BEST APPROACH: Evaluate data in Power Query Editor?

[ericOnline]

Hello,

I'm doing some basic evaluations of a new data table. I wanted to know for how many records 4 columns were equal. Doing this in the Power Query Editor is pretty tough. 

I had to:

- Open advanced editor

- Add query to the existing code

#"FilterWhereTimestampsEqual" = Table.SelectRows(tableName, each [column1] = [column2] = [column3] = [column4])

  - After doing this, I lost all the history (Query Settings) on the right side(!)

- Because of the preview functionality, I'm only getting 29(?) records at a time. 

- I need the total record count!

Questions:

- What is the best way to perform preliminary data evaluation (determine nulls, column redundancy, etc.) in Power BI?

- Should I be using Power Query Editor or another tool within PowerBI?

Thank you

[v-lionel-msft · Accepted solution]

Hi @ericOnline ,

”What is the best way to perform preliminary data evaluation (determine nulls, column redundancy, etc.) in Power BI?“

You do not need to write M code for preliminary data evaluation, you only need to complete it by using the option feature.

For example, if you want to delete duplicate rows, you can do like this:

(Ctrl + click -> Remove Duplicates)

If you want to remove blank value, you can add filters:

In most cases, we do not need to write M code to complete the data cleaning, and then use DAX for data modeling.

For more information, you can refer to these.

Importing and Cleaning Data with Power Query 

Tutorial: Shape and combine data in Power BI Desktop 

Best regards,
Lionel Chen

If this post helps, then please consider Accept it as the solution to help the other members find it more quickly.

[v-lionel-msft]

Hi @ericOnline ,

Has your problem been solved?

Best regards,
Lionel Chen

If this post helps, then please consider Accept it as the solution to help the other members find it more quickly.

[ericOnline · Accepted solution]

Thank you for your insights @v-lionel-msft . I also found that turning on Column Profile and Column Quality helped to evaluate data at-a-glance!

[v-lionel-msft · Accepted solution]

Hi @ericOnline ,

”What is the best way to perform preliminary data evaluation (determine nulls, column redundancy, etc.) in Power BI?“

You do not need to write M code for preliminary data evaluation, you only need to complete it by using the option feature.

For example, if you want to delete duplicate rows, you can do like this:

(Ctrl + click -> Remove Duplicates)

If you want to remove blank value, you can add filters:

In most cases, we do not need to write M code to complete the data cleaning, and then use DAX for data modeling.

For more information, you can refer to these.

Importing and Cleaning Data with Power Query 

Tutorial: Shape and combine data in Power BI Desktop 

Best regards,
Lionel Chen

If this post helps, then please consider Accept it as the solution to help the other members find it more quickly.