29.3 JOIN = XLOOKUP / Power Query Merge

By Ravindra Bagale Last updated: 31 October 2026

Why. XLOOKUP / Merge bring columns from another table — JOIN does that in SQL.

What. INNER JOIN keeps matches. LEFT JOIN keeps all left rows (like merge left).

How. Idea now; deep JOIN chapters come later — still show one tiny join.

Steps

Example 1 · dataset: raja_coffee

SELECT o.order_id, c.name, o.city, o.amount_inr
FROM orders AS o
JOIN customers AS c ON c.customer_id = o.customer_id
ORDER BY o.order_id
LIMIT 5;

Output

order_id	name	city	amount_inr
1001	Asha Patil	Pune	840.0
1002	Omar Khan	Mumbai	720.0
1003	Sofia Mendes	Goa	890.0
1004	James Okonkwo	Pune	1050.0
1005	Priya Deshmukh	Kolhapur	620.0

Meaning. Lookup customer name onto each order.

Ravindra Bagale's Tip

If row counts explode after a join, you have a many-to-many — stop and check keys.