Append queries

The append operation creates a single table by adding the contents of one or more tables to another, and aggregates the column headers from the tables to create the schema for the new table.

Diagram showing the result of an append operation with null values in columns that don’t exist in one of the original tables.

Note

When tables that don't have the same column headers are appended, all column headers from all tables are appended to the resulting table. If one of the appended tables doesn't have a column header from other tables, the resulting table shows null values in the respective column, as shown in the previous image in columns C and D.

You can find the Append queries command on the Home tab in the Combine group. On the drop-down menu, there are two options:

  • Append queries displays the Append dialog box to add more tables to the current query.
  • Append queries as new displays the Append dialog box to create a new query by appending multiple tables.

Screenshot of the Power Query Home tab ribbon with the Append queries commands emphasized.

The append operation requires at least two tables. The Append dialog box has two modes:

  • Two tables: Combine two table queries together. This mode is the default mode.
  • Three or more tables: Allow an arbitrary number of table queries to be combined.

Note

The tables are appended in the order in which they're selected, starting with the Primary table for the Two tables mode and from the primary table in the Tables to append list for the Three or more tables mode.

Append two tables

For the example in this article, you use the following two tables with sample data:

  • Online Sales: Sales made through an online channel.

    Screenshot of the sample online sales table with channel name (online), date, customer ID, and units columns.

  • Store Sales: Sales made through the company's physical locations.

    Screenshot of the sample store sales table with date, units, referrer, customer ID, and channel name (store) columns.

To append these tables, first select the Online Sales table. On the Home tab, select Append queries, which creates a new step in the Online Sales query. The Online Sales table is the primary table. The table to append to the primary table is Store Sales.

Screenshot of the Append dialog with Store Sales set as the table to append.

Power Query performs the append operation based on the names of the column headers found on both tables, and not based on their relative position in the headers sections of their respective tables. The final table has all columns from all tables appended.

If one table doesn't have columns found in another table, null values appear in the corresponding column, as shown in the Referrer column of the final query.

Screenshot of the table with combined common columns and data, except for the Referrer column, which contains null values for the online sales rows.

Append three or more tables

In this example, you want to append not only the Online Sales and Store Sales tables, but also a new table named Wholesale Sales.

Screenshot of the sample wholesale sales table with channel name (wholesale), date, customer ID, and units columns.

The new approach for this example is to select Append queries as new, and then in the Append dialog box, select the Three or more tables option button. In the Available table(s) list, select each table you want to append, and then select Add. After all the tables you want appear in the Tables to append list, select OK.

Screenshot of the append dialog using three or more tables mode.

After you select OK, a new query is created with all your tables appended.

Screenshot with combined common columns and data from the three tables, except null values in the online and wholesale rows of the Referrer column.