Excel Power Pivot & Power Query For Dummies
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In Excel 2016, Power Query isn't an add-in — it's a native feature of Excel, just like charts and pivot tables are native features. If you're working with Excel 2016, you don't have to install any additional components. You'll find Power Query in Excel 2016 hidden on the Data tab, in the Get & Transform group.

Get-&-Transform
 In Excel 2016, the Power Query commands are found in the Get & Transform group on the Data tab.

If you're working with Excel 2010 or Excel 2013, you need to explicitly download and install the Power Query add-in. As of this writing, the Power Query add-in is available to you only if you have one of these editions of Office or Excel:

  • Office 2010 Professional Plus: Available for purchase through any retailer
  • Office 2013 Professional Plus: Available through volume licensing only
  • Office 365 Pro Plus: Available with an ongoing subscription to Office365.com
  • Excel 2013 Stand-alone Edition: Available for purchase through any retailer
If you have any of these editions, you can install and activate the Power Query add-in. Simply enter the search term Excel Power Query add-in into your favorite search engine to find the free installation package.

Note that Microsoft offers Power Query for both Excel 2010 and Excel 2013 in both 32- and 64-bit platforms. Be sure to download the version that matches your version of Excel as well as the platform on which your PC is running.

After the add-in is installed, activate it by following these steps:

  1. Open Excel and look for the Power Query command on the Insert tab. If you see it, the Power Query add-in is already activated. You can skip the remaining steps.

    Power-Query
     In Excel 2010 and 2013, the Power Query add-in is exposed via its own tab on the Ribbon.
  2. From the Excel Ribbon, choose File→Options.
  3. Choose the Add-Ins option on the left, and then look for the Manage drop-down list at the bottom of the dialog box. Select COM Add-Ins and then click Go.
  4. Look for Power Query for Excel in the list of available COM add-ins. Select the check box next to each one of these options and click OK.
  5. Close and restart Excel.
A successful install results in a new Power Query tab on the Excel Ribbon.

About This Article

This article is from the book:

About the book author:

Michael Alexander is a senior consultant at Slalom Consulting with more than 15 years’ experience in data management and reporting. He is the author of more than a dozen books on business analysis using Microsoft Excel, and has been named Microsoft Excel MVP for his contributions to the Excel community.

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