Part V: Understanding Power Pivot and Power Query
In Figure 35.15, you’ll see a Select Related Tables button. After you select one or more tables, you can click this but-
ton to tell Power Pivot to scan for and automatically select any other tables that have a relationship with the table (or
tables) you’ve already selected. This is a handy feature to have when sourcing large databases with dozens of tables.
It’s important to remember that importing a table imports all of the columns and records
for that table. This can have an impact on the size and performance of your Power Pivot
data model. You will often find that you need only a handful of the columns from the tables
you import. In these cases, you can use the Preview & Filter button.
Click the table name to highlight it in blue (as shown in Figure 35.15) and then click the
Preview & Filter button. The Table Import Wizard will activate the preview screen illus-
trated in Figure 35.16. In this screen, you will see all the columns available in the table,
with a sampling of rows.
FIGURE 35.16
The Preview & Filter screen allows you to exclude columns and filter for only data you need.
Each column header has a check box next to it, indicating that the column will be imported
with the table. Removing the check mark tells Power Pivot not to include that column in
the data model.
You also have the option of filtering out certain records. Clicking the drop-down arrow
illustrated in Figure 35.16 activates a filter menu that allows you to specify criteria to filter
out unwanted records. This works just like the standard filtering in Excel.
Once you’re done selecting your data and applying any needed filters, you can click the
Finish button on the Table Import Wizard to start the import process. The import log shown
in Figure 35.17 displays the progress of the import and summarizes the import actions
taken after completion.
