Power Query: Combine Subset of List of Tables that Exist

Power Query: Combine Subset of List of Tables that Exist

Power Query is a powerful tool in Microsoft Excel that allows users to import, transform, and combine data from various sources. One common scenario is when you have a list of tables, and you want to combine only a subset of those tables that actually exist. In this article, we will explore how to achieve this using Power Query.

Step 1: Load the List of Tables

The first step is to load the list of tables into Power Query. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Open Microsoft Excel and go to the Data tab.
2. Click on the Get Data button and select From File.
3. Choose the appropriate file format for your list of tables, such as CSV or Excel.
4. Select the file containing the list of tables and click Load.

Now you will have the list of tables loaded into Power Query.

Step 2: Filter the List of Tables

The next step is to filter the list of tables to include only the tables that actually exist. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click on the Edit button in the Power Query Editor window.
2. Select the column that contains the table names.
3. Go to the Home tab and click on the Keep Rows button.
4. Choose Keep Rows Where Text Contains.
5. In the dialog box that appears, enter a keyword or phrase that is common to the table names that exist. For example, if your tables are named "Table1", "Table2", and so on, you can enter "Table" as the keyword.
6. Click OK to apply the filter.

Now the list of tables will be filtered to include only the tables that exist.

Step 3: Combine the Subset of Tables

Finally, we can combine the subset of tables that exist into a single table. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Go to the Home tab in the Power Query Editor window.
2. Click on the Combine button and select Append Queries.
3. In the Append Queries dialog box, select the tables you want to combine from the list.
4. Click OK to combine the tables.

Now you will have a single table that contains the combined data from the subset of tables that exist.

Step 4: Load the Combined Table

Once you have combined the tables, you can load the combined table back into Excel. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click on the Close & Load button in the Power Query Editor window.
2. Choose whether you want to load the table to a new worksheet or an existing worksheet.
3. Click Load to load the combined table.

Now you will have the combined table in Excel, which includes only the subset of tables that actually exist.

Conclusion

Power Query provides a convenient way to combine a subset of tables that exist in a list. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can easily filter the list of tables and combine them into a single table. This can be particularly useful when working with large datasets or when you only need to analyze specific tables. Experiment with Power Query and explore its capabilities to enhance your data analysis tasks in Excel.