Append Queries

Append Operation is used to combine queries by stacking them on top of each other. When the column values in two tables match, the data rows from a given table will be added (or inserted) at the bottom of the other table’s data rows.

The base table will therefore have same number of columns at the conclusion of the procedures as it did at the beginning, but each column will have extra rows in an append operation.

Append refers to the process of combining the output of two or more queries—which are tables themselves—into a single query.

• One row at a time will be inserted. (For instance, adding a 250-row query to a 150-row query will result in a 400-row result set.)
• Each query* will have the same number of columns. (Column1, Column2,…, Column7 in the first query, for instance, will result in one table with a single set of column1, Column2…, Column7 once the same columns are appended in the second query.)

How to Append Queries?

The following are the steps to append the queries:

Step 1. Choose the query (table) that you wish the other query to append from the Power Query Editor’s left pane. It’s Sales Data in this instance.

Step 2. After selecting Sales Data Table click the Home Tab to access the Ribbon Menu.

Step 3. Select Append Queries from the Combine menu.

Step 4. Select Add Queries as New. A pop-up menu will appear.

Step 5. Pick first query from the first drop-down selection.

Step 6. Choose second query from the second drop-down selection.

Step 7. Select OK.

• Select Append Queries as New if you want to preserve the current query result and generate a new query with the appended result. If not, simply choose Append Queries. Additionally, you have the option to add three or more tables to the list at a time.
• Duplicate rows cannot be eliminated by appending queries; instead, we must use Group by or remove duplicate records.

What if the columns are different in the queries?

Append still functions even if the columns in the source queries are different; however, it will add one column to the output for every new column. The cell value of that column for those rows will be null if that column is absent from one of the sources. Append is equivalent to SQL’s UNION ALL.

Power BI is a popular data visualization tool that can be used to create interactive reports and dashboards. It can work on different types of data. A key feature to be noted is its ability to combine multiple data. The merging and appending functions in Power BI let you combine data from several tables.

Depending on the kind of concatenation you need to perform for your needs, you can choose between merge and append queries.

• Merge queries are mostly used when you have two tables that have one column in common. Thus, it can help us create a new table or make changes to an existing table based on the common column.
• On the other hand, append queries will help you join two or more queries by stacking them on top of each other. Therefore, it adds more rows to an existing query or creates a new query by appending multiple queries.

In this article, we will discuss about merging and appending queries in Power BI. We will discover the variations between append and merge queries, various joint kinds, and applications for fuzzy matching.