Excel 2019 Bible

Part V: Understanding Power Pivot and Power Query

FIGURE 38.19

Other systems Power Query can utilize as data sources

To get to the list shown in Figure 38.19, select Data ➪ Get Data ➪ From Other Data Sources.

Some of these data systems (SharePoint, Active Directory, and Microsoft Exchange) are pop-

ular ones that are used in many organizations to store data, track sales opportunities, and

manage email. Other systems like OData Feed and Hadoop are less-common services used

to work with large volumes of data. These are often mentioned in conversations about “Big

Data.” Of course, the From Web option (demonstrated earlier in this chapter) is an integral

connection type for any analyst who leverages data from the Internet.

Clicking any of these connections will activate a set of dialog boxes customized for the

selected connection. These dialog boxes ask for the basic parameters that Power Query

needs to connect to the specified data source; they are parameters such as file path, URL,

server name, credentials, and so forth.

Each connection type requires its own unique set of parameters, so each of their dialog

boxes will be different. Luckily, Power Query rarely needs more than a handful of param-

eters to connect to any one data source, so the dialog boxes are relatively intuitive and

hassle-free.

Managing Data Source Settings

Each time you connect to any web-based data source or data source that requires some level

of credentials, Power Query caches (stores) the settings for that data source.