Learning Power Query

In a time where data drives decision-making, Excel continues to be a vital resource for professionals. Power Query greatly enhances its functionality. As businesses increasingly seek automation and scalable solutions, proficiency in Power Query and the M language is a crucial advantage for data practitioners. This book fulfills that demand by combining technical accuracy with practical examples.

Beginning with basic transformations and progressing to advanced query logic, parameterization, and custom M solutions, each chapter fosters technical expertise. Readers will discover how to import data from diverse sources, enhance performance, troubleshoot queries, and tackle intricate business problems using clean and efficient M code. The book prioritizes clarity and control, providing alternative methods, performance optimization tips, and refined coding techniques throughout.

By the end of the book, readers will be prepared to create Power Query workflows that extend well beyond the GUI. They will not only gain practical experience with the M language but also cultivate the ability to structure, refine, and optimize queries with accuracy, acquiring essential skills for automation and strategic data analysis.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN
● Import data from Excel, folders, and various external sources.
● Transform, filter, and reshape data effectively.
● Develop dynamic parameters, lists, and filters driven by queries.
● Construct and repurpose custom M functions for use across different files.
● Apply techniques for ranking, aggregation, and custom sorting.
● Enhance query performance by employing clean and efficient M code.
● Automate complex transformations that exceed the capabilities of the GUI.
● Address business challenges using nested and recursive logic.

WHO THIS BOOK IS FOR
This book is for data analysts, Excel professionals, financial modelers, and business intelligence developers who want to push Power Query beyond its interface. It supports those shaping data, enabling precise, scalable, and maintainable transformations using M language.

1. Getting Started with Power Query
2. Advanced Data Connections and Imports
3. Combining Data Queries
4. Grouping Data
5. Pivot and Unpivot
6. Adding Columns
7. Logical Operations and Conditional Columns
8. Parameters and Query Parameterization
9. Creating Custom Functions
10. Examples Using M Language
11. Optimization and Extensions

Adam Szczepan Kopeć is a passionate user of Excel and Power Query. For many years, he has been utilizing these tools in his professional work and training others to help them better leverage the capabilities of these applications.

Since 2012, he has been running a Polish YouTube channel (Excel i Adam), where more than 1,000 public videos are available. These videos are watched approximately 3,000 times daily by over 20,000 subscribers. Since 2022, he also runs a channel in English.

His passion has led to the publication of three books on Excel in collaboration with the KomputerŚwiat editorial team and one written independently:

• Excel w przykładach. Zaawansowane funkcje krok po kroku
• Excel 50 najważniejszychfunkcji
• MistrzExcela w 20 dni (the first Excel book written as a dialogue)
• Excel SuperHero, czyli od zera do Bohatera w pracy (translated as: Excel SuperHero, or from zero to hero at work)

On May 1, 2017, he received the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional award. This award is granted to individuals who demonstrate expertise in Microsoft technologies (Excel) and contribute to the community by creating YouTube videos, writing books, or speaking at conferences.

He has over six years of experience as a trainer and holds the Microsoft Office Specialist Excel 2010 certification. However, he values the gratitude of those he has helped solve Excel-related problems far more than any formal credential.

He has trained individuals, including through the unique concept of writing a book about Excel as a dialogue (MistrzExcela), as well as small and medium-sized companies. For these companies, he has designed custom Excel spreadsheets to facilitate tasks such as summarizing sales data, creating price lists, and managing vehicle fleets or translators.

During his training sessions, he works directly with participants' files, enabling them to immediately apply the skills they learn.