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

Join us for an expert-led overview of the tools and concepts you'll need to become a Certified Power BI Data Analyst and pass exam PL-300. Register now.

Reply
jj101
Frequent Visitor

PowerQuery - Checking if Value in one column appears in a different columan

I am trying to create a column in power query when checking to see if the value in column 'C' resides in column 'B'. Example table below

Column AColumn BColumn CNew Column
1234test2323null
4321kdjkdf12341234
8939dkikdi12341234
383738ueuj89398939

 

This data set currently has over 200,000 rows. I have tried "List.Contains(TableName Column C, Column A)"  in the query editor but does not give the correct in puts. 

3 REPLIES 3
_AAndrade
Super User
Super User

Hi @jj101,

Please try this code:

let
    Source = Table.FromRows(Json.Document(Binary.Decompress(Binary.FromText("TYoxDsAgDAP/kpmFGKnhLShbqAQZC/9vytTJPp9bo8wolGj1Z0UwGKSpUQHnYLfpdkc5t09IRQ02H27jLyC4ILHsvmfEOaq+", BinaryEncoding.Base64), Compression.Deflate)), let _t = ((type nullable text) meta [Serialized.Text = true]) in type table [#"Column A" = _t, #"Column B" = _t, #"Column C" = _t]),
    ChangedType = Table.TransformColumnTypes(Source,{{"Column A", Int64.Type}, {"Column B", type text}, {"Column C", Int64.Type}}),
    ListColumnA = Table.Column(Source, "Column A"),
    AddCustomColumn = Table.AddColumn(Source, "New Column", each if List.Contains(ListColumnA, [Column C]) then [Column C] else null)
in
    AddCustomColumn

 

I'm attaching a pbix file as well.





Did I answer your question? Mark my post as a solution! Kudos are welcome.

Proud to be a Super User!




So when I tried this I receive "PreviewError: The type of the current preview is too complex to display." I have gone in and tried to convert the column to a list and when I do that it basically removes all of the rest of the columns. 

 

I should note that this source is a database. 

wdx223_Daniel
Super User
Super User

=let a=List.Buffer(TableName[ColumnA]) in Table.AddColumn(TableName,"NewColumn",each if List.Contains(a,[ColumnC] then [ColumnC] else null)

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.