Skip to main content
cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Try your skills in the Power BI Dataviz World Championship! Round one ends June 26. Join now

Reply
tksnota01
Frequent Visitor

Create A Calculated Column With Number for Unique Text

Hi,

 

I have hundred of names and I need to create numbers to represent each of them as shown 

 

Are there DAX or M Code I can use?

 

Thanks...tksnota01...

 

A 1
B 2
C 3
D 4

B 2

D 4

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION
johnt75
Super User
Super User

In Power Query make  a copy of your existing table and remove all the columns except the name. Remove duplicate values then add an index column, then use Merge as new to merge the original query with the list of unique names. Expand the merged table to bring in the index column.

Finally, you can untick the Enable Load option for the original query and the unique names, so only the merged table is pulled into your model.

View solution in original post

3 REPLIES 3
Cookistador
Super User
Super User

The following calculated column should work

 

NameRank =

RANKX(
DISTINCT('Table'[Name]), 
CALCULATE(MIN('Table'[Name])), 
, ASC, DENSE 
)

johnt75
Super User
Super User

In Power Query make  a copy of your existing table and remove all the columns except the name. Remove duplicate values then add an index column, then use Merge as new to merge the original query with the list of unique names. Expand the merged table to bring in the index column.

Finally, you can untick the Enable Load option for the original query and the unique names, so only the merged table is pulled into your model.

lbendlin
Super User
Super User

In M group by the name (and keep the rows), add an index column, and then expand the rows back out.

Helpful resources

Announcements
Fabric Data Days is here Carousel

Fabric Data Days 2026

Don't miss out on Data Days, June 15 through August 7. Learn Fabric, Power BI, SQL, AI and more.

May Power BI Update Carousel

Power BI Monthly Update - May 2026

Check out the May 2026 Power BI update to learn about new features.

Power BI DataViz World Championships carousel

Power BI DataViz World Championships - June 2026

A new Power BI DataViz World Championship is coming this June! Don't miss out on submitting your entry.