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

We've captured the moments from FabCon & SQLCon that everyone is talking about, and we are bringing them to the community, live and on-demand. Starts on April 14th. Register now

Reply
metcala
Helper III
Helper III

Unpivot data

Hi

 

I'm struggling to work out how to unpivot a data table to make it more usable.

 

Data is currently structured as below

 

DateNameActivity 1 TypeActivity 1 TimeActivity 2 TypeActivity 2 TimeActivity 3 TypeActivity 3 Time
        

 

I am trying to get the data into the following structure (I don't need to know the activity number).

 

DateNameTypeTime
    

 

My current thinking is to unpivot Activity 1 Type - Activity 3 Time, then replace values as "Type/Time" for each column then re-pivot.

 

Any help would be very much appreciated!

2 ACCEPTED SOLUTIONS
Anonymous
Not applicable

Hi @metcala ,

Please try this way:
Here is the whole M function in the Advanced Editor:

let
    Source = Table.FromRows(Json.Document(Binary.Decompress(Binary.FromText("i45WMtU3stQ3MjAyUdJRMjQyBpKOQAwUNYSJOoH5hnC+M4QP4cbGAgA=", BinaryEncoding.Base64), Compression.Deflate)), let _t = ((type nullable text) meta [Serialized.Text = true]) in type table [Date = _t, Name = _t, #"Activity 1 Type" = _t, #"Activity 1 Time" = _t, #"Activity 2 Type" = _t, #"Activity 2 Time" = _t, #"Activity 3 Type" = _t, #"Activity 3 Time" = _t]),
    #"Changed Type" = Table.TransformColumnTypes(Source,{{"Date", type date}, {"Name", Int64.Type}, {"Activity 1 Type", type text}, {"Activity 1 Time", type date}, {"Activity 2 Type", type text}, {"Activity 2 Time", type date}, {"Activity 3 Type", type text}, {"Activity 3 Time", type date}}),
    #"Unpivoted Other Columns" = Table.UnpivotOtherColumns(#"Changed Type", {"Date", "Name"}, "Attribute", "Value"),
    #"Added Custom" = Table.AddColumn(#"Unpivoted Other Columns", "Custom", each Text.End([Attribute],Text.Length([Attribute])-Text.PositionOfAny([Attribute],{"1".."9"}))),
    #"Removed Columns" = Table.RemoveColumns(#"Added Custom",{"Attribute"}),
    #"Split Column by Delimiter" = Table.SplitColumn(#"Removed Columns", "Custom", Splitter.SplitTextByEachDelimiter({" "}, QuoteStyle.Csv, false), {"Custom.1", "Custom.2"}),
    #"Changed Type1" = Table.TransformColumnTypes(#"Split Column by Delimiter",{{"Custom.1", Int64.Type}, {"Custom.2", type text}}),
    #"Pivoted Column" = Table.Pivot(#"Changed Type1", List.Distinct(#"Changed Type1"[Custom.2]), "Custom.2", "Value"),
    #"Removed Columns1" = Table.RemoveColumns(#"Pivoted Column",{"Custom.1"})
in
    #"Removed Columns1"

And the final output is as below:

vjunyantmsft_0-1716953577695.png


Best Regards,
Dino Tao
If this post helps, then please consider Accept it as the solution to help the other members find it more quickly.

View solution in original post

AlienSx
Super User
Super User

let
    Source = your_table,
    to_list = Table.ToList(
        Source, 
        (w) => List.TransformMany(
            {w},
            (x) => List.Split(List.Skip(x, 2), 2),
            (x, y) => List.FirstN(x, 2) & y
        )
    ),
    to_table = #table({"Date", "Name", "Type", "Time"}, List.Combine(to_list))
in
    to_table

View solution in original post

2 REPLIES 2
AlienSx
Super User
Super User

let
    Source = your_table,
    to_list = Table.ToList(
        Source, 
        (w) => List.TransformMany(
            {w},
            (x) => List.Split(List.Skip(x, 2), 2),
            (x, y) => List.FirstN(x, 2) & y
        )
    ),
    to_table = #table({"Date", "Name", "Type", "Time"}, List.Combine(to_list))
in
    to_table
Anonymous
Not applicable

Hi @metcala ,

Please try this way:
Here is the whole M function in the Advanced Editor:

let
    Source = Table.FromRows(Json.Document(Binary.Decompress(Binary.FromText("i45WMtU3stQ3MjAyUdJRMjQyBpKOQAwUNYSJOoH5hnC+M4QP4cbGAgA=", BinaryEncoding.Base64), Compression.Deflate)), let _t = ((type nullable text) meta [Serialized.Text = true]) in type table [Date = _t, Name = _t, #"Activity 1 Type" = _t, #"Activity 1 Time" = _t, #"Activity 2 Type" = _t, #"Activity 2 Time" = _t, #"Activity 3 Type" = _t, #"Activity 3 Time" = _t]),
    #"Changed Type" = Table.TransformColumnTypes(Source,{{"Date", type date}, {"Name", Int64.Type}, {"Activity 1 Type", type text}, {"Activity 1 Time", type date}, {"Activity 2 Type", type text}, {"Activity 2 Time", type date}, {"Activity 3 Type", type text}, {"Activity 3 Time", type date}}),
    #"Unpivoted Other Columns" = Table.UnpivotOtherColumns(#"Changed Type", {"Date", "Name"}, "Attribute", "Value"),
    #"Added Custom" = Table.AddColumn(#"Unpivoted Other Columns", "Custom", each Text.End([Attribute],Text.Length([Attribute])-Text.PositionOfAny([Attribute],{"1".."9"}))),
    #"Removed Columns" = Table.RemoveColumns(#"Added Custom",{"Attribute"}),
    #"Split Column by Delimiter" = Table.SplitColumn(#"Removed Columns", "Custom", Splitter.SplitTextByEachDelimiter({" "}, QuoteStyle.Csv, false), {"Custom.1", "Custom.2"}),
    #"Changed Type1" = Table.TransformColumnTypes(#"Split Column by Delimiter",{{"Custom.1", Int64.Type}, {"Custom.2", type text}}),
    #"Pivoted Column" = Table.Pivot(#"Changed Type1", List.Distinct(#"Changed Type1"[Custom.2]), "Custom.2", "Value"),
    #"Removed Columns1" = Table.RemoveColumns(#"Pivoted Column",{"Custom.1"})
in
    #"Removed Columns1"

And the final output is as below:

vjunyantmsft_0-1716953577695.png


Best Regards,
Dino Tao
If this post helps, then please consider Accept it as the solution to help the other members find it more quickly.

Helpful resources

Announcements
New to Fabric survey Carousel

New to Fabric Survey

If you have recently started exploring Fabric, we'd love to hear how it's going. Your feedback can help with product improvements.

Power BI DataViz World Championships carousel

Power BI DataViz World Championships - June 2026

A new Power BI DataViz World Championship is coming this June! Don't miss out on submitting your entry.

Join our Fabric User Panel

Join our Fabric User Panel

Share feedback directly with Fabric product managers, participate in targeted research studies and influence the Fabric roadmap.

March Power BI Update Carousel

Power BI Community Update - March 2026

Check out the March 2026 Power BI update to learn about new features.