Import Data: connection only + Data Model

After OK in Combine Files, the Import Data window appears. Two choices here decide whether your file stays light or becomes heavy. We keep the data as a connection only (not dumped onto a sheet) and add it to the Data Model, where the tables will later be linked and calculated.

12345 Zoom

Click a number on the picture or in this list to highlight that area.

1. 1Four ways to view Table, PivotTable Report, PivotChart or Only Create Connection: what this data becomes in your workbook.
2. 2Only Create Connection Nothing is dumped onto a sheet; Excel only keeps the connection (the recipe for fetching the data). Choose this.
3. 3Tick Data Model Add this data to the Data Model must be ticked so this table can later be linked to other tables.
4. 4OK Click once, then wait 20 to 60 seconds.
5. 5Queries & Connections pane Data Expense 2025 with the note 1,056 rows loaded. It means the 12 files are now one table.

Step by step

1. 1

   Step 1: In the top part of the Import Data window (number 1), choose Only Create Connection (number 2).

   Tip: The options under Where do you want to put the data? turn grey straight away. That is normal: the data is not placed on any sheet.

   Watch out: Don’t choose Table. It dumps 1,056 raw rows onto a new sheet: the file gets heavy, and we never read those raw rows anyway.

2. 2

   Step 2: Tick Add this data to the Data Model (number 3) at the bottom.

   Tip: The Data Model is the "engine" inside Excel that stores tables and the links between them. Thanks to this tick, in Module 5 this table can be linked to other tables such as Departemen and Kategori without VLOOKUP.

   Watch out: This is the tick people forget most often. Check it once more before clicking OK.

3. 3

   Step 3: Click OK (number 4), then wait 20 to 60 seconds. Don’t click around while Excel is working.

4. 4

   Step 4: If the Queries & Connections pane isn’t open yet, click Data → Queries & Connections. Find the Data Expense 2025 query (number 5): under its name it must say 1,056 rows loaded.

   Tip: The Transform File from Data Expense 2025 folder holds helper queries Excel created automatically while combining. Don’t delete or change them; without them the combine stops working. On Windows with Indonesian number formats, the count may read 1.056 rows loaded.

   Watch out: Forgot to tick Data Model, or chose Table by mistake? Right-click Data Expense 2025 in this pane → Load To..., then set the options again in the Import Data window.