Contains, 141, 142
Defined function, 380 List.ContainsAll, 142, 143

384
 INDEX

List.ContainsAny, 143, 144 List.IsEmpty, 140

List.Dates, 109, 110 List.Dates, 109, 110
List.DateTimes, 110, 111 List.DateTimes, 110, 111
List.Difference, 135, 136 List.Generate, 104–108
List.Distinct, 125, 126 List.Numbers, 103, 104
List.FindText, 123, 124 List.Random, 111, 112
List.First, 115, 116 List.Repeat, 155, 156
List.FirstN, 116–118 List.Single, 154
List functions List.SingleOrDefault, 154, 155
characters, 101 List.Split, 156, 157
data manipulation, 100 List.Times, 108
data structures, 99 mathematical
definitions, 102 calculations, 136–139
extracting values merging
List.FindText, 123, 124 List.Combine, 131
List.First and List.Last, List.Difference, 135, 136
115, 116 List.InsertRange, 132, 133
List.FirstN and List. List.Intersect, 134, 135
LastN, 116–118 List.Union, 133, 134
List.Max and List.Min, List.Zip, 133
119, 120 numbers, 100, 101
List.MaxN and List. positions, 144–148
MinN, 120–122 removing values
List.Range, 118, 119 List.Alternate, 129–131
List.Select, 122, 123 List.Distinct, 125, 126
information List.RemoveFirsN, 126
check equality, 139 List.RemoveItems, 128, 129
formula, 139 List.RemoveLastN, 126–128
List.AllTrue, 144 List.RemoveNull, 124, 125
List.AnyTrue, 144 List.RemoveRange, 127–129
List.Contains, 141, 142 List.Skip, 129
List.ContainsAll, 142, 143 sorting values
List.ContainsAny, 143, 144 List.Reverse, 112, 113
List.IsDistinct, 140, 141 List.Sort, 113–115

385
INDEX

List.Generate, 104–108 List.TransformMany, 153, 154

List.InsertRange, 132, 133 List.Union, 133, 134
List.Intersect, 134, 135 List.Zip, 133
List.IsDistinct, 140, 141 Logical values, 25
List.IsEmpty, 140
List.Last, 115, 116
List.LastN, 116–118 M
List.Max, 119, 120 Mathematical operations, 43–45,
List.MaxN, 120–122 136, 161
List.Min, 119, 120 M Code, 16–20
List.MinN, 120–122 Merging table, 303
List.Numbers, 103, 104 M language, 18, 21
List.PositionOf, 145–147
List.PositionOfAny, 147, 148
List.Positions, 145 N, O
List.Random, 111, 112 New function in Power Query,
List.Range, 118, 119 375, 376
List.RemoveFirsN, 126 Null values, 25, 120, 121, 124, 137,
List.RemoveItems, 128, 129 170, 197
List.RemoveLastN, 126–128 Number functions
List.RemoveNull, 124, 125 constant values, 37, 38
List.RemoveRange, 127–129 information functions, 38, 39
List.Repeat, 155, 156 mathematical operations, 43–45
List.ReplaceMatching random generation, 45
Items, 150–152 rounding operation, 39–43
List.ReplaceValue, 148, 149 trigonometric functions, 45
List.Reverse, 112, 113 Number.Round, 40
List.Select, 122, 123
List.Single, 154
List.SingleOrDefault, 154, 155 P, Q
List.Skip, 129 Pdf.Tables, 355, 356
List.Sort, 113–115 Positions in list
List.Split, 156, 157 List.PositionOf, 145–147
List.Times, 108 List.PositionOfAny, 147, 148

386
 INDEX

List.Positions, 145 M code, 16–20

replacing and Microsoft Excel, 1
transforming values Number.Round, 40
List.ReplaceMatching numbers, 45
Items, 150–152 operators, 161
List.ReplaceRange, 151, 152 Power BI, 3, 13–16
List.ReplaceValue, 148, 149 Product ID Column, 9
List.Transform, 152, 153 random numbers, 45
List.TransformMany, record functions, 159
153, 154 significance, 1
Power BI table functions, 179
data cleaning, 15 tasks, 2
Home tab, 13 text functions, 47
interface, 15, 16 type conversion, 32–36
Transform Data, 14
Power Query, 47, 81, 89, 97
call tables, 180 R
cleaning process, 6 Random generation, 45
commands, 374, 375 Record.AddField, 167
constant values, 37, 38 Record.Combine, 168
CSV file, 350 Record conversion, 93
custom mode, 10 Record.FromList, 175, 176
data collections, 99 Record.FromTable, 176
data sources, 2 Record.ToTable, 177
data tab, 4 Record.Field, 164, 165
data types, 23–31 Record.FieldCount, 162
in Excel, 4–13 Record.FieldNames, 163
in Excel 365, 3 Record.FieldOrDefault, 165
in Excel 2010, 3 Record.FieldValues, 163
in Excel 2013, 3 Record.FromList, 175, 176
Excel commands, 3 Record.FromTable, 176
functions, 175, 189 Record.HasFields, 166, 167
inputs, 94 Record.RemoveFields, 170, 171
list (see List functions) Record.RenameFields, 172–174

387
INDEX

Record.ReorderFields, 173, 174 Table.RemoveRowsWithErrors,

Records 224, 225
correction Table.Skip, 219–221
Record.AddField, 167 Rows selection
Record.Combine, 168 definition, 200, 201
Record.RemoveFields, Table.First and Table.Last,
170, 171 201, 202
Record. Table.FirstN and Table.
RenameFields, 172–174 LastN, 202–204
Record.ReorderFields, Table.FirstValue, 201
173, 174 Table.Max and Table.
Record.SelectFields, 168–170 Min, 204–206
Record.TransformFields, 174 Table.MaxN and Table.
definition, 159–162 MinN, 206–208
Record.Field, 164, 165 Table.Range, 208, 209
Record.FieldCount, 162 Table.SelectRows, 209–212
Record.FieldNames, 163 Table.SelectRows
Record.FieldOrDefault, 165 WithErrors, 212–214
Record.FieldValues, 163
Record.HasFields, 166, 167
Record.ToList, 164 S
Record.SelectFields, 168–170 Sql.Database, 356, 357
Record.ToList, 164
Record.ToTable, 177
Record.TransformFields, 174 T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z
Rounding operation, 39–43 Table.AddColumn, 274–277,
Rows deletion 361, 362
Table.AlternateRows, 222–224 Table.AddIndex
Table.Distinct, 217–219 Column, 271–274
Table.RemoveFirstN and Table. Table.AddRankColumn,
RemoveLastN, 214–227 277–281
Table.RemoveMatching Table.AggregateTable
Rows, 225–227 Column, 329, 330
Table.RemoveRows, 221, 222 Table.AlternateRows, 222–224

388
 INDEX

Table.Column, 193, 194 Table.FirstN, 202–204

Table.ColumnNames, 246 Table.FirstValue, 201
Table.ColumnsOf Table.FromColumns, 180–182
Type, 250, 251 Table.FromRecords, 185–187
Table.CombineColumns, Table.FromRows, 182–185
285–288 Table.FromValue, 187–189
Table.CombineColumns Table.Group, 297–301
ToRecord, 288, 289 Table.HasColumns, 249–251
Table.Contains, 242–244 Table.InsertRows, 228, 229
Table.ContainsAll, 244, 245 Table.IsDistinct, 238, 239
Table.ContainsAny, 244, 245 Table.Join, 308–316
Table conversion Table.Last, 201, 202
definition, 189 Table.LastN, 202–204
Table.Column, 193, 194 Table.MatchesAllRows, 239–241
Table.Split, 195, 196 Table.MatchesAnyRows, 241, 242
Table.SplitAt, 196 Table.Max, 204–206
Table.ToColumns, 190, 191 Table.MaxN, 206–208
Table.ToList, 192, 193 Table.Min, 204–206
Table.ToRecords, 190 Table.MinN, 206–208
Table.ToRows, 191 Table.NestedJoin, 317–320
Table.Transform Table.Pivot, 291–294
Rows, 194, 195 Table.PositionOf, 341–344
Table.DemoteHeaders, 246, 247 Table.PositionOfAny, 344, 345
Table.Distinct, 217–219 Table.PrefixColumns, 251, 252
Table.DuplicateColumn, 263–265 Table.PromoteHeaders, 247–249
Table.ExpandListColumn, 320–322 Table.RemoveColumns, 256–259
Table.ExpandRecord Table.RemoveFirstN, 214–227
Column, 322–326 Table.RemoveLastN, 214–227
Table.ExpandTable Table.Remove
Column, 326–329 MatchingRows, 225–227
Table.FillDown, 331–334 Table.RemoveRows, 221, 222
Table.FillUp, 331–334 Table.RemoveRowsWith
Table.FindText, 340, 341 Errors, 224, 225
Table.First, 201, 202 Table.RenameColumns, 252, 253

389
INDEX

Table.ReorderColumns, 290–292 Table.Transform

Table.ReplaceErrorValues, 334–337 ColumnTypes, 265–267
Table.ReplaceMatching Table.Transpose, 301–303
Rows, 231, 232 Table.Unpivot, 294–297
Table.ReplaceRows, 230–232 column values replacing
Table.ReverseRows, 234, 235 Table.FillDown and
Tables Table.FillUp, 331–334
canvases, 179 Table.ReplaceError
column names Values, 334–337
(see Column names) combining
columns modification (see Combining tables)
Table.AddColumn, 274–277 condition
Table.AddIndex Table.Contains, 242–244
Column, 271–274 Table.ContainsAll, 244, 245
Table.AddRank Table.ContainsAny, 244, 245
Column, 277–281 Table.IsDistinct, 238, 239
Table.Combine Table.Matches
Columns, 285–288 AllRows, 239–241
Table.CombineColumns Table.MatchesAnyRows,
ToRecord, 288, 289 241, 242
Table.Duplicate Table.SingleRow, 245
Column, 263–265 conversion, 189–196
Table.Group, 297–301 creation
Table.Pivot, 291–294 Table.FromColumns, 180–182
Table.Remove Table.FromRecords, 185–187
Columns, 256–259 Table.FromRows, 182–185
Table.Reorder Table.FromValue, 187–189
Columns, 290–292 expanding columns
Table.Select Table.Aggregate
Columns, 259–263 TableColumn, 329, 330
Table.Split Table.ExpandList
Column, 281–285 Column, 320–322
Table.Transform Table.ExpandRecord
Columns, 267–271 Column, 322–326

390
 INDEX

Table.ExpandTable Table.ToRows, 191

Column, 326–329 Table.TransformColumns, 267–271
information, 197–201 Table.TransformColumn
insertion and replacement Types, 265–267
Table.Insert Table.TransformRows, 194, 195
Rows, 228, 229 Table.Transpose, 301–303
Table.Repeat, 232–234 Table.Unpivot, 294–297
Table.Replace Tax calculation function, 376
MatchingRows, 231, 232 Text.AfterDelimiter, 52–54
Table.Replace Text.At, 48, 49
Rows, 230–232 Text.BeforeDelimiter, 55–58
rows (see Rows selection) Text.BetweenDelimiters, 57–59
rows deletion, 214–227 Text.Combine, 69, 70
rows order Text.Contains, 75, 76
Table.Reverse Text conversion, 79–81
Rows, 234, 235 Text correction functions, 70–72
Table.Sort, 235–238 Text.End, 50, 51
Table.FindText, 340, 341 Text.EndsWith, 74, 75
Table.PositionOf, 341–344 Text format, 30, 49, 80,
Table.PositionOfAny, 344, 345 164, 166, 167, 205,
transformation, 179 251, 283, 292
Table.SelectColumns, 259–263 Text functions
Table.SelectRows, 209–212 categorized, 47, 48
Table.SelectRows characters searching
WithErrors, 212–214 Text.Contains, 75, 76
Table.SingleRow, 245 Text.EndsWith, 74, 75
Table.Skip, 219–221 Text.PositionOf, 76–78
Table.Sort, 235–238 Text.PositionOfAny, 78, 79
Table.Split, 195, 196 Text.StartsWith, 72–74
Table.SplitAt, 196 correction, 70–72
Table.SplitColumn, 281–285 extracting part
Table.ToColumns, 190, 191 Text.AfterDelimiter, 52–54
Table.ToList, 192, 193 Text.At, 48
Table.ToRecords, 190 Text.BeforeDelimiter, 55–58

391
INDEX

Text functions (cont.) Text.Remove, 61, 62

Text.Between Text.RemoveRange, 62, 63
Delimiters, 57–59 Text.Repeat
Text.End, 50, 51 function, 69
Text.Range, 51, 52 Text.Replace, 66, 67
Text.Select, 59, 60 Text.ReplaceRange, 67
Text.Split, 60, 61 Text.Select, 59, 60
Text.Start, 49, 50 Text.Split, 60, 61
Power Query, 47 Text.Start, 49, 50
removing, replacing, and Text.StartsWith, 72–74
combining texts, 61–70 Trigonometry, 45
Text.Insert, 68–70 try function
Text.PadEnd, 63–65 calculation, 366
Text.PadStart, 65, 66 error cause, 366, 367
Text.PositionOf, 76–78 errors in Power Query, 366
Text.PositionOfAny, 78, 79 let-in command, 368–375
Text.Range, 51, 52 otherwise operator, 367

392