Excel’s July 2016 update add new Get & Transform and PowerQuery add-in features

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by Radu Tyrsina 

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It’s that time of the month again for Microsoft’s Excel 2016 software. The July update included a list of features for its Power Query technology. To be specific, the Get & Transform has been tweaked with many new connectors and controls that enhance the ability to gather and organize data easier.

These updates include the following new or improved data connectivity and transformation features:

  • New SAP HANA connector.
  • New SharePoint Folder connector.
  • New Online Services connectors category.
  • Improved DB2 connector, now leveraging the Microsoft driver for IBM DB2.
  • Improved Text/CSV connector, now exposing editable settings in the preview dialog.
  • Improved relational database connectors, now including Schema information as a part of the Navigation hierarchy.
  • Data Source Settings enhancements, including “Change Source” capability.
  • Advanced Filter Rows dialog mode within the Query Editor.
  • Inline Input controls for Function invocation within the Query Editor.
  • Support for reordering Query Steps within the Query Editor by using drag and drop gestures.
  • Date picker support for input Date values in Filter Rows and Conditional Columns dialogs.
  • New context menu entry to create new queries from the Queries pane within the Query Editor.

Last month, Excel 2016 saw major improvements built into the PivotTables. Users were able to take advantage of the faster OLAP servers thanks to caching improvements, increasing query efficiency and reducing the number of queries. The July update seems to continue building on that, empowering the ability of Power Query through the Get & Transform section on the Data ribbon.

All Office 365 subscribers can take full advantage of the update with their purchase. Likewise, users that have the older 2010 or 2013 Excel versions can download the Power Query add-in for Excel. The team’s blog went into even more detail for each of the new features today so make sure to check out the latest Office 365 blog post.

Radu Tyrsina

Radu Tyrsina Shield

Radu Tyrsina has been a Windows fan ever since he got his first PC, a Pentium III (a monster at that time). For most of the kids of his age, the Internet was an amazing way to play and communicate with others, but he was deeply impressed by the flow of information and how easily you can find anything on the web. Prior to founding Windows Report, this particular curiosity about digital content enabled him to grow a number of sites that helped hundreds of millions reach faster the answer they're looking for.