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

July 7 - July 17 | Round 2 of the Power BI Dataviz World Championships. Don't miss your chance! Learn more

Reply
Anonymous
Not applicable

Upload scrambled data (PDF) via Power Query

On a daily basis, I receive a PDF report that I would like to upload via Power Query.

However, the data is not always structured the same way. After the necessary cleaning, this is where I stranded:

 

DonaldHU_0-1655303099228.png

What needs to happen is that the value in column 9 should end up in column 8 (which I currently do by mergng the 2 columns).

DonaldHU_1-1655303260632.png

And the final result should look like this ((column 2 and column 9)

 

DonaldHU_2-1655303350896.png

 

However, as the number of columns isn't always the same, this provokes errors when I get new pdf's in:

 

DonaldHU_3-1655303463004.png

DonaldHU_4-1655303523914.png

 

What is also good to know is that sometimes all data is nicely under each other (same column), sometimes it's not. And also the number of records that should be extracted from the pdf, is not always the same either (sometimes it's 1, sometimes it's 4, ...)

 

 

 

 

 

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION
Anonymous
Not applicable

Hi @Anonymous ,

 

To my knowledge, we could not smartly know where the data structure has changed.

If the original column names change, the subsequent reference steps should be manually changed accordingly.

 

For more detailed explanation, please refer to: Dealing with errors - Power Query | Microsoft Docs

Eyelyn9_0-1655703733838.png

 

Best Regards,
Eyelyn Qin
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

1 REPLY 1
Anonymous
Not applicable

Hi @Anonymous ,

 

To my knowledge, we could not smartly know where the data structure has changed.

If the original column names change, the subsequent reference steps should be manually changed accordingly.

 

For more detailed explanation, please refer to: Dealing with errors - Power Query | Microsoft Docs

Eyelyn9_0-1655703733838.png

 

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

Helpful resources

Announcements
FabCon and SQLCon Barcelona 2026

FabCon & SQLCon – Barcelona 2026

Join us in Barcelona for FabCon and SQLCon, the Fabric, Power BI, SQL, and AI community event. Save €200 with code FABCMTY200.

60 days of Data Days Carousel

Data Days 2026

Join Fabric Data Days 2026: 60 days of free live/on-demand sessions, challenges, study groups, and certification opportunities.

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.