Expression.Identifier

Expression

Returns the M source code representation of an identifier name.

Syntax

Expression.Identifier(name as text) as text

Parameters

Name	Type	Required	Description
`name`	`text`	Yes	The identifier name to convert to its M source code representation.

Return Value

text — A text string containing the properly escaped M source code representation of the identifier.

Remarks

Expression.Identifier returns the M source code representation of an identifier (variable or step name). If the identifier name is a simple name that does not require escaping (no spaces or special characters), it is returned as-is. If the name contains spaces or other characters that require quoting, the function wraps it in the #"..." escaped identifier syntax used by M.

This is useful for dynamically building M expressions as text strings. When you need to reference a column or step name that might contain spaces, Expression.Identifier ensures the name is properly escaped for use in code generated for Expression.Evaluate.

### Escaping rules

Simple identifiers (e.g., MyIdentifier) are returned unchanged.
Identifiers with spaces or special characters (e.g., My Identifier) are returned as #"My Identifier".

Examples

Example 1: Serialize simple and complex identifiers

let
    Simple = Expression.Identifier("MyIdentifier"),
    WithSpace = Expression.Identifier("My Identifier")
in
    #table(
        {"Input", "M Representation"},
        {
            {"MyIdentifier", Simple},
            {"My Identifier", WithSpace}
        }
    )

Output

	Input	M Representation
1	MyIdentifier	MyIdentifier
2	My Identifier	#"My Identifier"

Compatibility

✓ Power BI Desktop✓ Power BI Service✓ Excel Desktop✓ Excel Online✓ Dataflows✓ Fabric Notebooks