Chapter 39: Transforming Data with Power Query
39
Figure 39.18 demonstrates the new columns created after the ContactName column is split
at each comma. As you can see, three new fields are created, and the original ContactName
column is removed. You can rename the fields by right-clicking and selecting the Rename
option.
FIGURE 39.18
The ContactName field has successfully been split into three columns.
Unpivoting columns
You often encounter data sets like the one shown in Figure 39.19, where important head-
ings (such as the month) are spread across the top of the table, pulling double duty as col-
umn labels and actual data values. This matrix layout is easy to look at in a spreadsheet,
but it causes issues when attempting to perform any kind of data analysis that requires
aggregation, grouping, and so on.
FIGURE 39.19
Matrix layouts are problematic for data analysis.