Question

You are combining two annual sales extracts in Power Query. The 2023 file uses a column named 'CustomerID', while the 2024 file names the same column 'Customer_ID'. All other columns share identical names. After using Append Queries to stack the two tables, you notice the combined table contains two separate columns—'CustomerID' and 'Customer_ID'—each populated for only one year and null for the other. What is the most appropriate way to correct this before loading?

Accepted Answer

Rename the column in one of the source queries so both queries use the same column name, then re-run the append.

Answer

Add a custom column that coalesces the two columns, then remove the originals after the append.

Answer

Change the append operation to a Merge with a full outer join on both ID columns.

Answer

Enable 'Use first row as headers' on the appended query to unify the column names.