Here is a quick macro tip that I stumbled on to while debugging some code yesterday (ya, ya, call me workaholic for coding on a weekend…)
You can select expressions in your code and place mouse pointer on that for a second to find what value it evaluates to (of course, this works only on break-point).
I think the above line has too much jargon, so watch this short animation to understand:

PS: You can add break points to your code by clicking on the left margin next to the line of code where you want a break point, like this:

When you add a break point to your code, excel will stop running the code at that point and brings you back to VB Editor so that you can find out if everything is going alright.
Share your favorite macro debugging techniques:
I use a variety of techniques when debugging macros. Most of the time I use break points, watches. Sometimes I use the msgbox to display the values I want to see while the code is running or print them to immediate window. What about you?
I am thinking of compiling all the debugging techniques people use in one post. So please share your tricks thru comments.
















10 Responses to “Multiple Find Replace with Power Query List.Accumulate()”
Note: The text-formula above miss a -1. The video is correct.
😀 sorry, I made the exact same mistake as you did - initially - in the video. {0..3} is one thing, and Table.RowCount(replacements) -->3 items ={0,1,2} is another thing.
1st question : you've created a new column to put the replacements in. how ca we replace in the original column without creating a new one ?
2nd question : how can we replace the value in the entire cell and not only the text (Using ReplaceValue instead of text.Replace) ?
Thanks you in advance
Chandoo, I would be very interested to have your answers in both Yassine's questions!
Thank you for sharing,
Vassilis
Thank you for this! I was just doing an assignment where I was having to replace words with other words in my Excel sheet. We are starting with the basics in my class, so I know I don't have a huge list that I would need to find and replace, but this is something that could be useful down the road for me!
Hi
This is nearly perfect for my needs thank you, however I would like just the "replace" to be the result if possible please, I have tried in vain adjusting the formula without success.
Thank you in advance
Thank you! Awesome tip, and very flexible, too.
My find/replace values were in non-adjacent columns of a table containing a bunch of other data. Worked prefectly and I am now a tiny bit less clueless.
Hi!!!
I have the same question that Yassine did.
I need to replace the values in the same column. I don't want to create a new column e then have to remove the old column.
How could I could that?
That's a real fun article. It inspired me to delve deeper into the topic of List.Accumulate. I can see how the function works, but it takes an additional step to imagine how one can use it for more complex applications.
Your example also made it into my article, together with some other use-cases. Would be great to get your opinion on which other areas you would include in the article.
Let me drop the link to the page so others can too find it for further reading: https://gorilla.bi/power-query/list-accumulate/
Expression.Error: The name 'replacements' wasn't recognized. Make sure it's spelled correctly.