Minimizing effort when reducing a Power Query Date column to just the year
You use Power Query Editor to preview a column named Date as shown in the following exhibit. You need to change the Date column to contain only the year. The solution must minimize administrative effort. What should you do? - 
Community Votes
84% of anonymous learners picked answer D. Votes are pick records left by other test-takers — they are not the verified answer.
Community Insight
Transform > Date > Year replaces the column in one built-in step — extraction-based options produce text and require extra cleanup, so the single built-in transform is the minimal-effort path.
A Date column previewed in Power Query Editor must be reduced to contain only the year, with the least administrative effort, so the question hinges on which transform accomplishes it in the fewest steps.
Splitting or extracting parts of the column — those work but yield text values that need additional steps (and possibly type conversion), violating the minimize-effort constraint even though the end result can look the same.
Community Discussion (8 comments)
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Expert Analysis
Why the Answer Is Correct
Option D applies the built-in Date transform (Transform > Date > Year > Year), which converts the column to year values in a single step with no follow-up work. Power Query implements it with the Date.Year function, and because it is a transform rather than an extraction, the column's type is handled automatically. That single-click path is the definition of minimizing administrative effort in this scenario.Why the Other Options Are Wrong
Splitting the column by delimiter (A) only works if the display format guarantees a separator around the year, and it produces text fragments that then require selecting and typing the right piece plus a type change. Splitting by number of characters (B) hard-codes positional assumptions that break when date formats vary. Extracting text after the delimiter (C) is also format-dependent and leaves a text value needing conversion. All three achieve a year-looking result but through multiple steps, failing the minimize-effort bar that D clears in one.Community Comment Notes
A commenter observes that all four options can technically lead to the desired result but A, B, and C require additional steps, which is exactly why D wins under the minimize-effort requirement. Another comment walks through the Select > Transform > Date > Year menu path confirming the one-step nature of D.Official Reference
Exam Strategy
Look for 'minimize administrative effort' or 'single step' requirements. Always choose the dedicated semantic transform (like Date > Year) over text manipulation methods like Split or Extract, which require extra steps and type conversions.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to extract year from date in Power Query?
Use Transform > Date > Year > Year menu path. This applies the Date.Year function automatically.
Why not split column by delimiter for year?
Splitting requires multiple steps and type changes. It fails the minimize administrative effort requirement compared to direct transform.
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