Power Query gives us the ability to combine multiple files which belong to one folder. These can be TXT or CSV files, but in practice we will usually combine several Excel files. This is a very powerful option that can save us a lot of time. At the same time, it brings with it some challenges, which you will be able to learn more about in the following text …
We are accustomed, when we want to change the type of Excel document, to save it under another name. However, in some recent versions of Excel, this operation is further facilitated. If we enter the Backstage view there we will find the Export menu that allows you to export directly to PDF or change the file type. Also, you can also directly add documents to Power BI.
When we create a pivot table report, based on statistical data, it’s sometimes convenient to group them into bins so that we can analyze them more easily. In one simple case, where we research the age of the respondents and the answer to the question whether they are smokers or not, you will see how the groups (bins) are made and how can we later use them to create beautiful charts.
Newer versions of Excel no longer support the document sharing option I have written in one of the earlier texts. It can still be used after manually adding to the quick menu or toolbar, but collaborating on documents has evolved into co-authoring. This means that the documents are saved on the OneDrive repository, and that the right-hand users can change them at the same time.
If you’ve thought that, when you start using PowerPivot, will get rid of array lookup functions you were deadly wrong! Although the concept of a data model does not go hand in hand with the need to use these class of functions, it is sometimes necessary to search the arrays. To do this you will use the LOOKUPVALUE function, and how to use it, in combination with the WEEKDAY function, you will find out in the text that follows.