Power Query: Home Tab – Manage Columns Section Explained
- Fakhriddinbek
- Aug 25
- 4 min read
Working with data often means dealing with many unnecessary or messy columns. When importing raw data from CSV files, databases, or online sources, it’s common to get extra columns that you don’t actually need in your analysis. This is where the Manage Columns section in the Home Tab of Power Query becomes extremely useful.
The Manage Columns section gives you complete control over which columns appear in your query. You can keep only the ones you need, remove the unnecessary ones, or even rearrange their order to make your dataset more organized.
The Manage Columns section is located in the Home Tab of the Power Query Editor, usually in the middle of the ribbon. Its tools are specifically designed to help you:
Select only the necessary columns
Remove extra or irrelevant ones
Rearrange columns for logical order
For analysts who regularly handle large datasets with dozens or even hundreds of columns, this section can save hours of manual cleaning work.
Key Operations in Manage Columns
Let’s break down each operation available in this section.
1. Choose Columns
Opens a dialog box where you can select which columns to keep in your dataset.
This is useful when you only need a handful of columns out of a very large dataset.
Example: From a table with several columns, you may only want certain amount. Instead of deleting columns one by one, you simply choose the amount you need.
Tip: There is also a “Search” bar in the Choose Columns dialog box, which is very helpful if you are dealing with a dataset that has a long list of fields.
2. Remove Columns
Deletes the selected columns from your query.
You can select one or multiple columns, then choose “Remove Columns.”
Example: If your dataset contains technical IDs or log fields that are irrelevant for analysis, simply highlight them and remove.
Note: Once you remove a column, it no longer appears in the data unless you undo or re-import it.
3. Remove Other Columns
Instead of choosing which columns to delete, this option removes everything except the columns you select.
It’s basically the opposite of “Remove Columns.”
Example: If you want to keep only Country, Forecast and Year but the dataset has more columns, you can select these three, click “Remove Other Columns,” and the rest will disappear.
This is one of the fastest ways to focus your dataset on only the fields that matter. Even thought your table changes and new columns appear, due to this function will not affect ather queries.
4. Move Columns
Allows you to reorder columns in your dataset.
Options include:
Move Left
Move Right
Move To Beginning
Move To End
Example: If you always want Country to appear at the beginning of your table, you can move it to the front for easier navigation.
While column order doesn’t usually affect calculations, it greatly improves readability and organization, especially when exporting the dataset back to Excel or Power BI.
Practical Example: Using Manage Columns
Imagine you import a table from a database. It has many columns, including technical fields like RowID, InsertDate, ModifiedBy, ServerID, and so on. For your report, you only need:
Country;
Forecast;
Year
Here’s how you would clean it:
Click Choose Columns → Select only the four required fields.
Alternatively, select those four and click Remove Other Columns.
Finally, use Move Columns to arrange them in a logical order: CustomerName → ProductName → OrderDate → SalesAmount.
In less than a minute, you’ve gone from a cluttered 25-column dataset to a clean, 4-column report-ready table.
Best Practices for Managing Columns
Always remove unnecessary fields: Extra columns increase file size and slow down performance.
Use “Choose Columns” at the beginning: This makes your transformations faster since Power Query doesn’t process unused data.
Reorder for readability: Even though calculations don’t care about order, humans do. A clean column order makes your data easier to understand.
Document changes: Add notes in query properties to remember why certain columns were removed.
Be consistent: If you’re preparing recurring reports, always use the same column structure for easier maintenance.
FAQ: Manage Columns in Power Query
1. What is the difference between Remove Columns and Remove Other Columns?
Remove Columns deletes only the selected fields.
Remove Other Columns deletes everything except the ones you selected.
2. Does removing a column delete it from the original source?
No, it only affects the query. The original source data remains unchanged.
3. Can I undo a column removal later?
Yes. Power Query records every step in the Applied Steps pane. You can delete the “Removed Columns” step to restore them.
4. Is column order important?
For calculations, no. For readability and consistency, yes. Moving important columns to the front makes reports easier to use.
5. What happens if the source data changes (e.g., a new column is added)?
Power Query will usually ignore the new column unless you specifically update your steps to include it. This ensures your queries remain stable.
Final Thoughts
The Manage Columns section in the Home Tab of Power Query is a small but powerful feature that can drastically simplify your data preparation. With just a few clicks, you can remove irrelevant fields, keep only what matters, and organize your dataset for better readability.
By mastering tools like Choose Columns, Remove Columns, Remove Other Columns, and Move Columns, you’ll not only save time but also build cleaner, faster, and more professional queries.
Whether you’re cleaning up small tables or preparing massive reports with dozens of fields, Manage Columns should always be one of your first steps.
Here is the file in which the example operations were done:
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