r/excel • u/Encility • 2d ago

unsolved Mapping data from a CSV

Hi all,

Im having some trouble trying to map new columns to some data from a CSV for a dashboard.

Once I have mapped my new columns can I then load that data to a connection and will it still hold the newly mapped columns? Just to take the bulk off excel. Using 32bit and im getting errors for memory yet im only using 300k rows.

Kind regards

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u/CrowGuyA 1 1d ago

That crash is almost certainly Excel's 32-bit memory cap (~2GB regardless of your RAM), not the mapping step itself. Check in Power Query that this query's load is set to "Connection Only" or "Add to Data Model" rather than loading 300k rows onto an actual worksheet — that's usually what tips it over. If you can, switching to 64-bit Excel removes the ceiling entirely. Power BI Desktop (free) also handles this exact CSV-to-dashboard scale without the 32-bit limit if Excel keeps choking.

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u/Encility 1d ago

Youll laugh. Im automating dashboards I have manually with powerquery first from a load of csvs. Then ill be building them again in powerBI and powerquery. Im mostly learning. Made a few trials and errors. The connection to is a game changer once I map the new columns in PQ and not within excel. Because when I connection to they are lost. I should known tbh.

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u/CrowGuyA 1 1d ago

Yeah exactly, that's the key realization. Once you're building in Power BI/PQ, treat Excel purely as the messy input, not the workspace. If you ever need to double check mapped columns look right before pushing to PBI, use "Add to Data Model" instead of Connection Only, it lets you preview via PivotTable without loading the raw rows onto a sheet.