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
Anonymous
Not applicable

Seeing my database's structure with Power Query

Hello,

 

I am an IT intern with some experience in databases but not a whole lot with Excel, and none with Power Query.
My small company requires me to make some pivot tables with relevant info from their SQL database, however in order to do that I would like first to have a clear idea of what the DB's structure is like.

I would like to display the database's general structure with power query, using an ODBC. However all I get when inputting the datasource is basically a list of all the tables in the DB.

 
 

Any ideas or suggestions? Thank you

 

 

3 REPLIES 3
Anonymous
Not applicable

@Anonymous 

PQ is not a db software, instead it is a business intelligence tool used to transform and shape data from different sources. Please first read the following blog:

The Complete Guide to Power Query | How To Excel

 


Paul Zheng _ Community Support Team
If this post helps, please Accept it as the solution to help the other members find it more quickly.

Anonymous
Not applicable

I would add a column of the column names of each table in the dB. PQ is actually THE BEST way to get an idea of what's in the database. Once you have your list of Db tables:

NewColumn = Table.AddColumn(LastStepName, "Columns", each Table.ColumnNames(_[DataTableName]))

This will list the columns in each table, right next to its table name. When I was new, I did this all the time.

--Nate

CNENFRNL
Community Champion
Community Champion

@Anonymous , you're barking up the wrong tree. Power Query isn't a db management software; on the contrary, ask db admin for data dictionary or something similar.


Thanks to the great efforts by MS engineers to simplify syntax of DAX! Most beginners are SUCCESSFULLY MISLED to think that they could easily master DAX; but it turns out that the intricacy of the most frequently used RANKX() is still way beyond their comprehension!

DAX is simple, but NOT EASY!

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.

Top Solution Authors