Welcome to Excel Jet Consult blog post. In this tutorial, we will learn how to extracting data using Column by example feature in Power BI Power Query otherwise known as Flash Fill in Excel. However, before we see how to do this in Power BI, we are going to use the same data and extract data in Excel using flash fill.
In the caption below, we want to extract all the First Name such as Phoebe, Tina etc from the Account Manager column A
- Select column B and execute CTRL + SHIFT + + to insert a new column
- Rename the column as First Name
- In cell B2, type in Phoebe and click Enter
- In cell B3, execute CTRL + E or type in Tina and click Enter
- Click Enter to accept the flash fill suggestion
Power BI Power Column From Example
Having see how to extract data using flash fill in Excel, we will do the same in Power BI Power Query
The first thing is to load the data into the PBI Power Query which we have achieved. See the picture below
- Select Account Manager column
- In the General group of the Add Column tab, click on Column From Examples dropdown and select From Selection
- In the empty column to the right, double click on Column1 to Rename and click Enter
- In Row1, type in the first name to extract which is Phoebe
- Click OK
From the caption above, we see that the first name are properly extracted from the Account Manager column.
Finally, click OK
