Power Query Glossary

Aggregate

Aggregate data from any column containing an associated table to reveal the results of a group operation including Sum, Count, Average, Min, and Max.

Append

Horizontally join two table queries that result in a new query which contains all rows from each query.

Cell

A single value that is at the intersection between a row and a column in a table.

Column

A list of unique data values of a particular type aligned horizontally in a table. Table columns have a unique column name and specific data type, and define the structure of the data rows.

Combine

Combine data from multiple data sources using two methods: Merge and Append.

Command bar

The Power Query command bar is the green area at the bottom of the Editor dialog. It lets you perform frequent operations such as Refresh the Preview, customize essential Settings or Save and Close the Editor dialog by clicking Done.

Connect

Connect to a wide variety of data sources to retrieve a data table.

Context menus

With Power Query, you can define new query steps by interacting with the Editor Preview. Most of these actions are contextual context menus for each of the elements on the preview, based on the type of the result.

Expand

Expand a column containing an associated table to reveal the related data. You can extract all column values or selective column values within the related table.

Filter

Filter a table to reduce the size of your query results by excluding rows or columns based on size, value or condition.

Formula

With a Power Query formula, you can perform operations, such as data acquisition or transformation operations. Each formula starts with the "=" sign and is written using the Power Query Formula Language.

Formula bar

With Power Query, you can use the formula bar to write and modify query formulas. The formula bar is hidden by default, but can be displayed by using the Show/Hide Formula bar option in the Editor Settings menu.

Header Row

A table row which contains the column names or identifiers for all columns within the table.

Merge

Vertically join two queries (Tables), resulting in a new query which contains all rows from the first query and an extra column with matching rows from the second query. A merge is based on a user-defined matching criteria where the equality of one or more user-specified columns match both tables.

Navigator Pane

Browse structured data sources to find the data source that you want to query.

Preview

The Power Query preview displays the results of each query step in the Editor. You can use various menu actions to interact with the query preview to create new query steps.

Query

A query is the foundation of Power Query that enables you to form a set of data acquisition, filtering and transformation steps for your data analysis requirements. A query runs a sequence of steps to import data from a data source into a primary table, and associated table when related data is available and requested.

Query Editor

With the Power Query Editor, you can navigate, define, and perform data transform operations over a data source. The editor consists of a data source navigation pane, query formula bar, query preview, and steps pane. Most of the operations available in the Editor can be accessed with Context Menus.

Record

A record is a sequence of named values, referred to as columns.

Refresh

Refresh a query to import the latest data into a table without having to create the query again. Refreshing a query runs the set of steps that define the query.

Row

A single, structured, data value in a table. All rows within a table have the same data structure as defined by each column.

Search box

A text box to enter search terms to receive a list of tables.

Search progress indicator

A series of rotating dots which appear below the Search box while a search request is processed.

Search result preview

A preview of the top rows of the search results from the table data.

Search results

A list of tables that match your search terms. The results include information about the table including name, author, date, and description.

Search results pages

Multiple pages are displayed when there are more than 10 table items. A user can move to a previous or next page and access pages by an index range of current page +/- 5.

Search suggestions

Suggestions for search terms that appear as you type in the Search box.

Search task pane

A pane to search for public data at Wikipedia.

Sort

Sort table rows in your query results ranked by a criteria, such as the alphabetical or numerical value of one or multiple columns, and by ascending or descending order.

Step

A step is each of the data acquisition or data transformation tasks applied on a given query. Steps can be added, deleted or modified using the Editor.

Steps Pane

Power Query steps can be edited when they have an associated Settings view. A Settings view is created when you invoke a dialog experience such as Group Rows By or Insert Custom Column. You can edit any query step, represented as a Gear Icon, by using the Edit Settings option on each step.

Table

A collection of read only data values imported from a data source organized using a model of horizontally named columns and vertical rows. A cell is the unit where a row and a column intersect. A table can contain structure data from multiple data sources including web page tables, Excel worksheets, SQL Server database, SharePoint list, and Microsoft Azure Marketplace data.

Transform

Transform data from multiple data sources by adding, removing or editing query steps to match your data analysis requirements.

Type

A column type that classifies a specific type of data. Every value has a data type, that can either reflect a specific type of value, such as Number, Text, Logical, or DateTime, or represent a more complex data structure, such as a function, list, or records. You can change the data type of a Table column by using the Change Format context menu item. You can also define a complex type using the View Formulas context menu item. A data type, or sequence of data types, can limit which formula you can use for a particular operation. For example, you can only multiply columns of type Number.