Forum Discussion

richard-powerbi's avatar
richard-powerbi
Post Patron
6 years ago

Why is Index column by default Decimal Number?

Usually an added Index column is a Whole Number as far as my experience goes.

Why is it by default a Decimal Number in Power Query?

As a result I'm always adding a step to make it a Whole Number. 

  • Is it possible to add an Index column with my desired Data Type directly?

In general I'm wondering what's best practice for performance out of these options:

  • Adding extra step in Power Query for changing Data Type to Whole Number
  • Change Data Type under Data > Modeling to Whole Number
  • Leave it at Decimal Number
Need Help

1 Reply

  • Anonymous's avatar
    Anonymous
    Not applicable
    6 years ago

    Because you may want to increment by .1 or .01. 

    Most CPUs handle floating point (decimal) numbers as efficiently as integers (whole numbers). I would not think that performance improves by changing the type to whole number.

    Regards,

    Mike