Helper Functions
This topic contains a number of helper functions commonly used in M extensions.
These functions may eventually be moved to the official M library, but for now can be copied into your extension file code.
You shouldn't mark any of these functions as shared within your extension code.
Navigation Tables
Table.ToNavigationTable
This function adds the table type metadata needed for your extension to return a table value that Power Query can recognize as a Navigation Tree. See Navigation Tables for more information.
Table.ToNavigationTable = (
table as table,
keyColumns as list,
nameColumn as text,
dataColumn as text,
itemKindColumn as text,
itemNameColumn as text,
isLeafColumn as text
) as table =>
let
tableType = Value.Type(table),
newTableType = Type.AddTableKey(tableType, keyColumns, true) meta
[
NavigationTable.NameColumn = nameColumn,
NavigationTable.DataColumn = dataColumn,
NavigationTable.ItemKindColumn = itemKindColumn,
Preview.DelayColumn = itemNameColumn,
NavigationTable.IsLeafColumn = isLeafColumn
],
navigationTable = Value.ReplaceType(table, newTableType)
in
navigationTable;
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| table | Your navigation table. |
| keyColumns | List of column names that act as the primary key for your navigation table. |
| nameColumn | The name of the column that should be used as the display name in the navigator. |
| dataColumn | The name of the column that contains the Table or Function to display. |
| itemKindColumn | The name of the column to use to determine the type of icon to display. Valid values for the column are listed in the Handling Navigation article. |
| itemNameColumn | The name of the column to use to determine the type of tooltip to display. Valid values for the column are Table and Function. |
| isLeafColumn | The name of the column used to determine if this is a leaf node, or if the node can be expanded to contain another navigation table. |
Example usage:
shared MyExtension.Contents = () =>
let
objects = #table(
{"Name", "Key", "Data", "ItemKind", "ItemName", "IsLeaf"},{
{"Item1", "item1", #table({"Column1"}, {{"Item1"}}), "Table", "Table", true},
{"Item2", "item2", #table({"Column1"}, {{"Item2"}}), "Table", "Table", true},
{"Item3", "item3", FunctionCallThatReturnsATable(), "Table", "Table", true},
{"MyFunction", "myfunction", AnotherFunction.Contents(), "Function", "Function", true}
}),
NavTable = Table.ToNavigationTable(objects, {"Key"}, "Name", "Data", "ItemKind", "ItemName", "IsLeaf")
in
NavTable;
URI Manipulation
Uri.FromParts
This function constructs a full URL based on individual fields in the record. It acts as the reverse of Uri.Parts.
Uri.FromParts = (parts) =>
let
port = if (parts[Scheme] = "https" and parts[Port] = 443) or (parts[Scheme] = "http" and parts[Port] = 80) then "" else ":" & Text.From(parts[Port]),
div1 = if Record.FieldCount(parts[Query]) > 0 then "?" else "",
div2 = if Text.Length(parts[Fragment]) > 0 then "#" else "",
uri = Text.Combine({parts[Scheme], "://", parts[Host], port, parts[Path], div1, Uri.BuildQueryString(parts[Query]), div2, parts[Fragment]})
in
uri;
Uri.GetHost
This function returns the scheme, host, and default port (for HTTP/HTTPS) for a given URL. For example, https://bing.com/subpath/query?param=1¶m2=hello would become https://bing.com:443.
This is particularly useful for building ResourcePath.
Uri.GetHost = (url) =>
let
parts = Uri.Parts(url),
port = if (parts[Scheme] = "https" and parts[Port] = 443) or (parts[Scheme] = "http" and parts[Port] = 80) then "" else ":" & Text.From(parts[Port])
in
parts[Scheme] & "://" & parts[Host] & port;
ValidateUrlScheme
This function checks if the user entered an HTTPS URL and raises an error if they don't. This is required for user entered URLs for certified connectors.
ValidateUrlScheme = (url as text) as text => if (Uri.Parts(url)[Scheme] <> "https") then error "Url scheme must be HTTPS" else url;
To apply it, just wrap your url parameter in your data access function.
DataAccessFunction = (url as text) as table =>
let
_url = ValidateUrlScheme(url),
source = Web.Contents(_url)
in
source;
Retrieving Data
Value.WaitFor
This function is useful when making an asynchronous HTTP request and you need to poll the server until the request is complete.
Value.WaitFor = (producer as function, interval as function, optional count as number) as any =>
let
list = List.Generate(
() => {0, null},
(state) => state{0} <> null and (count = null or state{0} < count),
(state) => if state{1} <> null then {null, state{1}} else {1 + state{0}, Function.InvokeAfter(() => producer(state{0}), interval(state{0}))},
(state) => state{1})
in
List.Last(list);
Table.GenerateByPage
This function is used when an API returns data in an incremental/paged format, which
is common for many REST APIs. The getNextPage argument is a function that takes in
a single parameter, which will be the result of the previous call to getNextPage, and
should return a nullable table.
getNextPage = (lastPage) as nullable table => ...;
getNextPage is called repeatedly until it returns null. The function will collate
all pages into a single table. When the result of the first call to getNextPage is null,
an empty table is returned.
// The getNextPage function takes a single argument and is expected to return a nullable table
Table.GenerateByPage = (getNextPage as function) as table =>
let
listOfPages = List.Generate(
() => getNextPage(null), // get the first page of data
(lastPage) => lastPage <> null, // stop when the function returns null
(lastPage) => getNextPage(lastPage) // pass the previous page to the next function call
),
// concatenate the pages together
tableOfPages = Table.FromList(listOfPages, Splitter.SplitByNothing(), {"Column1"}),
firstRow = tableOfPages{0}?
in
// if we didn't get back any pages of data, return an empty table
// otherwise set the table type based on the columns of the first page
if (firstRow = null) then
Table.FromRows({})
// check for empty first table
else if (Table.IsEmpty(firstRow[Column1])) then
firstRow[Column1]
else
Value.ReplaceType(
Table.ExpandTableColumn(tableOfPages, "Column1", Table.ColumnNames(firstRow[Column1])),
Value.Type(firstRow[Column1])
);
Additional notes:
- The
getNextPagefunction will need to retrieve the next page URL (or page number, or whatever other values are used to implement the paging logic). This is generally done by addingmetavalues to the page before returning it. - The columns and table type of the combined table (that is, all pages together) are derived from
the first page of data. The
getNextPagefunction should normalize each page of data. - The first call to
getNextPagereceives a null parameter. getNextPagemust return null when there are no pages left.
An example of using this function can be found in the Github sample, and the TripPin paging sample.
Github.PagedTable = (url as text) => Table.GenerateByPage((previous) =>
let
// If we have a previous page, get its Next link from metadata on the page.
next = if (previous <> null) then Value.Metadata(previous)[Next] else null,
// If we have a next link, use it, otherwise use the original URL that was passed in.
urlToUse = if (next <> null) then next else url,
// If we have a previous page, but don't have a next link, then we're done paging.
// Otherwise retrieve the next page.
current = if (previous <> null and next = null) then null else Github.Contents(urlToUse),
// If we got data back from the current page, get the link for the next page
link = if (current <> null) then Value.Metadata(current)[Next] else null
in
current meta [Next=link]);
SchemaTransformTable
EnforceSchema.Strict = 1; // Add any missing columns, remove extra columns, set table type
EnforceSchema.IgnoreExtraColumns = 2; // Add missing columns, do not remove extra columns
EnforceSchema.IgnoreMissingColumns = 3; // Do not add or remove columns
SchemaTransformTable = (table as table, schema as table, optional enforceSchema as number) as table =>
let
// Default to EnforceSchema.Strict
_enforceSchema = if (enforceSchema <> null) then enforceSchema else EnforceSchema.Strict,
// Applies type transforms to a given table
EnforceTypes = (table as table, schema as table) as table =>
let
map = (t) => if Type.Is(t, type list) or Type.Is(t, type record) or t = type any then null else t,
mapped = Table.TransformColumns(schema, {"Type", map}),
omitted = Table.SelectRows(mapped, each [Type] <> null),
existingColumns = Table.ColumnNames(table),
removeMissing = Table.SelectRows(omitted, each List.Contains(existingColumns, [Name])),
primativeTransforms = Table.ToRows(removeMissing),
changedPrimatives = Table.TransformColumnTypes(table, primativeTransforms)
in
changedPrimatives,
// Returns the table type for a given schema
SchemaToTableType = (schema as table) as type =>
let
toList = List.Transform(schema[Type], (t) => [Type=t, Optional=false]),
toRecord = Record.FromList(toList, schema[Name]),
toType = Type.ForRecord(toRecord, false)
in
type table (toType),
// Determine if we have extra/missing columns.
// The enforceSchema parameter determines what we do about them.
schemaNames = schema[Name],
foundNames = Table.ColumnNames(table),
addNames = List.RemoveItems(schemaNames, foundNames),
extraNames = List.RemoveItems(foundNames, schemaNames),
tmp = Text.NewGuid(),
added = Table.AddColumn(table, tmp, each []),
expanded = Table.ExpandRecordColumn(added, tmp, addNames),
result = if List.IsEmpty(addNames) then table else expanded,
fullList =
if (_enforceSchema = EnforceSchema.Strict) then
schemaNames
else if (_enforceSchema = EnforceSchema.IgnoreMissingColumns) then
foundNames
else
schemaNames & extraNames,
// Select the final list of columns.
// These will be ordered according to the schema table.
reordered = Table.SelectColumns(result, fullList, MissingField.Ignore),
enforcedTypes = EnforceTypes(reordered, schema),
withType = if (_enforceSchema = EnforceSchema.Strict) then Value.ReplaceType(enforcedTypes, SchemaToTableType(schema)) else enforcedTypes
in
withType;
Table.ChangeType
let
// table should be an actual Table.Type, or a List.Type of Records
Table.ChangeType = (table, tableType as type) as nullable table =>
// we only operate on table types
if (not Type.Is(tableType, type table)) then error "type argument should be a table type" else
// if we have a null value, just return it
if (table = null) then table else
let
columnsForType = Type.RecordFields(Type.TableRow(tableType)),
columnsAsTable = Record.ToTable(columnsForType),
schema = Table.ExpandRecordColumn(columnsAsTable, "Value", {"Type"}, {"Type"}),
previousMeta = Value.Metadata(tableType),
// make sure we have a table
parameterType = Value.Type(table),
_table =
if (Type.Is(parameterType, type table)) then table
else if (Type.Is(parameterType, type list)) then
let
asTable = Table.FromList(table, Splitter.SplitByNothing(), {"Column1"}),
firstValueType = Value.Type(Table.FirstValue(asTable, null)),
result =
// if the member is a record (as expected), then expand it.
if (Type.Is(firstValueType, type record)) then
Table.ExpandRecordColumn(asTable, "Column1", schema[Name])
else
error Error.Record("Error.Parameter", "table argument is a list, but not a list of records", [ ValueType = firstValueType ])
in
if (List.IsEmpty(table)) then
#table({"a"}, {})
else result
else
error Error.Record("Error.Parameter", "table argument should be a table or list of records", [ValueType = parameterType]),
reordered = Table.SelectColumns(_table, schema[Name], MissingField.UseNull),
// process primitive values - this will call Table.TransformColumnTypes
map = (t) => if Type.Is(t, type table) or Type.Is(t, type list) or Type.Is(t, type record) or t = type any then null else t,
mapped = Table.TransformColumns(schema, {"Type", map}),
omitted = Table.SelectRows(mapped, each [Type] <> null),
existingColumns = Table.ColumnNames(reordered),
removeMissing = Table.SelectRows(omitted, each List.Contains(existingColumns, [Name])),
primativeTransforms = Table.ToRows(removeMissing),
changedPrimatives = Table.TransformColumnTypes(reordered, primativeTransforms),
// Get the list of transforms we'll use for Record types
recordColumns = Table.SelectRows(schema, each Type.Is([Type], type record)),
recordTypeTransformations = Table.AddColumn(recordColumns, "RecordTransformations", each (r) => Record.ChangeType(r, [Type]), type function),
recordChanges = Table.ToRows(Table.SelectColumns(recordTypeTransformations, {"Name", "RecordTransformations"})),
// Get the list of transforms we'll use for List types
listColumns = Table.SelectRows(schema, each Type.Is([Type], type list)),
listTransforms = Table.AddColumn(listColumns, "ListTransformations", each (t) => List.ChangeType(t, [Type]), Function.Type),
listChanges = Table.ToRows(Table.SelectColumns(listTransforms, {"Name", "ListTransformations"})),
// Get the list of transforms we'll use for Table types
tableColumns = Table.SelectRows(schema, each Type.Is([Type], type table)),
tableTransforms = Table.AddColumn(tableColumns, "TableTransformations", each (t) => @Table.ChangeType(t, [Type]), Function.Type),
tableChanges = Table.ToRows(Table.SelectColumns(tableTransforms, {"Name", "TableTransformations"})),
// Perform all of our transformations
allColumnTransforms = recordChanges & listChanges & tableChanges,
changedRecordTypes = if (List.IsEmpty(allColumnTransforms)) then changedPrimatives else Table.TransformColumns(changedPrimatives, allColumnTransforms, null, MissingField.Ignore),
// set final type
withType = Value.ReplaceType(changedRecordTypes, tableType)
in
if (List.IsEmpty(Record.FieldNames(columnsForType))) then table else withType meta previousMeta,
// If given a generic record type (no predefined fields), the original record is returned
Record.ChangeType = (record as record, recordType as type) =>
let
// record field format is [ fieldName = [ Type = type, Optional = logical], ... ]
fields = try Type.RecordFields(recordType) otherwise error "Record.ChangeType: failed to get record fields. Is this a record type?",
fieldNames = Record.FieldNames(fields),
fieldTable = Record.ToTable(fields),
optionalFields = Table.SelectRows(fieldTable, each [Value][Optional])[Name],
requiredFields = List.Difference(fieldNames, optionalFields),
// make sure all required fields exist
withRequired = Record.SelectFields(record, requiredFields, MissingField.UseNull),
// append optional fields
withOptional = withRequired & Record.SelectFields(record, optionalFields, MissingField.Ignore),
// set types
transforms = GetTransformsForType(recordType),
withTypes = Record.TransformFields(withOptional, transforms, MissingField.Ignore),
// order the same as the record type
reorder = Record.ReorderFields(withTypes, fieldNames, MissingField.Ignore)
in
if (List.IsEmpty(fieldNames)) then record else reorder,
List.ChangeType = (list as list, listType as type) =>
if (not Type.Is(listType, type list)) then error "type argument should be a list type" else
let
listItemType = Type.ListItem(listType),
transform = GetTransformByType(listItemType),
modifiedValues = List.Transform(list, transform),
typed = Value.ReplaceType(modifiedValues, listType)
in
typed,
// Returns a table type for the provided schema table
Schema.ToTableType = (schema as table) as type =>
let
toList = List.Transform(schema[Type], (t) => [Type=t, Optional=false]),
toRecord = Record.FromList(toList, schema[Name]),
toType = Type.ForRecord(toRecord, false),
previousMeta = Value.Metadata(schema)
in
type table (toType) meta previousMeta,
// Returns a list of transformations that can be passed to Table.TransformColumns, or Record.TransformFields
// Format: {"Column", (f) => ...) .... ex: {"A", Number.From}
GetTransformsForType = (_type as type) as list =>
let
fieldsOrColumns = if (Type.Is(_type, type record)) then Type.RecordFields(_type)
else if (Type.Is(_type, type table)) then Type.RecordFields(Type.TableRow(_type))
else error "GetTransformsForType: record or table type expected",
toTable = Record.ToTable(fieldsOrColumns),
transformColumn = Table.AddColumn(toTable, "Transform", each GetTransformByType([Value][Type]), Function.Type),
transformMap = Table.ToRows(Table.SelectColumns(transformColumn, {"Name", "Transform"}))
in
transformMap,
GetTransformByType = (_type as type) as function =>
if (Type.Is(_type, type number)) then Number.From
else if (Type.Is(_type, type text)) then Text.From
else if (Type.Is(_type, type date)) then Date.From
else if (Type.Is(_type, type datetime)) then DateTime.From
else if (Type.Is(_type, type duration)) then Duration.From
else if (Type.Is(_type, type datetimezone)) then DateTimeZone.From
else if (Type.Is(_type, type logical)) then Logical.From
else if (Type.Is(_type, type time)) then Time.From
else if (Type.Is(_type, type record)) then (t) => if (t <> null) then @Record.ChangeType(t, _type) else t
else if (Type.Is(_type, type table)) then (t) => if (t <> null) then @Table.ChangeType(t, _type) else t
else if (Type.Is(_type, type list)) then (t) => if (t <> null) then @List.ChangeType(t, _type) else t
else (t) => t
in
Table.ChangeType
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