Chapter 41: Enhancing Power Query Productivity
4141
FIGURE 41.5
Right-click query steps to rename them.
Query steps are automatically given generic names like Uppercased text or Merged Columns.
Why not take the time to add some clarity on what each step is doing? You can rename your
steps step by right-clicking each step and selecting Rename.
Quickly creating reference tables
There are always a handful of columns in a data set that make for fantastic reference
tables. For instance, if your data set contains a column with a list of product categories,
it would be useful to create a reference table of all the unique values in that column.
Reference tables are often used to map data, feed menu selectors, serve as lookup values,
and much more.
While in the Query Editor, you can right-click the column from which you want to create a
reference table and then select Add as New Query (see Figure 41.6). A new query will be cre-
ated, using the table that you just pulled from as the source. The Query Editor jumps into
action, showing just the column you selected. From here, you can use the Query Editor to
clean up duplicates, remove blanks, and so forth.