Table.PromoteHeaders

Makes the first row the header: its values name the columns, and the row itself goes.

Group: Table. Power Query M has it too: a query that uses it is written as in Power BI.

Syntax

Table.PromoteHeaders(table as table, optional options as nullable record) as table

Parameter	Type	Description
`table`	table	The table whose first row holds the names.
`options`	nullable record optional	A record: `PromoteAllScalars = true` also promotes numbers, dates and logicals, written as text; `Culture` says how they are written.

Returns

table. The rows after the first, the columns named from it.

Remarks

By default only text is promoted: a number, a date or null in the first row leaves its column with a default name, such as Column3.
Names that repeat get _1, _2 and so on added: two Sales columns become Sales and Sales_1.
With PromoteAllScalars, a date or number is written as the culture writes it: the option Culture, else the query's (a date of 1 March 2026 names its column 3/1/2026 in en-US, 01.03.2026 in nb-NO).
Files without a header row come in as Column1, Column2 ...; Transform data adds this step, then Changed Type, when the first row holds the names.

Examples

Names from the first row

let
    Raw = #table({"Column1", "Column2", "Column3"}, {{"Product", "Shop", "Sales"}, {"Chair", "Oslo", 120}, {"Desk", "Bergen", 340}})
in
    Table.PromoteHeaders(Raw)

Product	Shop	Sales
Chair	Oslo	120
Desk	Bergen	340

Years as headers

The years are numbers: only PromoteAllScalars makes names of them.

let
    Raw = #table({"Column1", "Column2", "Column3"}, {{"Product", 2025, 2026}, {"Chair", 10, 12}})
in
    Table.PromoteHeaders(Raw, [PromoteAllScalars = true])

Product	2025	2026
Chair	10	12

A name used twice

Table.PromoteHeaders(#table({"Column1", "Column2", "Column3"}, {{"Product", "Sales", "Sales"}, {"Chair", 120, 130}}))

Product	Sales	Sales_1
Chair	120	130

Table.DemoteHeaders, Table.RenameColumns, Table.RemoveFirstN, Table.TransformColumnTypes.

Last updated 8 November 2026 · OpenBI Studio 0.3.79