What Is Power Query?
By Karthick Selvam · Published · Updated
Power Query is Microsoft's data connection and transformation engine, used in Excel, Power BI and other Microsoft tools.
What it does
Connects to many sources, then cleans and reshapes data with a recorded series of steps that can be refreshed.
The M language
Each step is written in the M formula language, which can be edited for advanced transformations.
Query folding
Where possible, Power Query pushes transformations back to the source database for efficiency.
Common tasks
Removing columns, splitting fields, unpivoting, merging and appending queries, and changing data types.
Frequently asked questions
Is Power Query the same in Excel and Power BI?
The core is the same, with minor differences in available features.
Related programmes
- Advanced SQL for Data Professionals
- Power BI for Business Analytics
- Python for Data Engineering & Analysis
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