Question

You want to import 50 Microsoft Excel files to Power BI Desktop. All the files share the same structure and are stored in a unique desktop local folder. You plan to import all Excel files into one table. How can you achieve the goal?

(a) Manually copy-paste data from each file
(b) Import each file separately into different tables
(c) Use Power Query to combine files into one table
(d) Convert Excel files to CSV format before importing

Answer 1

The efficient way to import 50 Excel files into Power BI Desktop as one table is to use Power Query. This feature allows for automatic merging of multiple files with the same structure, saving time and streamlining the data import process.

Step-by-step explanation:

To import 50 Microsoft Excel files into Power BI Desktop and combine them into one table, the best approach is to use Power Query. Follow these steps in Power BI Desktop:

• Go to the Home tab and select Get Data.
• Choose Folder as the source and navigate to the folder containing your Excel files.
• Power BI will then list the files in the folder. Click Combine and then Combine & Load.
• In the Combine Files dialog box, confirm that the example file looks correct and that the data is being interpreted correctly, then click OK.
• Power Query will now merge the data from all the Excel files into a single table.

This method is efficient because it automates the data consolidation process, ensuring that any new files added to the folder can be easily included in the analysis by simply refreshing the query in Power BI. The other methods suggested (manually copying and pasting data, importing files separately into different tables, or converting files to CSV) would be more time-consuming and less efficient.