Not able to select multiple columns in power query

[KR300]

my PBI is Jan 2025 version.

Not able to select multiple columns in power query.

[AlexNL]

You think it does not work, but it does 🙂 You are using a dark theme. It is not clearly visible you select more than one column with CTRL. But it does. Just try again and you will see.

[PJBethHutchison]

Did you ever figure this out? I am having this identical issue, even though I downloaded the most recent version this month (2.142.928.0 64-bit (April 2025))

[PJBethHutchison]

I am also having this same experience. Holding the control key does not change what happens when you click a subsequent column. The first column selected is unselected and the subsequent column is selected. I am currently working a tutorial in unpivoting and am unable to proceed due to the inability to select multiple columns using the Control key.

[ronrsnfld]

@Juilee @KR300  @MaiT 

As I have written, I cannot replicate your problem, but clearly there must be something going on since more than one person is reporting this.

As a temporary work-around, until a solution is found, you could use the Advanced Editor and write the the relevant function directly, instead of relying on the UI to generate the code.

[Mubar · Accepted solution]

Hi @KR300 

You can select multiple columns by holding the CTRL key on the keyboard and selecting the column you need or using the choose column features in Power Query.

Note: the green box is selected columns using CTRL key, the red box is unselected column.

If you find this helpful, kindly mark my response as a solution.

Regards,

Mubar

[Juilee]

Hi, I am unable to select multiple columns in the Power Query Editor in the latest version of Power BI. Have you found a solution for this?

[ronrsnfld]

I cannot replicate your problem. I have the latest version and have no issues selecting multiple columns. 

[Juilee]

I want to transform/pivot columns, for which I need to select multiple columns. I used to do this by holding down the CTRL key and selecting the columns I need, but in the latest PBI version, I'm unable to do so. I'm not sure what the issue is, as I can still select multiple columns using the CTRL key in Excel, but not in Power BI. Can anyone please help me with this?

[v-achippa]

Hi @KR300,

Thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Fabric Community.

As suggested by below super users can you please explain your issue in detail, so that we can provide you the best possible solution.

Thanks and regards,

Anjan Kumar Chippa

[MaiT]

i have the same issue on my power query. if i select 1 column, hold down the Ctrl key or the ctrl+shift keys then try to select another column  the first column i selected gets unselected and it selects only the second one. so ultimately i cant select more than 1 column at a time. 

I have tried using the selct function which works when reducing removing some columns but when i am trying to Pivot or Unpivot i seem to not have a solution that works

[v-achippa]

Hi @KR300,

As we haven’t heard back from you, we wanted to kindly follow up to check if your issue is resolved? or let us know if you need any further assistance.
If our response addressed, please mark it as "Accept as solution" and click "Yes" if you found it helpful.

Thanks and regards,

Anjan Kumar Chippa

[DNsolutions]

I am having the same issue in Power BI Version: 2.138.1004.0 32-bit (November 2024) that others have reported about not being able to multi-select columns in Power BI Power Query Editor.  

From the Power BI Power Query Editor, I selected the column "Order Quantity" by clicking on it, and it is highlighted in green.  

I then press on the Ctrl Key and click on the next column "Unit Price" .  The Unit Price column is selected and highlighted in green, but the Order Quantity Column is no longer selected.  I tried the same steps with Ctrl Shift but I am still unable to multi-select columns.  

The solution to use the Choose Columns feature icon on the Home Page doesn't work because I am trying to use the Add column Standard feature to multiply the two columns, and to do this you need to multi-select  the two columns.  

[KR300]

@v-achippa @ronrsnfld @Omid_Motamedise @anmolmalviya05 , Apologies from my side. 

I am not able to select multiple columns in power query. Even in the data view tab in desktop

[ronrsnfld]

Is there some reason you are not able to add screenshots and a better explanation?

Please show, in detail (with words and a screenshot), exactly what you are doing and the results of each step, otherwise from what you have written, the possibilities are too numerous to enumerate.

[KR300]

I am not able to select muliplt columns in a table in Power Query.

[ronrsnfld]

If all you have done is navigate to that screen, no columns will be selected.

You need to either click on multiple columns while holding down ctrl or shift (depending on

whether you want to select contiguous or non-contiguous columns), or use the Choose Columns button which is in the menu bar just above your data.

[KR300]

I did with Short Cuts + Holding the Control button + Shift button -- it didn't work.

[ronrsnfld]

Not sure what you mean by "Short Cuts". 

To select a range of contiguous columns

• Select the first column in your range by clicking on it with the mouse
• Hold down ctrl+shift
• Select the last column in the range
• Release ctrl+shift

If that doesn't work, you may have a hardware problem.

Alternatively,  select the Choose Columns button on the Home menu, then Choose columns from the dropdown and select the relevant columns.

[v-achippa]

Hi @KR300,

Thank you @ronrsnfld for addresing the issue.

As we haven’t heard back from you, we wanted to kindly follow up to check if the solution provided by the super user resolved your issue.
If our super user response resolved your issue, please mark it as "Accept as solution" and click "Yes" if you found it helpful.

Thanks and regards,

Anjan Kumar Chippa

[v-achippa]

Hi @KR300,

We wanted to kindly follow up to check if the solution provided by the super user resolved your issue.
If our super user response resolved your issue, please mark it as "Accept as solution" and click "Yes" if you found it helpful.

Thanks and regards,

Anjan Kumar Chippa