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3. Getting Data

3.1 The Get Data Window

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Quick answer: the short, self-contained version of this lesson is the guide Connect Excel and CSV Files to Power BI.

Start with a problem

Ravindra has the practice orders CSV and wants it in Power BI.

Explain simply

Get data lists connectors (Excel, Text/CSV, SQL Server, Web…). Pick one, preview, then Load or Transform data.

Show the data

Order ID Order Date City Store Platform Category Amount (₹) Delivery mins Status
301 06-Apr-2026 Pune Kothrud Blinkit Dairy 400 8 Delivered
302 06-Apr-2026 Pune Baner Amazon Now Snacks 200 12 Delivered
303 07-Apr-2026 Nashik Gangapur Blinkit Dairy 300 14 Delivered
304 04-May-2026 Nashik College Road Blinkit Fruits 150 9 Delivered
305 04-May-2026 Kolhapur Rajarampuri Amazon Now Snacks 450 7 Delivered
306 05-May-2026 Pune Kothrud Blinkit Fruits 250 16 Delivered
307 05-May-2026 Nashik College Road Amazon Now Dairy 350 11 Delivered
308 05-May-2026 Kolhapur Rajarampuri Blinkit Dairy 0 Cancelled

About this data: This table uses columns: Order ID, Order Date, City, Store, Platform, Category, Amount (₹), Delivery mins, Status. This table uses columns: Check, Value. This table uses columns: Wrong result, Reason, Correction. Values shown are the lesson examples already on this page (not a new dataset).

Fictional sample data. Practice file: visuals_orders_apr_may_2026.csv (source: src/practice/).

Demonstrate

  1. Home › Get data › Text/CSV.
  2. Choose visuals_orders_apr_may_2026.csv › Open.
  3. Check the preview: 9 columns, 8 rows.
  4. Click Transform data to check types first.
  5. Close & Apply; check Data view row count.

Show the result

Your result should look like this (fictional sample):

Check Value
Rows 8
Columns 9
Sum of Amount (card) ₹2,100

Explain what happened

The connector read the file, Power Query detected types, and Close & Apply loaded it into the model.

Explore further

  • Use Transform data when you are not sure the types are right.

Detailed reference for this lesson:

Click Home › Get data. The small drop-down shows common sources; click More… to open the full Get Data window, where connectors are grouped into categories: File, Database, Microsoft Fabric, Power Platform, Azure, Online Services and Other. You can also use the search box.

After you choose a source and select tables/sheets, the Navigator window shows a preview. At the bottom you get two buttons:

  • Load – loads the data straight into the model as it is.
  • Transform Data – opens the Power Query Editor so that you can clean it first. This is almost always the better choice.

Ravindra Bagale's Tip

Friends, pay attention: a frequent mistake is clicking Load straight from the Navigator. Almost always click Transform Data so you can check types, remove unwanted columns and clean the data before it enters the model. Practise, and it will feel very easy.

Fix common mistakes

Wrong result Reason Correction
Amount sums as text error Amount detected as text Change type to Whole Number
Header row in data Promote headers missing Use first row as headers
Delivery Mins blank for 308 counted as 0 Expected blank (cancelled) Keep blank; handle in measures

Practise independently

Practice task

How many columns does the file have?

Hints
  • Count headers.
Solution

9.

Think like a professional

Check row counts after every load – it is the simplest data-quality test.

Ravi Sir's Cards for this lesson

The Get data window. Every report starts with data. You must know how to bring it into Power BI.Revision card

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