# Where these xlnm#_Filterdatabases in my dimTables are coming from?



## Skeptical (May 28, 2015)

Hi,

I was trying to import some *FactTables *and *DimTables *from Excel recently. When I try import them I can see some of them Tables with suffix* xlnm#_FilterDatabase* are appearing in my Table list.

This is not the first time it's happening and very annoying. Sometimes I had imported these *xlnm#_FilterDatabase *Tables and got some incorrect results in the PowerPivot tables.

I never used any type of filters in my data.

Where are these coming from?
Where is the fault?
How to deal with them?

I need a standard way of avoiding them with out appearing in my Table List.

One more question about the source data I have been haunted by.

Can I have formulas in my source Excel tables which are meant for importing into PowerPivot engine??

Thanks in advance
Skeptical


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## scottsen (May 29, 2015)

Generally, when I pull data into Power Pivot... I do it directly into the Power Pivot window (from database, from csv, from xlsx, etc) or from Power Query.  I am guessing you are linking excel tables into your Power Pivot model?  If so, the name from the "Table Name" field on the Design ribbon.

Only static values will actually get imported to Power Pivot.


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## Skeptical (May 29, 2015)

Hi Scottsen,

Thanks for looking at my post and congrats on your 1000 posts Achievement.

I did not link them but imported them using *From Other Sources-->Excel*. I did some workouts on the blank cells and later cleaned them off with  *Clear Formats*  as well as *Clear All*. But that should not affect this way, right? 

Anyways, Can I use formulas (Vlookup, Index/Match) in my source tables (Excel tables) to use them importing into PowerPivot??

Skeptical.


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## scottsen (May 31, 2015)

Typically, "cleanup tasks" before pulling into Power Pivot would be done with Power Query -- however, "yes".  I'm sure you can work out how to import from excel that did some formula magic.  Easiest would be usnig an excel table, as power pivot can directly import those (and future changes to the tables are reflected in the power pivot model).  Otherwise, you are looking at exporting to a CSV and *then* important to Power Pivot.


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