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excelisfun - Excel 2013 Power Query #01: Append 3 Tables Into One in PowerPivot or Excel Table

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Author: excelisfun
Categories: Technology Business Science
Tags: technology, business, science, 01
Views: 4 · Last viewed: 2026-10-16 00:54 UTC

Short Summary

Main recommendation: Use Power Query's Append Queries feature to stack three separate sales tables (from an Access database, an Excel file, and a text file) into one combined table, then load it into the Excel Data Model for Power Pivot. The video shows this as a basic example of Power Query for appending data, with more advanced transformations saved for a later video.

Key Points

  • The three source tables that are appended together are: (1) Oakland sales from an Access database, (2) Tacoma sales from an Excel file, and (3) Seattle sales from a text file.
  • Power Query is an add-in available in Excel 2010 and 2013, and in 2013 it can load data directly into the Data Model.
  • Each source is first imported as a connection-only query, so the three tables can then be combined with Append.
  • The final combined table contains 5,291 records and is loaded to the Data Model, where it can be viewed in Power Pivot.

Details Worth Noting

  • Concrete instructions:
    1. Go to the Data tab's Get External Data area (Power Query ribbon) and import the Oakland sales Access table; in the Navigator, select the table and choose Edit.
    2. Remove the extra unique identifier column that is not needed, and set the date-time column's data type under Transformation.
    3. Choose Close & Load To, select "Only Create Connection," and click Load.
    4. Repeat for the Tacoma sales Excel file (From File, Excel), renaming the query to "Tacoma sales," then Close & Load To, "Only Create Connection," Load.
    5. Import the Seattle sales text file (From File, Text), rename the query to "Seattle sales," then Close & Load To, "Only Create Connection," Load.
    6. In Power Query, use Append Queries: start with Oakland sales as the primary table, add Tacoma sales as the second table, then Append Queries again to add Seattle sales.
    7. Rename the appended query (the video uses "All Tables with Sales"), then choose Close & Load To and decide between loading as an Excel table or as a connection added to the Data Model. For Power Pivot, select Only Create Connection/Data Model and click Load.
    8. Open Power Pivot (Manage) to view the merged table.
  • The video notes that the three tables share the same three columns, which is what allows them to be stacked.
  • The next video in the series covers transforming data from multiple tables while loading it into the Data Model and building reports.

Bottom Line

Power Query's Append feature is a quick way to consolidate similar tables from different file types into one dataset ready for Power Pivot analysis.