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

The Power BI Data Visualization World Championships is back! Get ahead of the game and start preparing now! Learn more

Reply
davidson929
Regular Visitor

Sum Like Values from Differing Columns

Hello,

 

I am trying to sum like values from different columns across multiple records. I can't seem to figure out to how to get them to sum all together.

 

Here is an example data set:

Record ID          Category #1    Category #2     Category #3    Category #4    Record Count

1AB  1
2B   1
3BDF 1
4BB  1
5C   1
6CE  1
7CEE 1
8CBCC1
9CCCB1
10CF  1

 

What I am trying to do in PowerBI is return a value that displays the sum total like so:

A = 1

B = 7

C = 10

 

I would like this displayed in a graph if possible as well. Any help would be appreciated.

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION
drewlewis15
Solution Specialist
Solution Specialist

One option would be to unpivot your Category columns using the Power Query Editor 

  1. Click Edit Queries
  2. Select all Category columns
  3. Go to the Transform tab and click "Unpivot Columns"

 

This will take your table that currently looks like this:

Source.png

 

And turn it into this:

Unpivot.png

 

You can now create a visual and simply drop the "Value" column (or whatever you end up naming it) into both the Axis (or legend) and Value fields (Count of Value).  Finally, just filter the visual to not include records where the value is blank.

Final.png

 

View solution in original post

1 REPLY 1
drewlewis15
Solution Specialist
Solution Specialist

One option would be to unpivot your Category columns using the Power Query Editor 

  1. Click Edit Queries
  2. Select all Category columns
  3. Go to the Transform tab and click "Unpivot Columns"

 

This will take your table that currently looks like this:

Source.png

 

And turn it into this:

Unpivot.png

 

You can now create a visual and simply drop the "Value" column (or whatever you end up naming it) into both the Axis (or legend) and Value fields (Count of Value).  Finally, just filter the visual to not include records where the value is blank.

Final.png

 

Helpful resources

Announcements
Power BI DataViz World Championships

Power BI Dataviz World Championships

The Power BI Data Visualization World Championships is back! Get ahead of the game and start preparing now!

December 2025 Power BI Update Carousel

Power BI Monthly Update - December 2025

Check out the December 2025 Power BI Holiday Recap!

FabCon Atlanta 2026 carousel

FabCon Atlanta 2026

Join us at FabCon Atlanta, March 16-20, for the ultimate Fabric, Power BI, AI and SQL community-led event. Save $200 with code FABCOMM.