Automate Boring Excel Tasks with Power Query

Course details

This course covers Power Query fundamentals for Excel users who work with data from multiple sources or perform repetitive data‑cleaning tasks. You’ll learn when to use Power Query instead of manual Excel techniques and how to build automated queries that import, clean, combine, and refresh data from files, databases, and the web. The course also introduces Copilot with Power Query, demonstrating how AI can assist with query creation and data‑import workflows.

Learning objectives
Determine when to use Power Query instead of manual Excel techniques or formulas, and identify scenarios where automated data‑transformation workflows deliver the most value.
Import and transform data from multiple sources including Excel files, CSVs, and databases using filtering, sorting, column splitting, and conditional columns.
Build reusable data‑cleaning queries that automatically apply the same transformations when data is refreshed.
Apply Power Query skills in a hands‑on challenge using a common business dataset.
Use Copilot in Excel to support Power Query tasks, including generating queries from natural‑language prompts and importing data from cloud sources.

Concepts

Introduction

Power Query course introduction

What is Power Query and Where to Find It

What Power Query is and when to use it
Accessing Power Query - Excel, Mac, and Power BI

Getting Data with Power Query

Getting data from CSV text
Getting data from another Excel workbook
Getting data from a table
Navigating the Power Query editor

Cleaning and Transforming Data with Power Query

Power Query core cleaning patterns
Rearranging data in Power Query
Creating columns with conditional logic
Creating columns from examples
Refreshing, breaking, and trusting queries
Gather and clean multiple files from a folder
Challenge - Data cleaning with Power Query
Solution - Data cleaning with Power Query
Using Copilot to plan Power Query transformations

Conclusion

Power Query - Next steps