Question

How would you parse a JSON column into a usable format in Power BI?

In one of my Power BI projects, I need to work with a dataset that includes a column containing JSON data. I’m facing challenges in extracting key-value pairs from the JSON and converting them into a structured table format for analysis. Could you share the best practices or steps to parse and transform JSON data within Power BI effectively?

Answer 1

So, the very first step in Power BI to parse JSON-type columns in your file is to do the Load Data Import. This means you will import JSON columns from your data collection into Power BI and then go to the Power Query Editor.

Expanding JSON: Next, highlight the JSON column and head to the "Transform" tab to click "Parse JSON." This will parse the data into a structured format. Make sure that such JSON is well-formed for this step.

For this last phase of extraction, records and lists, once you've parsed it, you'll see all this data in a hierarchical format (records or lists). You would do that by clicking the "Expand" icon next to the column header to reach key-value pairs, converting nested data into columns and rows.

Clean and Shape Your Data: Rename columns, filter rows, transform data types as required, and finally, use the "Close & Apply" to load the cleaned data back into Power BI for analysis.

Best practice: Ensure the JSON is well-formed, validate it beforehand, and use the Advanced Editor for custom transformation purposes only when needed.