Power Query imports, cleans, and reshapes data while remembering every step. The real advantage is refresh: when a new export has the same structure, Power Query can repeat the cleanup automatically.
Does this affect you?
Use this for Excel for Microsoft 365, Excel 2021, and Excel 2019 on Windows. Power Query is more limited on Mac and is not available in Excel for the web.
Import data and open Power Query Editor
Start by sending raw data into the editor instead of loading it directly.
- Open the Data tab.
- Choose a source from Get & Transform Data, such as From File, From Text/CSV, or From Web.
- Select the source file or enter the source details.
- In the preview window, click Transform Data.
- Power Query Editor opens with an Applied Steps list on the right.
Clean the data and load it
These basic transforms appear in many queries.
- Right-click unneeded columns and choose Remove.
- Change data types from the type icon in a column header.
- Use Remove Rows > Remove Duplicates for repeated records.
- Use Remove Rows > Remove Blank Rows for empty imported rows.
- Click Close & Load when the data is clean.
Excel loads the cleaned result as a table. Later, right-click that table and choose Refresh to rerun the same query steps.
More control
Use refresh as the payoff
Point the query at a new file with the same layout and use Data > Refresh All. Power Query repeats the recorded cleanup steps.
Append or merge queries
Append stacks similar tables, such as monthly CSV exports. Merge joins related tables, similar to a lookup across full datasets.
Use formulas after cleanup
Power Query is strongest for import and reshaping. Use Excel formulas and pivot tables after the data is clean.
Edit an existing query
Open Data > Queries & Connections, right-click the query, and choose Edit to return to the Applied Steps history.
Sources
- Microsoft Support – About Power Query (2025)
- Microsoft Support – Get and Transform in Excel (2025)
- Microsoft Support – Create, load, or edit a query in Excel (2025)