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Power Query Keyboard Shortcuts to Save Time

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Below is a list of time saving keyboard shortcuts that you can use in Power Query, in both Excel and Power BI.

Watch the video to see me demonstrate how to use them, and download a PDF containing all shortcuts.

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More Keyboard Shortcuts

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You may also like to get a copy of my eBook 239 Excel Keyboard Shortcuts



All of these shortcuts work in both Excel and Power BI Desktop, except the shortcut to open the Power Query editor from Excel.

When the Power Query editor is open in both Excel and Power BI Desktop, pressing Alt highlights the keys required to access items on the Ribbon.

Items can be added to the Quick Access Toolbar in Excel and the Power Query editor by right clicking the item on the Ribbon and then clicking on Add to Quick Access Toolbar


General
Open Power Query Editor (Excel Only)
Alt F12
Open Power Query Editor (after adding icon to 1st position on QAT in Excel)
Alt 1
Close Power Query Editor
Alt F4
Increase Font Size
Ctrl + Shift + +
Decrease Font Size
Ctrl + Shift + -
Reset Font Size (don't use 0 on numeric keypad)
Ctrl + 0

Navigation
Move around table cells, move between columns, move between rows
↑ ↓ ← →
Jump to first column (stay in current row)
Home
Jump to last column (stay in current row)
End
Jump to first cell in first column
Ctrl + Home
Jump to last cell in last column
Ctrl + End
Jump to first cell in current column (with any cell in column already selected)
Alt + Home
Jump to last cell in current column (with any cell in column already selected)
Alt + End
Move up/down a page of data in the table
Pg Up Pg Dn
Go To Column
Ctrl + G then choose the column

Select Columns and Rows
Select current column
Ctrl + Space
Select Adjacent Columns
Ctrl + Space to select a column.

Hold Shift then use ← or → to select other columns.

Select Non-Adjacent Columns
Ctrl + Space to select a column.

Hold Ctrl then use ← or → to move to other columns.

Press Space to select those other columns
Select All Columns
Ctrl + A
Preview an Entire Row's Data
Navigate to leftmost column.

Press ← to preview the row's data.

Use ↑ and ↓ to preview different rows.


Modify Columns
Rename Column
Select the column then F2
Delete Column(s)
Select one or more columns then Del
Add Column By Example
Ctrl + E

Open Menus
Open Sort and Filter Column Menu
Select a column.

Alt + ↓

Use ↓ ↑ Tab to move around the menu.

Space to select/deselect items. Enter to confirm selections.

Change Column Type Menu
Select a column.

Ctrl + ↓

Right Click Menus

This key is usually found on your keyboard underneath the rightmost Shift key.

The menu displayed is context sensitive - what you see depends on what you have selected.

Table Options Menu
Navigate to top cell in first column using Ctrl + Home

Then ← ↑

Enter or Space to open the menu

Exit Menu or Step Back a Level in Multi-Level Menus
Esc
power query keyboard shortcuts

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AUTHOR Philip Treacy Co-Founder / Owner at My Online Training Hub

Systems Engineer with 30+ years working for companies like Credit Suisse and E.D.S. in roles as varied as Network & Server Support, Team Leader and Consultant Project Manager.

These days Philip does a lot of programming in VBA for Excel, as well as PHP, JavaScript and HTML/CSS for web development.

He's particularly keen on Power Query where he writes a lot of M code.

When not writing blog posts or programming for My Online Training Hub, Philip can be found answering questions on the Microsoft Power BI Community forums where he is a Super User.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

    • Philip Treacy

      Hi Sean,

      You need to have a cell in the column already selected for this to work. Sorry, that should be clearer. I’ve amended the description in the table above.

      Regards

      Phil

      Reply

  2. Ben

    Hi Philip,
    Thank you for the info provided ref to shortcuts.
    I was wondering if you could share as well information on the following:

    1 Table containing 3 columns

    Col1 = Value
    Col2 = CreationDate
    Col3 = Order Type ( can be A or X or E)

    for each Order type I need to sum up the value based on creationDate minus 90 days( working days)

    I’ve been searching all over the internet and couldn’t find anything.
    Thank you in advance
    Ben

    Reply

    • Catalin Bombea

      Hi Ben,
      You can add a new column to calculate the date -90 days, then use the Group By option from the PQ Editor>Transform tab, make sure you group by Order Type and Date-90 column, use Sum as aggregation function for Values column.
      If you still can’t do it, please use our forum to upload a sample file, will help you solve it.
      Cheers,
      Catalin

      Reply

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