Transforming data
This page shows you the operations you use to shape a query into exactly the answer you want. You add them step by step, point-and-click — no SQL.
The operations
Section titled “The operations”| Operation | What it does |
|---|---|
| Choose Columns | Pick which columns appear in your results. |
| Filter Rows | Keep only the rows that match a condition (this year, a region, amount > 0). |
| Group & Summarise | Group by a category and calculate totals, averages, or counts. |
| Add New Column | Create a calculated column from your existing ones using a formula. |
| Join Table | Combine two tables on a matching column (orders + customers). |
| Append Table | Stack the rows of another table below your current data. |
| Custom Operation | Advanced: apply a custom transformation when the built-ins aren’t enough. |
You can add, reorder, and remove operations freely, and the result table updates after each one — so you always see what your change did.
A worked example
Section titled “A worked example”To get top 5 customers by sales this year:
- Filter Rows — date is this year.
- Group & Summarise — group by customer, total the amount.
- Choose Columns — keep customer and total.
- Sort by total and keep the top few.
Calculated columns
Section titled “Calculated columns”Add New Column is the quiet workhorse — use it for things your raw data doesn’t store directly, like profit = revenue − cost or days overdue. Build it once in the query and every chart from that query gets it.