Ken Puls, FCPA, MS MVP

There's a great line-up for this free day of #Excel and #PowerBI learning!

Yes, I love how there are so many different approaches for how to do things with Power Query!

Monkey Tools Build better data models, faster Developed by Excelguru (Image of a cyborg monkey with its fist up for a fist bump) Create Query From M Code This Monkey allows you to create and configure a query from M code, without ever leaving the Excel interface! Just launch the Monkey, give the query a name, and past the code into the formula box. Plus, it automatically indents the code so it's easier to read! (Screenshot of the Create Query from M Code dialog with a query name of "Budget" in the Name field and the indented and coloured M code below, along with the other options such as load destination, formatting options, and what action to take if the query exists.) monkeytools.ca

If you want to reuse a query, it can be tedious to open #PowerQuery, then the Advanced Editor, then paste, close, rename, and finally choose load destination. 😫
The “Create Query From M Code” Monkey will create the query for you without ever leaving the #Excel interface! 🙌 See how at mkyt.ca/mquery

Combine full- and part-time schedules YouTube video by Curt Frye

In this week's Techsoc video, I show you how to schedule peoples' start times to adequately staff a business using full-time employees and part-time employees drawn from a central pool. youtu.be/u3qdScXuP5Y

At London's Global Excel Summit 2026, Carlos Barboza will show how Excel and Power BI can unlock the hidden voices in your data - turning numbers into living visuals that surprise, inspire, and wow.

Secure your spot now!
👇
🔗 globalexcelsummit.com/tickets

#excel #microsoftexcel #globalexcelsummit

Nice overview!

News from the Data Monkey Brought to you by Excelguru and Skillwave (Image of a cyborg monkey in a superhero style crouch) March 10, 2026 In This Issue: New Video on Counting Column Values Using Power Query From the AKA Sessions What's New in Excel Latest Meet-up Recording and Next Event Information Upcoming Courses and Conferences Available Training Options The month seems to be just ticking along, and not just because of the hour of sleep we lost over the weekend after moving to Daylight Savings Time. Thankfully here in British Columbia, this should be the last time change we'll have to deal with as the province announced permanent Daylight Savings! We're excited that the details of our March 19 Vancouver Power BI and Modern Excel meet-up have now been confirmed, and the details can be found below in the meet-up section. Ken is busy this week working with a private client on some consulting and training work, and then leading another course for Chartered Professional Accountants of BC.

The new edition of our newsletter is out! 📧
Want to get the latest content from our experts, what’s new in #Excel and #PowerBI, info on courses, events, promos, and more? Subscribe today at xlguru.ca/newsletter. Plus, we'll also send you our free 'DIY BI' eBook series! 📚

Excel Fundamentals Academy In the Excel Fundamentals Academy, you’ll learn all the core skills for the Excel analyst, beginning with a refresher on Excel formulas and functions (including the daunting VLOOKUP), and then moving…

You just need someone who's seen the problem before to point you in the right direction. This is exactly the kind of quick win our AKA sessions deliver with our Excel Fundamentals (skw-t.com/excelfun) and #SelfServiceBI (skw-t.com/ssbi) Academies. Or purchase just the AKA access at skw-t.com/aka

While "zero" is a number that #Excel counts, "null" is empty and gets ignored. This single step fixed the entire counting problem instantly – no complex #DAX measures needed.
🧭 Takeaway: The best solutions are often the simplest ones, if you know where to look. You don't need a complex solution...

The Two-Second Fix for Counting Problems Problem: Your PivotTable is counting all rows in a column, even those with zeros. Solution: Replace zeros with nulls in Power Query! While "zero" is a number that Excel counts, "null" is empty and gets ignored. (Screenshot of a table containing data on the left and a PivotTable based on that data on the right. The Grand Total count on the PivotTable columns do NOT include the "0" entries.) (Skillwave Training logo)

One of our AKA participants wanted to know why their #PivotTable was inflating their counts numbers. They only wanted to count active line of credit accounts, but their count was including everything, even those with $0 balances. My solution? Replace zero with null in #PowerQuery. It's that simple!🧵

Powering Frontier Transformation with Copilot and agents | Microsoft 365 Blog Wave 3 of Microsoft 365 Copilot introduces Copilot Cowork, multi‑model intelligence, and enterprise‑ready AI—built to get real work done.

Microsoft released Wave 3 of Copilot today, and the update that impacts #Excel is that "Agent Mode" is now "Edit with Copilot". The new Windows 365 Copilot experience is available in Excel and Word, and is coming soon to PowerPoint and Outlook.

Learn more here: www.microsoft.com/en-us/micros...

New Unpivot podcast episode!

London, UK 18, 19, 22 May 2026 Self-Service Business Intelligence Boot Camp (Headshot of Ken Puls) Prepare to change your company's reporting game forever! (Microsoft Excel and Power BI icons) "This course completely transformed the way I use [Excel]. Overall, I highly recommend this course." Stephen Ng (5 stars) Enroll today at: https://xlguru.ca/ssbi-london

I'm excited to be leading my live #SelfServiceBI Boot Camp in London on May 18, 19, and 22 as part of @globalexcelsummit.bsky.social!
Not just for #DataAnalysts, it’s for anyone looking to harness the full potential of #BusinessIntelligence with #Excel and #PowerBI! Enroll at xlguru.ca/ssbi-london

Lessons Learned About Excel Training from 25+ yrs in the Trenches | Anne Walsh In this Vancouver Power Beyond Modern Excel User Group meetup, guest speaker Anne Walsh (“The Excel Lady”), an experienced Excel and Power BI trainer from Ireland, shares insights from more than 25…

▶️The recording for yesterday's Vancouver #PowerBI and Modern #Excel is now available: www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvGR...
We loved hearing from Anne Walsh, an experienced Excel and Power BI trainer from Ireland, who shared insights from more than 25 years of teaching Excel. 👩‍🏫

Copy/Paste History with Windows + V - Monkey Shorts Episode 016 This little tip works across Windows applications and even across computers if you set it up that way. Change your copy/paste game forever by holding onto your copy history. So much more functional…

This little tip works across #MicrosoftWindows applications and even across computers if you set it up that way. Change your copy/paste game forever by holding onto your copy history. So much more functional that the classic CTRL + C, CTRL + V cycle! 👍
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFgE...

#ExcelTips

Self Service BI Academy Prepare to change your company's reporting game forever! In the Self Service BI Academy, Ken Puls will teach you how to use Excel, Power Query, and Power BI together to build robust Self Service BI…

The AKA sessions shine in moments like these, where you need to go beyond basic #ExcelFormulas. 💡
My #SelfServiceBI (skw-t.com/ssbi) and Excel Fundamentals (skw-t.com/excelfun) Academies give you access to the sessions, or purchase just the AKA access at skw-t.com/aka

It's perfect for #FinancialStatements and custom reporting where standard aggregation doesn't work.
🧭Takeaway: Master your filter context, and you can control every single cell in your #Excel reports.

#DataAnalytics #BusinessIntelligence

I walked through using a VAR and SWITCH statement to detect filter context. By checking if a field "has one value" versus "multiple," you can write different #DAX logic for individual rows versus subtotals versus grand totals. This pattern gives incredibly granular control...

When Grand Totals Don't Add Up (On Purpose) A student had a question about controlling what appears in PivotTable totals. They needed the grand total to display a specific count rather than summing the values above. Ken Puls walked through using a VAR and SWITCH statement to detect filter context. By checking if a field "has one value" versus "multiple," you can write different DAX logic for individual rows versus subtotals versus grand totals. Takeaway: Master your filter context, and you can control every single cell in your reports. (Skillwave Training logo)

A question came up in an AKA session about controlling what appears in #PivotTable totals. The student had room costs where individual rows showed correctly, but they needed the grand total to display a specific count (88 rooms) rather than summing the values above it (which would give 176). 🏨
🧵

Thanks for the shout out, Patrick!

Lessons Learned About Excel Training from 25+ yrs in the Trenches | Anne Walsh , Thu, Mar 5, 2026, 9:00 AM | Meetup **SESSION TRACK:** Excel **SESSION OUTLINE:** After more than 25 years of providing Excel training, you pick up a few lessons from the trenches... or should that be rows?

You can still RSVP for today's Vancouver #PowerBI and Modern #Excel meet-up. Anne Walsh will talk about lessons learned from more than 25 years teaching Excel, mostly as a freelancer. We get going at 9am Pacific Time - sign up here: www.meetup.com/vancouver-po...

(Session will also be recorded.)

Common Mistakes When Sharing Power BI Reports from Workspace YouTube video by RADACAD

Today, I explained the most common mistakes users make when sharing #PowerBI reports in the workspace.

Watch the video here:

youtu.be/X8D7O60PeEk

#MicrosoftFabric #Sharing #Architecture #PowerBIfromRookieToRockStar #PowerBIArchitecture #Workspace #SharingStrategy #PowerBIAdoption

Monkey Tools Build better data models, faster Developed by Excelguru (Image of a cyborg monkey with its fist up for a fist bump) What do people think of Monkey Tools? "I've been using Ken's Monkey Tools to manage my library of LAMBDA expressions, and it's made that part of my Excel so much easier to do. Totally recommend you do the same if you're an Excel power user." Patrick Matthews (name and headshot) Try it for FREE with our 2-week Pro Trial! Go to: monketools.ca

I LOVE hearing from happy users! 🐵
Monkey Tools contains a set of tools to help you build better data models more quickly and follow #DataModeling best practices. It is targeted at those who work in #Excel, but is also useful for those who push their models into #PowerBI. Learn more: monkeytools.ca

Building Practical AI Agents and Workflows | George Mount, Thu, Mar 19, 2026, 9:00 AM | Meetup **SESSION TRACK:** Excel and Power BI **SESSION OUTLINE:** Our resident Power BI expert, Joseph Yeates, will start things off by showing us what's new in Power BI. Then Mi

Details of our March 19 Vancouver #PowerBI and Modern #Excel meet-up are confirmed!👏
Microsoft MPV George Mount will give a hands-on walk through of using #Microsoft365Copilot and #PowerAutomate to show how AI agents and automation can support structured workflows. See

Woo hoo, another happy student!

Count Values in a Column Using Power Query – The Simple Method In this Ask Ken Anything session of the Self Service BI Academy training course, Ken Puls tackles a common PivotTable surprise: Why does a PivotTable count three Lines of Credit as “used” when one…

Why does a #PivotTable count three Lines of Credit as “used” when one of them has a zero balance and shouldn’t be counted? 🤷🏾‍ And more importantly — do you need #PowerPivot and #DAX to fix it? Here, I'll show you that you don't: youtu.be/-X-ELoJ9Kiw

#PowerQuery #ExcelTips

Create a basic work schedule YouTube video by Curt Frye

In this week's Techsoc video, I'll show you how calculate the number of people you need to start at which times to ensure you have the staff to cover your projected needs. You can find the video on YouTube at youtu.be/yxzi_oR9Pmw

(Excelguru logo) Passionate Instruction, Practical Skills Unlocking Your Team's Potential via Industry Leading Training The biggest issue facing corporate efficiency today is not recognizing what you already have and how to leverage it. Our training will help your team expand their knowledge of Excel and Power BI, find solutions, and be more proficient or accomplish certain tasks. Learn more about our in-person and online training options at excelguru.ca (Microsoft Excel and Power BI icons) (Headshot of Ken Puls)

Delivering expert training BY humans, FOR humans, Excelguru is dedicated to unlocking your team’s potential through:
🔹On-site workshops
🔹Online coached courses
🔹On-demand video courses
Contact us today for training options at excelguru.ca

#Excel #PowerBI #DataModeling #PowerQuery #DataAnalysis #DAX

Last Chance (Skillwave Training logo) Love Your Data (Image of a cyborg monkey in a superhero style crouch) Save 20% on all Skillwave courses* with code: LOVE20 *Excludes 'Ask Ken Anything’ Offer ends at midnight on February 28, 2026 skillwave.training

Unlock the full potential of #BusinessIntelligence and boost your confidence in making data-driven decisions. 💛 Today’s your last chance to save 20% when you use code LOVE20 to register in any of our @skillwave.training courses. Don’t miss out, go to skw-t.com/lovedata

(Excludes AKA subscriptions)

Love Your Data Save 20% on all our courses* with this code: LOVE20 Valid February 14-28, 2026 (Skillwave Training logo) skillwave.training *Excludes 'Ask Ken Anything’

Kickstart your #BusinessIntelligence and #DataAnalytics journey!
❤️ Use code LOVE20 to save 20% when you register in any of our #Excel and #PowerBI training at @skillwave.training: skw-t.com/lovedata

(Valid until Feb 28, excludes AKA subscriptions. Cannot be combined with any other offers.)