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

July 7 - July 17 | Round 2 of the Power BI Dataviz World Championships. Don't miss your chance! Learn more

Reply
sperry
Resolver I
Resolver I

Encode a Text field

Hi - I have a government issued unique identifer (called NHI in New Zealand). Its in the format ABC1234.

 

I have a data set that I would like to pseudonymise using a formula in query editor as I would like to remove the original NHI column so it is not visible to users.

 

I have tried using the text coding functions in power query but all return an error.

 

I have also tried creating a table of unique NHI values using the summarize function and creating a an index number using rankx but if I do this I cannot remove the NHI column.

 

Any suggestions??

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION
ImkeF
Community Champion
Community Champion

You can create a lookup-table in the query editor where you do the things that you tried to achieve in DAX:

 

- reference your original table and select just the NHI-column

- remove duplicates

- add index column

 

That's your lookup-table now. Create a NEW query (!) where you reference your original table, merge with the new lookup-table on NHI, expand the index (your new key) and remove the NHI-column. Disable load to datamodel for your original table.

Imke Feldmann (The BIccountant)

If you liked my solution, please give it a thumbs up. And if I did answer your question, please mark this post as a solution. Thanks!

How to integrate M-code into your solution -- How to get your questions answered quickly -- How to provide sample data -- Check out more PBI- learning resources here -- Performance Tipps for M-queries

View solution in original post

1 REPLY 1
ImkeF
Community Champion
Community Champion

You can create a lookup-table in the query editor where you do the things that you tried to achieve in DAX:

 

- reference your original table and select just the NHI-column

- remove duplicates

- add index column

 

That's your lookup-table now. Create a NEW query (!) where you reference your original table, merge with the new lookup-table on NHI, expand the index (your new key) and remove the NHI-column. Disable load to datamodel for your original table.

Imke Feldmann (The BIccountant)

If you liked my solution, please give it a thumbs up. And if I did answer your question, please mark this post as a solution. Thanks!

How to integrate M-code into your solution -- How to get your questions answered quickly -- How to provide sample data -- Check out more PBI- learning resources here -- Performance Tipps for M-queries

Helpful resources

Announcements
FabCon and SQLCon Barcelona 2026

FabCon & SQLCon – Barcelona 2026

Join us in Barcelona for FabCon and SQLCon, the Fabric, Power BI, SQL, and AI community event. Save €200 with code FABCMTY200.

60 days of Data Days Carousel

Data Days 2026

Join Fabric Data Days 2026: 60 days of free live/on-demand sessions, challenges, study groups, and certification opportunities.

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.