When you import a CSV file containing long numeric IDs into Excel, you may find the last digits change to zeros. This happens because Excel automatically converts numbers to a scientific format that cannot store more than 15 precise digits. Your 18-digit product codes or customer IDs become corrupted upon opening. This article explains the … Read more
Your Power Query preview pane shows old data even after you refresh the source. This happens because Power Query caches preview data to improve performance. The cached data can become outdated or corrupted, preventing the preview from updating. This article explains how to clear the Power Query cache to force a fresh preview. Key Takeaways: … Read more
You see a “DataFormat.Error: We couldn’t convert to Number” message in Power Query. This happens when Excel’s automatic data type detection misinterprets your data. The feature guesses column types based on the first few rows, which can cause errors with mixed or inconsistent data. This article explains how to disable this detection and manually control … Read more
You may see dates in your Power Query results incorrectly displayed as 12/31/1899. This happens when Power Query converts a blank or zero-value cell into a date. The system interprets the zero as the starting point for its date serial number system. This article explains why this conversion error occurs and provides clear steps to … Read more
You save a spreadsheet as a CSV file, but when you open it, the text is corrupted with strange symbols. This happens because Excel uses a default text encoding that does not support all characters. This article explains how to save and open CSV files with the correct encoding to preserve your data. Key Takeaways: … Read more
You try to convert an Excel table back to a normal range, but the option is grayed out. The right-click menu shows “Convert to Range” as unavailable. This happens because the table is linked to an external data query. Excel blocks the conversion to prevent breaking that data connection. This article explains why the error … Read more
You see garbled or incorrect characters when importing a CSV file into Excel’s Power Query. This happens because the file’s text encoding does not match the encoding Power Query expects. The text appears as strange symbols or question marks. This article explains why encoding mismatches occur and provides steps to fix them. You can resolve … Read more