The Definitive Guide to Power Query (M)

Go Beyond the Power Query Interface

Most analysts meet Power Query through its friendly ribbon and point-and-click transformations. That is a great starting point, but it only exposes part of the 700+ M functions available. This guide takes you further, showing how to read, reason about, and write M directly.

Authors Gregory Deckler, Rick de Groot, and Melissa de Korte are known in the Power BI community for turning complex M into clear, practical lessons. They bring that same approach here, with patient explanations and realistic examples that build from first principles.

What Makes This Guide Different?

Instead of a scattered collection of tips, the book systematically walks through the M language. You will explore the let expression, understand values and types, work with lists, records, and tables, and learn how to structure transformations that are readable and repeatable.

• Understand the formal and informal characteristics of M
• Work confidently with let expressions
• Navigate the Power Query desktop environment like a pro
• Clean, reshape, and automate data tasks with custom functions

Built for Real-World Data Work

If you prepare data for Power BI, Excel, or other analytics tools, the techniques here help you build faster, more maintainable transformations. The authors draw on years of community teaching and real projects, so the guidance targets everyday problems, not just theory.

Who Should Read This Book?

Data analysts, Power BI developers, business analysts, Excel power users, and data scientists who want to move beyond the Power Query UI will find this a focused, reliable resource. No need to be an M expert already; the early chapters establish a solid foundation.

Take the next step in mastering one of the most important skills in the Microsoft data stack.