How to Combine All Excel Sheets from a Workbook into One Table Efficiently
You are loading data from an Excel workbook that has multiple sheets. Each sheet contains sales data for a different region. You need to combine all sheets into one table. What is the most efficient approach?
Quick Answer
Append Queries is the answer because the sheets in this workbook share the same structure and simply need to be stacked into one longer table -- which is exactly what a union operation does, and Append is Power Query's union operation. Once each sheet is loaded as its own query, Append Queries takes all of them and combines their rows into a single table in one step, which is both fast to set up and easy to maintain if a new sheet gets added later. The key distinction to hold onto is the difference between combining data vertically and combining it horizontally: Append stacks rows from tables that share the same columns, while Merge instead performs a join, matching rows across tables based on a common key and adding columns from one table onto another -- the two operations solve opposite problems and are not interchangeable. Similarly, the 'From Folder' connector is built for combining multiple separate files sitting in a folder, not multiple sheets living inside a single workbook, so it doesn't apply here even though it also produces a combined result. Whenever a scenario describes several tables with identical or near-identical column structures that need to become one table, think Append; whenever it describes matching or enriching one table using values from another, think Merge instead.
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse 'Append Queries' (union) with 'Merge Queries' (join). Candidates may also think that the 'From Folder' option can combine sheets within a single workbook, but that feature is designed to combine multiple files from a folder, not multiple sheets in one file. The most efficient approach for combining multiple sheets from the same workbook is to load each sheet as a query and then use 'Append Queries' to union them into one table.
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
✓
Use 'Append Queries' for each sheet individually.
Using 'Append Queries' in Power Query allows you to combine multiple queries (one per sheet) into a single table. You can load all sheets as queries, then use the Append Queries feature to union them all at once, which is efficient and avoids manual repetition. Power Query's Append operation is designed for this purpose and is more efficient than loading separate tables into the model (C) or using Merge (B) which performs joins, not unions. 'From Folder' (D) is intended for combining multiple files, not sheets within a single workbook.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Use 'Append Queries' for each sheet individually.
Why this is correct
Correct. The Append Queries feature can combine multiple queries (each representing a sheet) into one table. This is the most efficient method among the given options for combining sheets from a single workbook.
- ✗
Use 'Merge Queries' to join all sheets into one.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Merge Queries are used for joining tables based on key columns, not for combining rows from multiple tables into one. Append is the correct operation for unioning rows.
- ✗
Load each sheet as a separate table in the model and create a calculated table to union them.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Loading each sheet as a separate table and using DAX calculated tables to union them is inefficient and unnecessary. Power Query provides a better way to append data before loading into the model.
- ✗
Use Power Query's 'From Folder' option to combine all Excel files in a folder, then select 'Combine & Transform' to use the workbook as a sample.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. 'From Folder' is designed to combine multiple files in a folder, not multiple sheets within a single workbook. The correct approach for sheets is to use 'Get Data > From File > From Excel Workbook' and select multiple sheets.
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Same concept, more angles
1 more way this is tested on PL-300
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. 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?
easy- A.Merge Queries
- B.Group By
- ✓ C.Append Queries
- D.Pivot Column
- ✓ E.Append Queries as New
Why C: Append Queries and Append Queries as New are both correct because they combine rows from two or more tables with identical columns into a single table. In Power Query, 'Append' is the operation designed for stacking rows vertically, which matches the requirement of combining sheets with the same columns but different row data.
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Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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