Excel table imported into PowerBI how to add new columns from updated, original file

[helenn]

I have an Excel table which I have imported into PowerBI. I updated the original excel file adding new columns, how do I get the new columns to show in PowerBI. I dont want to start from scratch. I have tried refreshing the data and updating the data source

[Syndicate_Admin]

If you had it imported, you can go to add editor, and you just have to modify the number of columns to load and that's it.

[PhilipTreacy · Accepted solution]

@helenn 

Great, glad to hear it's working.  Please mark this as solved so others can benefit.

Regards

Phil

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[PaulDBrown]

@helenn 

What is recommended (and to follow up on @PhilipTreacy suggestion), is that you set up your data in Excel as actual tables (as opposed to simple columns and rows). To do so, select all the columns and rows and press
"ctrl + t".
This creates a table containg all the rows and columns. If you then add columns or rows to your data, Excel will automatically include them in the table (as long as these are adjacent to previous rows/columns).

(Apologies since my Excel is in spanish). Once you have set up the table, go to the "Table design" tab, and name the table (in my example you will see I've named it "sales" under the header "Nombre de la tabla" or "Table name".

This will make it easier to identify the table on import into PowerBI.

When you then select the Excel file for import, you select the table ("Sales") as opposed to the sheet (in my example the sheet's name is "Actuals").

This way if you add further columns/rows to your table in Excel, PowerBI will import them automatically on refresh.

[helenn]

thank you this has worked

[PhilipTreacy]

Hi @helenn 

OK then all you shoudl need to do is click on Refresh on the menu to reload the table with the new columns

Phil

[helenn]

 I did exactly as you indicated,  no transforming at the end. Then later I updated the excel file with the additional columns

[PhilipTreacy]

Hi @helenn 

How exactly did you 'bring the file in'?

What you should do is from inside PBI  click on the Excel icon in the Data section,

browse to your file, then select the table you want (this sample image shows multipel tables in a file)

Then click on Transform Data to make modifications to the imported data,or just click Load to load it into PBI.

regards

Phil

[helenn]

[helenn]

Sorry just reread the message, the table in Power BI has 12 columns, my excel has an additional 8 that I added after I had first linked the table

[helenn]

Thanks Phil

I dont have any queries set up, I just brought the Excel file in and worked from there

How do I share the file?

[PhilipTreacy]

Hi @helenn 

If you've imported the file into PBI then refreshing the query should bring in any changes to PBI - unless you've done something in your query to prevent this.

Can you please share the query and the table structure - how many columns does it have??  A screenshot of the top of the table will do.

Phil