Excel Power Query Fast Data Load: Settings and Tips

Yes—on Excel for Microsoft 365 for Windows, open Data > Get Data > Query Options > Data Load and enable Fast Data Load if that option appears in your build. Some builds show a parallel-loading option instead; either setting can help in the right situation, but neither guarantees a faster refresh, and the best choice depends on your queries, computer, and data source.

What Fast Data Load means in Excel

Power Query connects to a source, applies transformation steps, and loads the resulting data into Excel. A fast-load setting is intended to improve the loading phase, often by allowing more work to happen concurrently. That can reduce waiting when a workbook contains several independent queries, but it does not make every step in every query faster. A slow source, a costly transformation, limited memory, or a large worksheet output can still be the bottleneck.

It also helps to distinguish loading from refreshing. Loading describes where query results go, such as a worksheet table or the Data Model. Refreshing reruns the connection and transformation steps to retrieve current data. A setting that helps Excel load results may have little effect on time spent downloading data or calculating complex transformations.

The exact labels and available options can vary by Excel build and by whether an option is global or specific to the current workbook. If you do not see a control called Fast Data Load, do not assume that Power Query is broken: look for parallel-loading options, and compare refresh times before and after changing a setting.

Where to find the setting in Microsoft 365 for Windows

In Excel, open the Data tab, select Get Data, and choose Query Options. Depending on the ribbon layout, Query Options may be available from the Get Data menu or from the Power Query Editor through Home > Options. In the Query Options window, select Data Load. Check both the Global and Current Workbook sections when present: a global preference can affect other workbooks, while a workbook preference applies to the open file.

Save the workbook, especially if it contains important query definitions or a large model.
Open Data > Get Data > Query Options, then select Data Load.
Enable Fast Data Load if that named option is available. If the interface instead offers Enable parallel loading of tables, consider enabling it for independent queries.
Confirm the option, refresh a representative query, and record the time and any errors.
Repeat with the previous setting if necessary. Keep the change only if it improves your real workload without causing resource or source-system problems.

Changing a global option can affect other workbooks, so note its original state. If you are working on a shared file, tell colleagues when a setting change could alter their refresh experience. Excel for Mac has a different and more limited Power Query interface, and the same option may not be available at the same path. Excel for the web also has different authoring capabilities; use desktop Excel for Windows when you need the Windows Query Options controls described here.

How parallel loading affects refreshes

Parallel loading lets Excel process more than one eligible table or query at a time rather than waiting for each to finish in sequence. Imagine a workbook that imports three unrelated CSV files from a local folder. If the files can be read independently and the computer has spare resources, processing them at once may shorten the overall refresh. The potential gain is smaller when the queries depend on one another or when one slow operation dominates the total time.

Concurrency has trade-offs. Several simultaneous imports can use more memory, processor time, network bandwidth, or database connections. A machine that is already short on memory may become less responsive, and a source system may impose connection limits or respond poorly to multiple requests. Parallel work can also make resource contention worse instead of better. For a workbook that refreshes against a shared database, check with the system owner before increasing concurrent requests.

Power Query manages dependencies in a query chain. For example, a final report query that references a staging query cannot be treated as wholly independent of that staging work. Organizing queries into sensible stages and removing unnecessary references can help, but duplicating source queries without understanding their dependencies may create more work rather than less.

Fast load versus other Data Load options

The Data Load page contains settings that are easy to confuse because they influence different parts of the experience. Enabling background downloads for data previews can make the editor more convenient while previews are being retrieved. It is not the same as making the final worksheet load faster. Similarly, choosing a worksheet table or the Data Model determines where results are stored, not whether the source itself is fast.

Fast or parallel loading: Can improve throughput when eligible queries can run concurrently and the computer and source can handle the extra work.
Background preview downloads: Helps Power Query retrieve previews while you continue working in the editor; it does not guarantee quicker refreshes into the workbook.
Load destination: A worksheet table is convenient for inspecting and editing results. The Data Model is useful for larger analytical models and relationships, but has its own memory and modeling considerations.
Connection only: Keeps a query available as a connection or as a dependency without loading a separate visible table. This can avoid unnecessary worksheet output.

To change the destination for a query, use Data > Queries & Connections, right-click the query, and choose Load To when that command is available. The exact choices depend on the query and workbook. Avoid loading intermediate tables to worksheets simply because the default is convenient: each extra output can increase workbook size and make refreshes harder to manage.

What usually makes Power Query slow

A fast-load checkbox cannot overcome inefficient query design or a slow connection. Before changing several settings, identify which stage takes the time. Does the delay occur before the preview appears, while transformations run, or while results are written into Excel? A query that spends most of its time waiting for a remote file has a different problem from one that loads quickly but takes a long time to create a huge worksheet table.

Too much source data: Import only the columns and rows needed for the report. Removing irrelevant fields early can reduce transfer and processing work.
Expensive transformations: Large sorts, complex custom steps, or repeated operations can take substantial time. Simplify the steps where practical and remove unused columns.
Query folding: For supported sources, Power Query may translate some steps into operations performed by the source. When folding is available, filtering or selecting columns early can let the source do some of the work. Not every connector or transformation supports folding, so do not assume it is happening.
Repeated source access: Several queries that independently retrieve the same large source can add work. Review query references and staging design rather than blindly creating copies.
Worksheet size: Loading a very large result to a sheet can be slow and unwieldy. Consider whether the Data Model or a connection-only intermediate query better fits the task.
External limits: Network latency, file storage, database load, authentication, and service throttling can all affect refresh time outside Excel.

For example, if a report uses only the date, product, and quantity fields from a large sales table, removing dozens of unused columns and filtering out irrelevant years may help more than enabling parallel loading. If the query depends on an online source that takes a long time to respond, changing the load option may make almost no difference.

How to test whether it helped

Use a repeatable comparison rather than judging by one refresh. Start with a saved copy or note the original setting, then refresh the same workbook under similar conditions. If the first run downloads data into a local cache and the second does not, their times may differ for reasons unrelated to the option. Run more than once, compare typical results, and record whether Excel becomes less responsive or reports new errors.

For a fair check, keep the source, filters, output destination, and network conditions as consistent as possible. Test a representative workbook rather than a tiny sample query. Also check the full refresh, not just a preview in the editor. If enabling the setting produces no meaningful improvement, revert it and focus on the slowest query step or source connection.

Common problems and practical fixes

If the option is missing, first confirm that you are using desktop Excel and looking in Query Options rather than worksheet calculation settings. The label and availability depend on the Excel version and interface. Install available Microsoft 365 updates through the normal Office update process, but do not expect every version or platform to expose identical controls.

If refresh becomes slower, Excel freezes, or the computer runs low on memory, turn the option back off and test again. Close other resource-heavy applications and check whether the workbook loads many large queries at once. If the source is a database or shared service, simultaneous requests may also be a concern; ask its administrator about connection limits before treating parallelism as a universal fix.

If a refresh fails after the change, note the exact error and determine whether it concerns credentials, privacy levels, a source timeout, or memory. Those problems are not necessarily caused by fast loading, and changing the setting may only alter when they occur. Restore the prior setting as a diagnostic step, then troubleshoot the underlying message and source access separately.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Excel Power Query have an Enable Fast Data Load checkbox?
Some Excel builds expose a Fast Data Load option in Query Options > Data Load; others show parallel-loading controls or different labels. Check the options available in your desktop build rather than relying on instructions for Power BI or another Excel version.

Should I enable parallel loading in Excel?
It is worth testing when a workbook has multiple independent queries and the computer and source have spare capacity. Leave it off if it increases memory pressure, overloads a shared source, or makes refresh slower.

Does Fast Data Load change the data in my workbook?
The setting is intended to affect how loading work is performed, not the meaning of your transformation steps. Still, verify the refreshed output and any errors after changing settings, especially in a workbook used for reporting.

Why is Power Query still slow after I enable it?
The delay may come from downloading data, a slow source, complex transformations, dependency chains, or writing a large result to a worksheet. Find the slow stage and address that cause; concurrency cannot remove every bottleneck.

Can I enable the same setting in Excel for Mac or Excel for the web?
The interface and available Power Query options differ by platform. The Windows path in this guide may not exist on Mac or in a browser, so use the controls actually available in your Excel version or open the workbook in desktop Excel for Windows.

Choosing the right approach

Think of Fast Data Load as an option to test, not a universal performance switch. Try it when the workbook has independent queries and resources to spare; monitor memory, responsiveness, and source behavior; and undo the change if it makes the experience worse. For lasting improvements, reduce unnecessary data, keep only needed output tables, simplify transformations, and investigate whether the source or query design is the true bottleneck. Those steps make it more likely that a refresh will be both faster and easier to maintain.

Try it: the Date Difference Calculator: days, months, years and weekdays between two dates, with the DATEDIF formulas.

More in How-to basics

Sources: Function behaviour and menu paths: Microsoft Support documentation for Excel. Method & sources

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