Forum Discussion

operator's avatar
operator
Frequent Visitor
10 years ago
Solved

New table / query based on existing query

Hi, still new to Power BI migrating from Power Query.

 

In Power Query we have the capability to use existing query / table and build new query / table. But it doesn't seem to work in Power BI: I can't refer to an earlier query when adding a new source. In new table, I don't know what to type to get it. 

 

The goal is to unpviot a few columns but not the rest, which is needed for other reporting purposes.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Michael

Need Help
  • pqian's avatar
    pqian
    10 years ago

    operator, PowerBI Desktop uses PowerQuery internally, so the capabilities are almost identical (Save a few Excel related features)

     

    You can refer to another query by their name, for example, starting from a Blank Query, type

    = Query1

     

    that will refer to an existing query called "Query1"

     

     

10 Replies

  • pqian's avatar
    pqian
    Microsoft Employee
    10 years ago

    operator, PowerBI Desktop uses PowerQuery internally, so the capabilities are almost identical (Save a few Excel related features)

     

    You can refer to another query by their name, for example, starting from a Blank Query, type

    = Query1

     

    that will refer to an existing query called "Query1"

     

     

    • pqian's avatar
      pqian
      Microsoft Employee
      10 years ago

      BTW, if you right click on "Query1", you can pick "Reference Query" from the context menu to do exactly this

      • operator's avatar
        operator
        Frequent Visitor
        10 years ago

        Lovely! That's even easier! Gee I should've asked earlier here than finding the solution for many hours in Google.

         

        Thanks again for your help!

    • operator's avatar
      operator
      Frequent Visitor
      10 years ago

      Thanks pqian! Another dumb question: if the earlier query has space, how do I refer it?

      • pqian's avatar
        pqian
        Microsoft Employee
        10 years ago

        operator You can qualify identifiers by using the #"" escape

         

        e.g.,

        =#"Query 1"

  • abond's avatar
    abond
    Frequent Visitor
    8 years ago

    I believe a problem I'm having is very similar to that of the original poster, however the proposed solution does not quite solve my problem. 

     

    Let's say my original table is loaded into the Query Editor with columns:  | ID | A | B | C | X | Y | Z |

     

    I would like to create a 2nd table with only columns: | ID | X | Y | Z |
    (perhaps by duplicating the entire 1st table and then deleting unnecessary columns | A | B | C | )

     

    I would then like the 1st table to end up with only columns: | ID | A | B | C |
    (i.e. simply deleting columns | X | Y | Z | ).  Therein lies the problem:  this deletion of columns in the 1st table must happen AFTER the 2nd table has been created.

     

    Suggestions?

    • MarcelBeug's avatar
      MarcelBeug
      Community Champion
      8 years ago

      Yes, create a third query.

       

      Additionally you may want to uncheck "Enable Load" for your first table that has all columns.

       

      • abond's avatar
        abond
        Frequent Visitor
        8 years ago

        I believe you're recommending that I load the data twice from the source, and that is what I'm doing currently, but it's inefficient and undesirable due to the volume of data.

         

        My ideal solution would involve loading the data once then duplicating within the Query Editor. :-)