Introduction to Power Query

Learning Objectives

• To explain how to use Power Query to extract text from cells based on non-breaking spaces.
• To identify the location of the Power Query commands within Microsoft Excel.
• To discuss how to unpivot a report into an analysis-ready format.
• To explain which menu the Append Query command appears on within Power Query.
• To analyze which command enables you to send data from the Power Query editor to a pivottable.
• To discuss which Power Query Editor command enables you to import data.

Course Description

Tired of Wrestling with Messy Data in Excel? Master Power Query for Effortless Data Wrangling. Power Query is a function that comes pre-installed in Excel 2016 and beyond and that Excel 2010 and 2013 users can add for free.

Excel's built-in Power Query tool makes it easy to extract, combine, and transform data for analysis. In this comprehensive webinar, Excel expert David H. Ringstrom guides you through beginner and advanced Power Query techniques so you can stop wasting time fighting messy data.

This online course will help you get started with this feature that enables you to create set-and-forget data extractions and reports. It leads off with creating a list of worksheets in any Excel workbook. You'll then see how to extract text from cells that even worksheet functions can't handle. You'll see how Power Query can wrestle even the most convoluted accounting report exports into an analysis-ready format. You'll also see how to unpivot any report that has separate columns by account, class, or other measures into a list that is far better suited to data analysis.

After that, David will take you deeper into the possibilities of Power Query. He will help you to extract data from text files and then present the results in a PivotTable format. You'll also see how to relate multiple data sources together by merging files and lists. If time allows additional topics include linking to profit and loss reports and separating SEDOLS from amidst a column of text. 

Major topics covered in this CPE course on Excel:

• Appending data from two or more worksheets into a self-updating consolidated list with Power Query.
• Consolidating financial statement exports from two or more entities by appending queries within Power Query.
• Creating a self-updating list of worksheets in any workbook with Power Query.
• Creating self-updating financial spreadsheets by using Power Query in Excel 2010 and later to pull data via automated queries that also overcome common issues in exported reports.
• Extracting data from PDF files with Power Query in Microsoft 365.
• Extracting text from the middle of a cell that has non-breaking spaces around it by way of Power Query (non-breaking spaces often appear in reports copied or generated from web pages).
• Importing and cleaning up text files with Power Query in anticipation of data analysis.
• Managing data security prompts that may appear when you link external data into Excel spreadsheets.
• Filtering a cleaned-up accounts receivable aging report to display only overdue amounts
• Understanding how you can work backward through applied steps in Power Query to visually step through data transformations
• Creating a self-updating list of worksheets in any workbook with Power Query
• Navigating purposefully through worksheets by way of clickable hyperlinks
• Using Power Query to clean up accounting reports to remove pitfalls like blank rows, merged cells, missing data, and more
• Managing data security prompts that may appear when you link external data into Excel spreadsheets
• Introducing the Power Query feature in Excel
• Appending data from two or more worksheets into a self-updating consolidated list with Power Query
• Configuring Power Query queries to update automatically in the most efficient manner possible
• Transforming reports that are dozens or more columns wide into filterable rows by way of the Unpivot command in Power Query
• Extracting data from PDF files with Power Query in Microsoft 365
• Extracting text from the middle of a cell that has non-breaking spaces around it by way of Power Query (non-breaking spaces often appear in reports copied or generated from web pages) 

David demonstrates every technique at least twice: first, on a PowerPoint slide with numbered steps, and second, in the subscription-based Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365) version of Excel. David draws your attention to any differences in the older versions of Excel (2021, 2019, 2016, and earlier) during the presentation as well as in his detailed handouts. David also provides an Excel workbook that includes most of the examples he uses during the webcast.

Microsoft 365 is a subscription-based product that provides new feature updates as often as monthly. Conversely, the perpetual licensed versions of Excel have feature sets that don't change. Perpetual licensed versions have year numbers, such as Excel 2021, Excel 2019, and so on.

Overview

• List of worksheets with Power Query

  5 mins
• Creating a workbook index

  18 mins
• Clean A/R aging with Power Query

  37 mins
• Relinking a Power Query data source

  62 mins
• Combine sheets with Power Query

  82 mins
• Unpivot columns with Power Query

  113 mins
• Power Query/Non-Breaking spaces

  135 mins
• Merging files / Lists with Power Query

  177 mins
• Consolidate multiple entities with power query

  199 mins