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?

Fantastic okshef! Thanks - I didn't have time to look into that bit. Very useful. Just hope that Microsoft take note and get the bug fixed soon.

I can confirm this works. Selecting properties in the 'data tab' can crash it. Changing name / database / changing SQL statement or just pointing to either can crash the application. Using the 'queries and connection' route, doesn't crash the application and it works like it always has. It even has the SAME menus! Feels like it's something that Microsoft doesn't want you to use anymore and it's forcing you to use the more annoying and time-consuming alternative PowerQuery. PowerQuery is something I use for manipulating tables, not for simple selects. The 'previous' SQL function isn't even available anymore via button in the ribbon. You can only start this by adding a hidden button to the quick-start-ribbon. As soon as I uses something from the 'previous' SQL-function. My Excel application crashes. So it's definitely a bug or even intended, so users are forced to use the 'current' SQL function.

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.

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!

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.

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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52 answers

Anonymous

2025-01-29T21:02:03+00:00

Fantastic okshef! Thanks - I didn't have time to look into that bit. Very useful. Just hope that Microsoft take note and get the bug fixed soon.
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Anonymous

2025-01-31T10:24:28+00:00
I can confirm this works.
- Selecting properties in the 'data tab' can crash it.
- Changing name / database / changing SQL statement or just pointing to either can crash the application.
Using the 'queries and connection' route, doesn't crash the application and it works like it always has. It even has the SAME menus!

Feels like it's something that Microsoft doesn't want you to use anymore and it's forcing you to use the more annoying and time-consuming alternative PowerQuery.

PowerQuery is something I use for manipulating tables, not for simple selects.

The 'previous' SQL function isn't even available anymore via button in the ribbon.

You can only start this by adding a hidden button to the quick-start-ribbon.

As soon as I uses something from the 'previous' SQL-function. My Excel application crashes.

So it's definitely a bug or even intended, so users are forced to use the 'current' SQL function.
Was this answer helpful?

2 people 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?

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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!
Was this answer helpful?

1 person found this answer helpful.

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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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