Keep Only Columns by Name Pattern in Power Query M

Keeps only the columns whose name contains a given text pattern, removing everything else.

Column OperationsIntermediatekeep columnspatterndynamic

Power Query M code

let
    Source = YourTable,
    ColumnsToKeep = List.Select(Table.ColumnNames(Source), each Text.Contains(_, "Sales")),
    Selected = Table.SelectColumns(Source, ColumnsToKeep)
in
    Selected

Notes

Change "Sales" to whatever substring identifies the columns you want to keep.

Requirements

How to use this snippet

  1. In Power BI Desktop, choose Transform data to open Power Query, then open the Advanced Editor on a query (or start from a blank query).
  2. Paste the snippet and replace the placeholder names (tables, columns, file paths) with your own. Check the requirements above first.
  3. Run it through the Power Query M Formatter to tidy the layout.

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