CHAPTER 11
Working with External Data and Files
Working with External Data Connections
External data is exactly what it sounds like: data that isn't located in the Excel workbook in which you're operating. Some examples of external data sources are text files, Access tables, SQL Server tables, and even other Excel workbooks.
There are numerous ways to get data into Excel. In fact, between the functionality found in the UI and the VBA/code techniques, there are too many techniques to focus on in one chapter. Instead, then, in this chapter we'll focus on a handful of techniques that can be implemented in most situations and that don't come with a lot of pitfalls and gotchas.
The first of those techniques is to use Excel's Power Query feature.
Power Query Basics
Power Query offers an intuitive...
