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Short Summary
Main recommendation: Download and install the Microsoft Power Query for Excel add-in, then enable it as a COM add-in so it appears on the Excel ribbon for importing and transforming raw data. The presenter says the add-in is not installed automatically with Excel, but the process is quick and needed for later statistical analysis lessons in this course.
Key Points
- Power Query is not included automatically in Excel and must be downloaded separately, which the presenter demonstrates by searching "download Power Query" in Google and following the link.
- The presenter frames Power Query as essential for a statistical analysis class because the work begins with raw data, which Power Query helps import and transform.
- Before downloading, you must know whether your computer is 32-bit or 64-bit, since the correct installer depends on it.
- After installation, the add-in must be enabled through Excel's COM Add-ins menu; it does not appear simply because the installer finished.
- The presenter notes the lab computers at Highline College do not yet have it installed, but says they will have it eventually.
Details Worth Noting
- Concrete instructions:
- Search Google for "download Power Query" and open the official download link.
- Determine whether your system is 32-bit or 64-bit: press the Windows key plus Pause/Break to open the System information in the Control Panel.
- Select the installer matching your system type, save it to the Desktop, then open it and click Run.
- Close Microsoft Excel before installing, then click Finish to complete the installation.
- Reopen Excel, go to File, then Options, then Add-Ins.
- In the "Manage" dropdown at the bottom, select COM Add-ins (not Excel Add-ins), click Go, check "Microsoft Power Query for Excel," and click OK.
- Verify that the Power Query tab now appears on the ribbon.
- The presenter's Excel ribbon includes Home, Insert, Page Layout, Formulas, Data, Data Analysis (added in the previous video), Review, View, and Power Query; Developer, Inquire, and Power Pivot are extra tabs on their setup and not required.
- The presenter's computer is 64-bit, which is shown as the example system type; viewers may have 32-bit.
- The Data Analysis Tool, installed in the previous video, uses a similar Add-Ins path, but Power Query requires the COM Add-ins option instead.
Bottom Line
Power Query must be downloaded, installed, and then enabled through COM Add-ins before it appears in Excel, and it is the tool to use for importing raw data in this course.
