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Power Query: Setting an Example

27 September 2017

Welcome to our Power Query blog. This week, I look at what I can do with the ‘Column from Examples’ feature.

The new feature ‘Column from Examples’ essentially pulls together a number of Power Query functions into one place, so it’s very user friendly. It’s ideal if I have an idea of what I want to do in my new column, but I’d like to try a few things.

In the Query Editor, the ‘Column from Examples’ can be found in the ‘Add Column’ tab:

I have the option of ‘From All Columns’, which allows me to create my column by using data from any of my columns or I can use ‘From Selection’, which will only allow my new column to transform data from the columns that I have selected. I want to have a look at what I can do with this feature, so I opt for ‘From All Columns’:

I am presented with a new empty column, which I can type into.  I try combining columns of different types to see what happens.  I type the following: 

195 8x3 metre marquee

This effectively combines my Amount (a currency amount) with my Description (a text field).  The instruction in the pane above my query tells me to type CTRL + ENTER to enter my value, but I find that ENTER works too. 

Not only has Power Query recognised what I am trying to do, it has filled in the rest of the values in my column so that I can check.  It’s like Flash Fill (Excel 2013 onwards) but with formulae!  The new column has now been given the name Merged, and the M code behind the transformation is displayed in the pane above my query. 

Text.Combine({Text.From[Amount] “en-GB”), “ “, [Description]})

This is a satisfying result. I can choose to accept the values and move on or I can go back and type something else into the first row of my column.

Power Query tries to make sense of what I am entering as soon as I start typing. ‘20’ is likely to be a date, so various date functions are suggested. I find that I am able to type data in up to three rows before Power Query either follows the pattern of what I am doing or issues a message telling me that the transformation is not recognised (and to start again).

The transformations available are listed on the Microsoft help pages for the ‘Column from Examples’ description:

Number transformations

  • Average
  • Count distinct values
  • Count values
  • Minimum
  • Maximum
  • Median
  • Percent of
  • Power

Text transformations

  • Text.Combine (supports combination of literal strings and entire column values)
  • Text.Replace
  • Text.Start
  • Text.Middle
  • Text.End
  • Text.BeforeDelimiter
  • Text.AfterDelimiter
  • Text.BetweenDelimiters

Date transformations

  • Date.Day
  • Date.DayOfWeek
  • Date.DayOfWeekName
  • Date.DayOfYear
  • Date.Month
  • Date.MonthName
  • Date.QuarterOfYear
  • Date.WeekOfMonth
  • Date.WeekOfYear
  • Date.Year
  • Date > Age
  • Date > Year > Start of Year
  • Date > Year > End of Year
  • Date > Month > Start of Month
  • Date > Month > End of Month
  • Date > Quarter > Start of Quarter
  • Date > Month > Days in Month
  • Date > Quarter > End of Quarter
  • Date > Week > Start of Week
  • Date > Week > End of Week
  • Date > Day > Day of Month
  • Date > Day > Start of Day
  • Date > Day > End of Day

Time transformations

  • Time.Hour
  • Time.Minute
  • Time.Second

Date/Time transformations

  • Subtract days
  • Combine Date and Time
  • Earliest
  • Latest
  • Subtract time

This is a substantial list for now, but I will be hoping for more transformations to be added soon!

Back in my query, I decide to go ahead and create a Merge column which combines my Amount and my Description columns. I click ‘OK’ in the pane above my query, and my new column appears in the query. The transformation step is added as ‘Inserted Merged Column’:

I think one of the main benefits of this feature is that it allows access to a lot of M code functions without me needing to understand M code or needing to know where all the separate functions are on the Ribbon.  I look forward to seeing more functions added to this facility in due course.

Want to read more about Power Query? A complete list of all our Power Query blogs can be found here.  Come back next time for more ways to use Power Query!

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