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

Power BI is turning 10! Let’s celebrate together with dataviz contests, interactive sessions, and giveaways. Register now.

Reply
JayMo
Regular Visitor

Custom Column - Count Columns With Data in That Row

I am new to Power BI...so if this is the wrong place to ask, please let me know.

Using the Power Query Editor, I would like to create a custom column that will summarize the count of other columns in that row containing data (not blank). This is based over 20 inividual columns that have the same name prefixed by a single number (example - column1,column2,column3, etc..)

can someone assist me in what that formula should look like?
Thx

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION
Nolock
Resident Rockstar
Resident Rockstar

Hi @JayMo,

I've written the asked functionality with some test data. Let me know if it fills all your expectations. The code is well commented and split in many steps for better understanding.

 

let
    Source = Table.FromRows(Json.Document(Binary.Decompress(Binary.FromText("i45WMlTSUTICYiAyAeLEpGQIx83RJ9hVKVYnGiaLgmJjAQ==", BinaryEncoding.Base64), Compression.Deflate)), let _t = ((type text) meta [Serialized.Text = true]) in type table [Column1 = _t, Column2 = _t, XYZ = _t, ABC = _t, Column5 = _t, Column6 = _t, Column7 = _t]),
    CountOfNonNullColumns = Table.AddColumn(
        Source, 
        "Count of non null columns", 
        (rec) =>
            let
                // select field names having prefix "Column"
                selectedFieldNames = List.Select(Record.FieldNames(rec), each Text.StartsWith(_, "Column")),
                // create a new record with only these fields
                newRecord = Record.SelectFields(rec, selectedFieldNames),
                // select all valus of this record
                allValuesAsList = Record.ToList(newRecord),
                // transform to a new list where if value is null or empty then 0 else 1
                isNotNullList = List.Transform(allValuesAsList, each if _ = null or _ = "" then 0 else 1),
                // sum it up
                countOfNonNullItems = List.Sum(isNotNullList)
            in
                countOfNonNullItems
    )
in
    CountOfNonNullColumns

View solution in original post

1 REPLY 1
Nolock
Resident Rockstar
Resident Rockstar

Hi @JayMo,

I've written the asked functionality with some test data. Let me know if it fills all your expectations. The code is well commented and split in many steps for better understanding.

 

let
    Source = Table.FromRows(Json.Document(Binary.Decompress(Binary.FromText("i45WMlTSUTICYiAyAeLEpGQIx83RJ9hVKVYnGiaLgmJjAQ==", BinaryEncoding.Base64), Compression.Deflate)), let _t = ((type text) meta [Serialized.Text = true]) in type table [Column1 = _t, Column2 = _t, XYZ = _t, ABC = _t, Column5 = _t, Column6 = _t, Column7 = _t]),
    CountOfNonNullColumns = Table.AddColumn(
        Source, 
        "Count of non null columns", 
        (rec) =>
            let
                // select field names having prefix "Column"
                selectedFieldNames = List.Select(Record.FieldNames(rec), each Text.StartsWith(_, "Column")),
                // create a new record with only these fields
                newRecord = Record.SelectFields(rec, selectedFieldNames),
                // select all valus of this record
                allValuesAsList = Record.ToList(newRecord),
                // transform to a new list where if value is null or empty then 0 else 1
                isNotNullList = List.Transform(allValuesAsList, each if _ = null or _ = "" then 0 else 1),
                // sum it up
                countOfNonNullItems = List.Sum(isNotNullList)
            in
                countOfNonNullItems
    )
in
    CountOfNonNullColumns

Helpful resources

Announcements
Join our Fabric User Panel

Join our Fabric User Panel

This is your chance to engage directly with the engineering team behind Fabric and Power BI. Share your experiences and shape the future.

June 2025 Power BI Update Carousel

Power BI Monthly Update - June 2025

Check out the June 2025 Power BI update to learn about new features.

June 2025 community update carousel

Fabric Community Update - June 2025

Find out what's new and trending in the Fabric community.