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excelisfun - Excel Power Query #04: Import Multiple CSV Files In 1 Step & Retrieve New Files Automatically

Thumbnail of the video “excelisfun - Excel Power Query #04: Import Multiple CSV Files In 1 Step & Retrieve New Files Automatically”
Community upload. AI output has not been independently verified.
Author: excelisfun
Categories: Science Technology
Tags: science, technology, 04
Views: 2 · Last viewed: 2026-10-16 00:53 UTC

Short Summary

Main recommendation: Use Power Query's "From File, From Folder" import to point to a folder of CSV files, combine them into a single table in one step, and then refresh the query and pivot table whenever new files are added. The video demonstrates that the saved query steps automatically pick up new CSV files on refresh, so the pivot table updates without rebuilding the data source.

Key Points

  • Power Query is a free download for Excel 2010 or 2013, and he tells viewers to search Google for "download Power Query."
  • Importing from a folder combines every CSV in it into one table, with the file contents placed in a single Content column that is then expanded.
  • Expanding the table can make field names from the first file appear as data rows in the others, so the query is filtered to remove those header rows.
  • The query is loaded to a worksheet as a table (not the Data Model), and a pivot table, with a City slicer, is built from it.
  • After new files are pasted into the folder, refreshing the query and then the pivot table updates the totals; the video's sample grows from about 664,000 rows to about 800,000.

Details Worth Noting

  • Concrete instructions:
    • Open Power Query, choose From File, then From Folder, click Browse, select the folder containing the CSV files, and click OK twice.
    • In the Query Editor, rename the query (the video uses "All City Data").
    • Right-click the Content column and choose Remove Other Columns, since the other metadata columns are not needed.
    • Click the double downward-pointing arrow on the Content header to expand the table.
    • Click the City column, check Data Type for each column (dates and sales should be number or date types, and the video changes a non-numeric field such as City to Text), and fix any misread types.
    • Use the City column's filter drop-down, click "Load more" if the list is incomplete, and deselect the field-name value (City) so header-text rows from the other files are removed.
    • Click Home, then Close & Load To, choose Table, New Worksheet, and uncheck "Add this data to the Data Model" unless you are using Excel 2013 and want the Data Model.
    • Insert a pivot table (Alt, N, V), place Store ID in Rows and Sales in Values, format Sales as Currency with no decimals, set the report layout to Outline, and add a slicer for City.
    • After pasting new CSV files into the source folder, refresh the query (Data, Refresh All, Ctrl+Alt+F5), then right-click the pivot table and choose Refresh.
  • The video notes that the saved steps in the Applied Steps list, viewable through View, Advanced Editor, are what allow the query to repeat the process on refresh.
  • He states the keyboard shortcut for Refresh All is Alt, Ctrl, F5 (Ctrl+Alt+F5), and uses it in the final demo.
  • Expanding columns from multiple files may reveal mismatched field names, so check the headers in each file before relying on the combined table.
  • The example uses three starting CSV files and two added later, growing the table from about 664,000 rows to about 800,000.

Bottom Line

Once a folder-based Power Query is set up and its steps are saved, dropping new CSV files into that folder and refreshing the query and pivot table is enough to update the analysis without rebuilding it.