I use PowerQuery quite a bit together with Excel (Microsoft 365). Excel has started crashing whenever I access Table Design / Properties for a table created by PowerQuery. This is the scenario: Put cursor in the table Click Table Design menu click "Properties" (which is present in the "External Data Table" section of the ribbon). [Note: Properties will be greyed out for an ordinary table - AFAIK, it's only accessible for a Table created by PQ.] make some change in the window that pops up In all existing workbooks, and even a brand new one I create , following Step 3 (or sometimes Step 4) Excel crashes - and it usually restarts. So, the properties function under Table Design is inaccessible! What could be causing this? How to fix it?

@rau1 - Exactly so. There is a post on the Feedback Portal that flags the bug, but then quotes the non-workaround which is less helpful. Suggest everyone upvotes it and adds to the comments. https://feedbackportal.microsoft.com/feedback/idea/6dcce8b8-e8be-ef11-95f6-0022484d7a88

Tristan - what you describe is a way to access query properties. That's not the issue I've raised (see the Original Post). I'm trying to access the Table properties (eg. to tell PQ to not tinker with column widths in the Table). I'm not seeing any access to Table properties from the side menu - only from the Top "Table Design" menu.

I've worked through all your suggestions Damin_W, one by one... (it's taken around an hour). Unfortunately every attempt has resulted in Excel crashing and restarting. Sometimes the crash happens on opening the Table - External Data Properties dialog, other times when I change a property (tick Preserve column sort/filter/layout) then OK and one occasion just when the dialog box was open and I was doing nothing! There always seems to be a time delay (3 to 8 seconds). The macro suggested by okshef works fine. My Excel version is 2501 (Build 18429.20132) and I am using MSQuery to connect to a SQL Server database. IMHO MSQuery works much better than power query - especially if you need to use parameters, so I am dismayed if this is a Microsoft attempt to stop use of MSQuery. I would love it if it was updated!

I hope you have solved the issue, but if you are still facing it there are few fixes that you can try : Try running a repair on office from the control panel. Disable all add-ins (File → Options → Add-ins) and see if that helps. Clear power query cache. Check for excel updates and lastly Try opening Excel in Safe Mode (Win + R → type excel /safe → Enter) and see if the problem still happens.

Excel crashes in Table Properties

Anonymous

I use PowerQuery quite a bit together with Excel (Microsoft 365).

Excel has started crashing whenever I access Table Design / Properties for a table created by PowerQuery.

This is the scenario:

- Put cursor in the table
- Click Table Design menu
- click "Properties" (which is present in the "External Data Table" section of the ribbon). [Note: Properties will be greyed out for an ordinary table - AFAIK, it's only accessible for a Table created by PQ.]
- make some change in the window that pops up

In all existing workbooks, and even a brand new one I create, following Step 3 (or sometimes Step 4) Excel crashes - and it usually restarts. So, the properties function under Table Design is inaccessible!

What could be causing this? How to fix it?

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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Anonymous

2025-02-09T16:29:36+00:00

@rau1 - Exactly so.

There is a post on the Feedback Portal that flags the bug, but then quotes the non-workaround which is less helpful. Suggest everyone upvotes it and adds to the comments.

https://feedbackportal.microsoft.com/feedback/idea/6dcce8b8-e8be-ef11-95f6-0022484d7a88
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Anonymous

2025-02-09T04:20:38+00:00

It crashes in Safe Mode too.
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Anonymous

2025-02-09T04:14:34+00:00

Tristan - what you describe is a way to access query properties. That's not the issue I've raised (see the Original Post). I'm trying to access the Table properties (eg. to tell PQ to not tinker with column widths in the Table). I'm not seeing any access to Table properties from the side menu - only from the Top "Table Design" menu.
Was this answer helpful?

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Anonymous

2025-02-05T10:07:52+00:00

I've worked through all your suggestions Damin_W, one by one... (it's taken around an hour).

Unfortunately every attempt has resulted in Excel crashing and restarting.

Sometimes the crash happens on opening the Table - External Data Properties dialog, other times when I change a property (tick Preserve column sort/filter/layout) then OK and one occasion just when the dialog box was open and I was doing nothing!

There always seems to be a time delay (3 to 8 seconds).

The macro suggested by okshef works fine.

My Excel version is 2501 (Build 18429.20132) and I am using MSQuery to connect to a SQL Server database.

IMHO MSQuery works much better than power query - especially if you need to use parameters, so I am dismayed if this is a Microsoft attempt to stop use of MSQuery. I would love it if it was updated!
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1 person found this answer helpful.

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Anonymous

2025-02-05T07:30:04+00:00

I hope you have solved the issue, but if you are still facing it there are few fixes that you can try :

Try running a repair on office from the control panel. Disable all add-ins (File → Options → Add-ins) and see if that helps.

Clear power query cache. Check for excel updates and lastly Try opening Excel in Safe Mode (Win + R → type excel /safe → Enter) and see if the problem still happens.
Was this answer helpful?

0 comments No comments