How to Combine All Excel Sheets from a Workbook into One Table Efficiently
You are importing data from an Excel workbook. The workbook has multiple sheets. You want to combine two sheets that have the same columns but different row data. Which TWO Power Query operations can you use?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers confuse 'Merge' (horizontal join) with 'Append' (vertical union), or think only one of the Append options is valid, but both 'Append Queries' and 'Append Queries as New' are correct operations for combining rows.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Append Queries
Append Queries (C) is correct because appending stacks the rows of two tables that share the same column structure, which is exactly the goal of combining two sheets with identical columns but different row data. Append Queries as New (E) is also correct because it performs the same row-stacking operation but outputs the result to a new query instead of modifying an existing one, preserving the original queries. Merge Queries (A) is incorrect because it joins tables horizontally by matching key columns, adding columns rather than rows. Group By (B) is incorrect because it aggregates rows into summary values, not concatenates datasets. Pivot Column (D) is incorrect because it reshapes data by turning unique row values into new columns, which does not combine row data from two sheets.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
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Merge Queries
Why it's wrong here
Merge Queries combines two tables by matching rows on one or more key columns, horizontally joining the data so that columns from both tables coexist in a single, wider result. This is a relational join operation (similar to SQL JOIN), not a row-stacking operation, so it cannot be used to concatenate rows from separate sources. Because the requirement is to combine rows into one longer table, Merge Queries is conceptually incorrect.
- ✗
Group By
Why it's wrong here
Group By is an aggregation transform that operates within a single query, partitioning rows by one or more grouping columns and computing aggregate values such as sum, count, or average for each group. It reduces the number of rows rather than increasing them, and it does not accept a second table as input. Since the task is to append rows from an external workbook, Group By is not a row-combining operation and cannot serve this purpose.
- ✓
Append Queries
Why this is correct
Append Queries is the Power Query operation that stacks the rows of one query or table below those of another, requiring both tables to have the same or compatible column structures. It performs a vertical concatenation equivalent to SQL UNION, adding the entire set of rows from the second query to the first query's existing data. This exactly satisfies the requirement to consolidate rows from an Excel workbook into a single table.
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Pivot Column
Why it's wrong here
Pivot Column is a reshape operation that takes distinct values from a chosen column and turns them into new columns, while aggregating values from a value column. It transforms data from a long, normalized format into a wide format, expanding horizontally rather than vertically. This operation does not accept a second table or combine rows from separate sources, so it is irrelevant to the task of appending data.
- ✓
Append Queries as New
Why this is correct
Append Queries as New performs the same row-stacking operation as Append Queries but creates a brand new query instead of modifying the currently selected query. It is also a valid way to combine rows, and the resulting query contains all rows from the two source tables. In the context of this question, both the standard Append Queries and its 'as New' variant are technically correct, but the simplest answer is the standard Append Queries operation.
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