Allow interaction with Excel while in Power Query
Please make the Power Query editor window (Get Data) non-model. When building complex queries, we often need to go back to Excel to change a worksheet and look at data. Right now, the Power Query editor window takes control over the application, preventing interaction with Excel.
The current behaviour makes it very difficult to do things like the following:
-Mid query, go back and check a worksheet to see exactly what a cell value may be that you want to refer to
-When we have a static table in Excel and are trying to build a query that lands an output in that shape, we can't hop back and forth and check how close we are
In the current implementation, we must close & load the query, check what we need, then re-open the query. Alternately we need to take a screen shot of the needed, or open a second Excel process in order to allow interaction. None of these are good solutions.
Ken Puls
shared this idea
Hi Ken,
Thanks for logging this suggestion. Yes, this could be quite useful. Others that’re interested in this, please do log your votes so we’ll prioritize this work appropriately.
thanks
Ashvini Sharma
Lead Program Manager
Excel
21 comments
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Martin
commented
I completely agree, the possibility to switch between PQ editor and Excel would really help a lot (which is by the way already possibly for Power Pivot!).
So please, implement this feature!
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Fiaz Hitachi
commented
yes we want this badly!!! currently solving the issue by... opening "one more Excel Process".. when already in the power query window. This way.. the other Excel can be operated.. for copy paste column names, etc.
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blue mountain
commented
Completely agree.
Add to this that being able to save the worksheet whenever we want would be a big relief since PQ has a tendency to crash when on complex query.
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Andrey Minakov
commented
Roman Emelyanov, thanks for your comment, and yes, this may help in many cases, but this method won't help if you 1. already opened some workbooks in an Excel copy and launched PQ, and 2. in case you have to change data in the same workbook. So the non-modal PQ window would be very useful.
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Roman Emelyanov
commented
Just open another instance of Excel. When clicking on Excel shortcut hold ALT on keyboard and you will see a question about opening another instance of Excel. Click YES and now you have two(or more) different Excels, not another workbook. In one you can work in PQ, in another work with tables.
Good Luck! -
Andrey Minakov
commented
While working with PQ, you just cannot interact with Excel itself. Working with PQ may be a long process, and user may need to do just some things with other files in parallel. And quite often you may have some data / dictionaries for your PQueries in the same workbook, and while make the queries, you may need to change the data in Excel Workbook. Scenario when you have configuration parameters for your PQueries in Excel Sheet is not useful at all because PQ window in modal.
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Anonymous
commented
Makes no sense at all. After all, with Power Pivot, you can easily switch between Excel and the Power Pivot window. You can't even use another workbook while in the Power Query editor.
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Ivan
commented
Please make the window non-modal. It makes referring to the worksheet very tedious.
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Anonymous
commented
This would be really useful.
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Malcolm
commented
I agree: it slows down work considerably having to keep quitting the query to check the underlying data.
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Marc Labrie
commented
Great idea Ken...May I also suggest to provide navigation using keyboard shortcut (Ctrl+PgUp, Ctrl+PgDown) while doing do. Thanks!
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Anonymous
commented
Good idea!
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Josephine
commented
Agree with the above - so frustrating to not be able to access my worksheet and Power Query at the same time.
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Anonymous
commented
Please fix this, its really needed.
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Sean M
commented
This is a must...the current behavior is driving me a little crazy. That and I have issues scrolling in workbooks that have PQ connections, but I'd love this
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Ghazanfar “GJ” Abidi
commented
This needs to happen. I end up opening another instance of Excel.
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Ed Hansberry
commented
You also need to be able to save a file (in case of crash) to ensure that you aren't working in Excel for hours on M-Code and lose it all. Having to close the PQ window, then save all changes, then save the file, then reopen the query editor, is absurd.
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Oz du Soleil
commented
YES! I would love to be able to at least go back and look at the workbook. Just scroll around and select different sheets. That would be a major win.
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Varghese O
commented
This is really a valid suggestion worth implementing, which would greatly ease moving switching between the windows.
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Adam Stobbe
commented
1000% Agree - so frustrating!!
Small note that I looked for the uservoice with the most votes on this subject looking for "non-modal" and didn't find this (typo in Ken's post - non-mod*e*l). I hope others are still finding this without mod*a*l in the title.