[Power Query for Power BI and Excel] [Author: Webb, Christopher] [June, 2014]

by Chris Webb

Power Query for Power BI and Excel is a book for people who are tired of copying and pasting data into Excel worksheets. Power Query, part of the Microsoft Power BI suite, is a tool that automates the process of getting data into Excel and will save you hours of dull, repetitive, and error-prone work! Power Query makes it easy to extract data from many different data sources, filter that data, aggregate it, clean it and perform calculations on it, finally loading that data into either your worksheet or directly into the new Excel 2013 Data Model used by Power Pivot. This concise, practical book provides a complete guide to Power Query and how to use it to solve all of your Excel data-loading problemsPower Query for Power BI and Excel goes well beyond the surface of what Power Query can do. The book goes deep into the underlying M language, showing you how to do amazing things that aren't going to be possible from just the GUI interface that is covered in most other books. You'll have full command of the GUI, and you'll be able to drop into the M language to go beyond what the GUI provides. The depth in this book makes it a must-have item for anyone who is pushing Power BI and Excel to their limits in the pursuit of business intelligence from data analysis.basics of using Power Query to load data into Excecommon, data-related problems with Power Querwrite your own solutions in the powerful M languagWhat you'll learndata from sources including relational databases, text files, web pages, and Excel workbooksfrom more exotic sources such as Facebook, Windows Azure Marketplace, Wikipedia, and OData feeds within and outside your organizationrepeatable processes to filter, clean, aggregate, and transform your datayour data into an Excel table or directly into the Excel 2013 Data Modelcomplex expressions in Power Query s M expression languagequeries and their data with other users in your organizationyour data for further analysis using Power View, Power Map, Power Pivot, and the rest of Microsoft s Power BI suiteWho this book is forPower Query for Power BI and Excel is aimed at serious Excel and Power BI users who need to import data into a worksheet. Whether you are an analyst, report writer, business intelligence consultant, or just that guy whose job it is to prepare the monthly sales dashboard, you'll learn how Power Query can make your life easier. Power Query for Power BI and Excel is especially important for Excel and BI power users who want to work directly in the M language that underlies all of Power Query's functionality. Table of Contents Power Query and When to Use It Data Sources Transformations Tables and the Excel Data Model Expressions in the M Language Multiple Data Sources Power BI and Sharing Common Problems Solved"

Paperback

First published June 24, 2014

Reviews

[Amanda Mathis Wells · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the few books out there devoted to Power Query. Book is dated, but still useful. 1st half is helpful for new users of Power Query. 2nd half is dense M language which is useful for more experienced users.

[Cheylea Hopkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easier to read than most books of this genre.

[Shivaramakrishnan.V · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overview of power query for beginners.

[Tom Huguelet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coherent and well organized, a great PQ resource

Chris Webb may well be the world's foremost authority on Power Query. This book was one of the first available,so a few spots have aged out a bit due to subsequent product revisions, but the kernel of this book remains as valid and useful as ever. Essential reading for anyone working with Power Query and/or Power BI. Recommended!

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent intro / reference on the topic