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10. Parameters in Power Query (and Other Kinds of Parameters)

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Now a small but very useful topic – Parameters (a changeable value that you can use in many places). If you hard-code the file path, server name or date range, the report breaks on another laptop. In this module we make parameters, use them in M, and see the basics of templates and incremental refresh in very simple words.

What you will learn in this module

  • Creating and managing Power Query parameters: types, suggested values, lists, queries
  • Parameterising a file/folder path and a server/database name (Dev → Prod)
  • Date-range parameters for filtering (with query folding)
  • Using parameters inside M code and changing them in Desktop and the Service
  • Templates (.pbit) that ask for parameter values
  • Incremental refresh with RangeStart/RangeEnd (overview)
  • How what-if and field parameters differ (they are covered in Module 21)

Live story: One report, many cities

Suppose the same report must run for Pune today and for Nagpur tomorrow. Changing the file path or the city in ten places is slow and risky. A parameter is one setting that every query reads. This chapter builds Power Query parameters, What-if parameters and field parameters.

All numbers in this story are fictional practice data.

Concepts in this chapter

  1. 10.1What Is a Parameter and Why Use It?
  2. 10.2Creating a Parameter (Manage Parameters Dialog)
  3. 10.3Parameterising a File or Folder Path
  4. 10.4Parameterising Server and Database (Dev → Prod)
  5. 10.5Date-range Parameters for Filtering
  6. 10.6Using Parameters Elsewhere in M
  7. 10.7Templates (.pbit) with Parameters
  8. 10.8Incremental Refresh with RangeStart and RangeEnd (Overview)
  9. 10.9What-if Parameters and Field Parameters Are Different

The chapter recap is at the end of the last concept page.

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