Can you use Power Query on a Mac to merge Excel files?

By Kayabyte · Last updated 1 November 2026

Partly. Microsoft 365 for Mac has Power Query (Data, Get Data), and you can import files one at a time and combine them with Append Queries. What Windows tutorials rely on, the “From Folder” connector that merges every file in a directory and picks up new ones on refresh, is not offered as a Get Data choice in Excel for Mac, as far as Microsoft’s own pages and its Q&A answers say (read 1 November 2026; we did not test it in Excel ourselves), so the famous one-folder method does not work there. A Microsoft Q&A answer by a community MVP from February 2025 says that on Mac you start with one file and add the others one at a time, and Microsoft’s 2024 Insider post about From Folder on Mac covers refreshing such queries, not building them. Microsoft keeps adding Mac features, so check your own Get Data menu before you plan around any of this.

What works on Mac

Open Data, Get Data (Power Query) and choose a source such as Text/CSV or an Excel workbook, if your version lists it.
Import the first file and open it in the Power Query Editor, then import the second and the others the same way, each as its own query.
In the editor choose Append Queries and add the other queries, then Close and Load to a sheet.
To refresh later, choose Data, Refresh All. Files that moved or were renamed break the query.

What does not

From Folder, and with it “Combine & Transform Data” for a whole directory, is not offered on Mac in the versions people report. Some users get around it with a blank query that calls Folder.Files by hand, but that depends on granting Excel access to the folder and others report access errors, so we do not count on it.
Tutorial screenshots from Windows show menus that are not on your Mac.
Older Excel for Mac versions have no Power Query, according to Microsoft’s Mac Power Query announcements.
Permissions: Mac asks you to grant Excel access to each folder it reads, and a query that reads a path you have not approved fails.

Other free routes on Mac

Move or Copy Sheet for a few files: merge Excel files on a Mac.
Paste rows under each other for one sheet: combine files into one sheet.
A macro written for Mac, if you can test it: a macro written for Windows may need changes first, for example where it uses backslash paths or the Windows-only FileSystemObject.

With Gridhand

Gridhand merges a folder in one run: add a folder (with or without subfolders), pick Merge, and it writes one workbook with a tab per sheet or one stacked sheet, matching columns by header text. It is not a live query: it makes a new file each time you run it, and it does not refresh from changed sources by itself. It does not replace Power Query for transformations such as pivoting or custom columns.

Steps with Gridhand

Drop the folder into Gridhand (tick “include subfolders” if you need them).
Choose Merge and pick “Into one workbook” or “Into one sheet”.
Check the preview and press Run.

Free for up to 3 files per run; Gridhand Pro is USD 49 once. Download Gridhand

Questions

Is Power Query available in Excel for Mac? Yes in current Microsoft 365 for Mac, with fewer connectors than Windows. Older versions do not have it.

Why is “From Folder” missing on my Mac? A Microsoft Q&A answer by a community MVP (February 2025) says the connector is not in Excel for Mac and you add files one at a time in the Power Query Editor. It may change, so look under Data, Get Data.

Can Power Query on Mac refresh automatically? You can refresh queries you built from files you imported, but a query cannot watch a folder while the folder connector is missing.

Microsoft and Excel are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. Gridhand is made by Kayabyte and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Microsoft.