How to Refresh Power Query Data from Excel RTD Sources
Question details
The user needs a way to make Power Query data update automatically when it is imported from Excel tables containing Real-Time Data (RTD) or DDE values.
- Product
- Excel
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- The user has imported live data sources (like RTD or DDE) into Power Query and needs the final query output to automatically reflect changes from the live source.
- Observed behavior
- The query output appears static and does not automatically update when the underlying live RTD source data changes.
Verify that your RTD or DDE server is actively running and that the source data in your Excel worksheet is updating properly before adjusting query settings.
Configure Query Properties for Automatic Refresh
Enable the background refresh and file-open refresh settings to automatically update your Power Query results.
Power Query retrieves a static snapshot of your data at the exact moment of a refresh. It is not designed to provide continuous real-time updates like standard RTD formulas.
To ensure you always have the most recent data when accessing the file, you can configure the connection properties to refresh upon opening or on a set time interval.
Go to the 'Data' tab on the Excel ribbon and click on 'Queries & Connections'.
Right-click on your specific query in the side panel and select 'Properties' from the context menu.
In the Connection Properties dialog, check the box for 'Refresh data when opening the file'. You can also configure a timed refresh here by checking 'Refresh every X minutes'. Click 'OK' to save.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why doesn't my Power Query data update continuously like RTD formulas?
Power Query is designed to extract, transform, and load a snapshot of data at a specific moment. It does not maintain an open, live connection for continuous formula calculation like native Excel RTD functions do.
Can I set Power Query to refresh automatically on a timer?
Yes. Navigate to Data > Queries & Connections, right-click your query, select Properties, and check the 'Refresh every [X] minutes' option to establish a timed schedule.
Why do I get RTD data errors when opening my file on a Mac?
Certain RTD servers and COM add-ins are exclusive to Windows environments. If you open a file with these dependencies on a Mac without the required Windows-based RTD server running, the data connection will fail and return errors.
