Skip to main content
cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Calling all Data Engineers! Fabric Data Engineer (Exam DP-700) live sessions are back! Starting October 16th. Sign up.

Reply
Anonymous
Not applicable

Column Type Data Type clarification in Power Query

I'm trying to figure out what data types are available for the Column Type field, and I've yet to come across anything in the documententation that helps with my question. I'm trying to add a column, and I want to specify the column type to always come back as an integer, rather than a decimal number.  However, by default the column type comes back as "number". Is there a way to figure out what are valid options for that field, as Int64 and variations on how to spell or call it don't seem to be accepted.

 

For reference, I'm looking at https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/mt260727.aspx which mentions optional column type but provides no links to what those might be.

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION
Anonymous
Not applicable

Ahhh, in that case, add this to the end of the code in the Advanced Editor for that step:

 

, Int64.Type

 

other common types you'll use are:

 

"type text"

"type date"

"type datetime"

"type number"

Currency.Type

Percentage.Type

 

An easy way to see what the exact M code is to create a temporary step that changes the data type.  Then you'll see in the Advanced Editor exactly how M writes it (type number vs. Int64.Type...never figured out why).  Then you can simply use that same spelling as the 3rd parameter of Table.AddColumn().

View solution in original post

4 REPLIES 4
Anonymous
Not applicable

If you want your measure to return a sum with no decimals, you can simply use:

 

[Measure] := SUM( TableName[ColumnName] )

 

Then go to the Modeling tab and choose "Whole Number" as the formatting option.

 

You can also change the data type of columns in Query Editor.

Anonymous
Not applicable

Chris, sorry if I wasn't clear but I'm working with M, not DAX. 

 

When I'm using something like Table.AddColumn, the third argument is an optional column type. I want to specify that column type to be Int64 rather than number. 

Anonymous
Not applicable

Ahhh, in that case, add this to the end of the code in the Advanced Editor for that step:

 

, Int64.Type

 

other common types you'll use are:

 

"type text"

"type date"

"type datetime"

"type number"

Currency.Type

Percentage.Type

 

An easy way to see what the exact M code is to create a temporary step that changes the data type.  Then you'll see in the Advanced Editor exactly how M writes it (type number vs. Int64.Type...never figured out why).  Then you can simply use that same spelling as the 3rd parameter of Table.AddColumn().

Anonymous
Not applicable

So the M language has recently standardized the syntax on these data types:

 

Text.Type

DateTime.Type

Date.Type

Time.Type

Number.Type

 

for the above list, you can still use "type text" or "type datetime" (the original list I provided).  

 

Int64.Type, Percentage.Type, and Currency.Type only work with this formal Name.Type structure.

Helpful resources

Announcements
FabCon Global Hackathon Carousel

FabCon Global Hackathon

Join the Fabric FabCon Global Hackathon—running virtually through Nov 3. Open to all skill levels. $10,000 in prizes!

September Power BI Update Carousel

Power BI Monthly Update - September 2025

Check out the September 2025 Power BI update to learn about new features.

FabCon Atlanta 2026 carousel

FabCon Atlanta 2026

Join us at FabCon Atlanta, March 16-20, for the ultimate Fabric, Power BI, AI and SQL community-led event. Save $200 with code FABCOMM.

Top Solution Authors
Top Kudoed Authors