There's a smarter way to merge three tables into one unified list, and it doesn't require a multi-step Power Query pilgrimage through pivot tables and paste-special purgatory. The user who posted this question knows their current workflow works, but they also know it shouldn't feel this inefficient. That instinct is correct. When you're spending more time wrangling data than analyzing it, the tool has failed you, not the other way around.
What this user really needs is a function that can look across three separate tables, collect every unique name from the first columns, and then pull the corresponding values from each table into a single row. The classic Excel approach would be a nested `INDEX` and `MATCH` combination, or a `XLOOKUP` with `IFERROR` fallbacks, but even that gets brittle when table sizes change or names move. The better path is to treat the three tables as what they are: related datasets that belong together. In an AI-native spreadsheet, you'd write one formula that says "merge these tables by the first column, keep all names, and align the values." No appending. No pivot tables. No manual formatting.
The frustration here is familiar to anyone who has outgrown single-table thinking. The user already knows their data is relational, they just don't have a tool that treats it that way. That's why the workaround exists. But workarounds are tax on productivity, not features. The real solution is a spreadsheet that understands relationships natively, so you can ask for the merged view directly, without staging data across multiple sheets and hoping nothing breaks when you refresh.
This is the moment to stop optimizing a broken process and start using a tool that matches how your brain actually works. The user's question isn't about a missing Excel trick, it's about a missing paradigm. And the answer isn't a better macro. It's a better spreadsheet.