{"id":5428,"date":"2016-12-01T11:14:35","date_gmt":"2016-12-01T10:14:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/?p=5428"},"modified":"2024-02-06T15:58:49","modified_gmt":"2024-02-06T14:58:49","slug":"merge-columns-using-power-query","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/blog\/merge-columns-using-power-query\/","title":{"rendered":"Merge Columns Using Power Query"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/blog\/installing-power-query-excel-2010\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Power Query<\/a> lets you perform a series of steps to transform your Excel data. \u00a0One of the steps it allows you to take is to<strong> merge columns\u00a0easily<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Normally I would use the\u00a0<strong>CONCATENATE <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/blog\/top-excel-formulas-function-examples-to-get-better-at-microsoft-excel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"formula\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\">formula<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>to merge columns together, however a cleaner way is to simply use Power Query for this.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"after-post-box\">\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/m9ls208JjGw?rel=0 \" width=\"800\" height=\"400\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/c\/MyExcelOnlinecomtutorials?sub_confirmation=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignmiddle wp-image-111468 size-full\" style=\"vertical-align: middle;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/1.yt_.png\" alt=\"\" title=\"\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"line-two\"><a class=\"IRPP_minimalist icon-download button small\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Merge-Columns.xlsx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-leadbox=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Merge-Columns.xlsx\" data-leadbox-id=\"147284833f72a2:12f08263ab46dc\"><span class=\"ctaText px-3 text-capitalize\"> download excel workbook <i class=\"fa fa-download\"><\/i><\/span><span class=\"postTitle px-3\">Merge-Columns.xlsx<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s go through the steps in detail:<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>STEP 1<\/strong>:<\/span> Select\u00a0your data and turn it into an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/blog\/how-to-insert-an-excel-table\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Excel Table<\/a> by pressing the shortcut <strong>Ctrl + T <\/strong>or by going to<strong> Insert &gt; Table<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Merge-Columns-01.png\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"Merge Columns Using Power Query\"  class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5430\" src=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Merge-Columns-01.png\" alt=\"Merge Columns Using Power Query\" width=\"240\" height=\"269\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>STEP 2<\/strong>:<\/span> Go to <strong><em>Data &gt; Get &amp; Transform &gt; From Table (Excel 2016) <\/em><\/strong><em>or<\/em><strong><em> Power Query &gt; Excel Data &gt; From Table (Excel 2013 &amp; 2010)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Excel 2016:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Merge-Columns-02.png\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"Merge Columns Using Power Query\"  class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5431\" src=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Merge-Columns-02.png\" alt=\"Merge Columns Using Power Query\" width=\"618\" height=\"132\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Merge-Columns-02.png 618w, https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Merge-Columns-02-300x64.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 618px) 100vw, 618px\" \/><\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Excel 2013 &amp; 2010:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/from-table.png\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3239\" src=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/from-table.png\" alt=\"from table\" width=\"777\" height=\"129\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/from-table.png 777w, https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/from-table-300x50.png 300w, https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/from-table-768x128.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 777px) 100vw, 777px\" title=\"\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">STEP 3:<\/span> <\/strong>This will open up the <strong>Power Query Editor.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>We want to merge the three columns: <strong>Financial Year, Sales Month, <\/strong>and\u00a0<strong>Sales Qtr.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Select these three columns by clicking on the <strong>Financial Year<\/strong> heading,\u00a0holding the\u00a0<strong>Shift\u00a0<\/strong>key and then clicking on the <strong>Sales Qtr<\/strong> heading.<\/p>\n<p>Go to\u00a0<em><strong>Transform &gt; Merge Columns<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Merge-Columns-03.png\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"Merge Columns Using Power Query\"  class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5432\" src=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Merge-Columns-03.png\" alt=\"Merge Columns Using Power Query\" width=\"906\" height=\"324\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Merge-Columns-03.png 906w, https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Merge-Columns-03-300x107.png 300w, https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Merge-Columns-03-768x275.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 906px) 100vw, 906px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">STEP 4:\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>This will open up the <strong>Merge Columns\u00a0<\/strong>dialogue box.<\/p>\n<p>In the <em>Separator<\/em> section, select <strong>Space<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>In the <em>New column name<\/em>, manually enter the name for this new column e.g. <strong>Merged Sales Data<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Click <strong>OK.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Merge-Columns-04.png\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"Merge Columns Using Power Query\"  class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5433\" src=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Merge-Columns-04.png\" alt=\"Merge Columns Using Power Query\" width=\"699\" height=\"261\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Merge-Columns-04.png 699w, https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Merge-Columns-04-300x112.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 699px) 100vw, 699px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Now you will see your changes take place.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Merge-Columns-05.png\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"Merge Columns Using Power Query\"  class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5434\" src=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Merge-Columns-05.png\" alt=\"Merge Columns Using Power Query\" width=\"634\" height=\"354\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Merge-Columns-05.png 634w, https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Merge-Columns-05-300x168.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 634px) 100vw, 634px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>STEP 5: <\/strong><\/span>Click <strong>Close &amp; Load<\/strong> from the <strong>Home<\/strong> tab and this will <strong>open up a brand new worksheet<\/strong> in your Excel workbook with the updated values.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Merge-Columns-06.png\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"Merge Columns Using Power Query\"  class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5435\" src=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Merge-Columns-06.png\" alt=\"Merge Columns Using Power Query\" width=\"295\" height=\"148\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>You now have your new table in a new worksheet with the merged columns!<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Merge-Columns-07.png\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"Merge Columns Using Power Query\"  class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5436\" src=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Merge-Columns-07.png\" alt=\"Merge Columns Using Power Query\" width=\"553\" height=\"452\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Merge-Columns-07.png 553w, https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Merge-Columns-07-300x245.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 553px) 100vw, 553px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/100-21.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"Add Comma in Excel between Names with SUBSTITUTE Formula\"  class=\"alignnone wp-image-4486 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/728x90.jpg\" alt=\"Add Comma in Excel between Names with SUBSTITUTE Formula\" width=\"728\" height=\"90\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/728x90.jpg 728w, https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/728x90-300x37.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 728px) 100vw, 728px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Power Query lets you perform a series of steps to transform your Excel data. \u00a0One of the steps it allows you to take is to merge columns\u00a0easily. Normally I would use the\u00a0CONCATENATE formula\u00a0to merge columns together, however a cleaner way is to simply use Power Query for this. &nbsp; \ufeff download excel workbook Merge-Columns.xlsx &nbsp; [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17596,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"cos_headline_score":0,"cos_seo_score":0,"cos_headline_text":"","cos_headline_has_been_analyzed":false,"cos_last_analyzed_headline":[],"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[121,120],"tags":[212,117],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5428"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5428"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5428\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}