Table.Min

Table

Returns the row with the minimum value according to the given comparison criteria.

Syntax

Table.Min(table as table, comparisonCriteria as any, optional default as nullable any) as any

Parameters

Name	Type	Required	Description
`table`	`table`	Yes	The table to search.
`comparisonCriteria`	`any`	Yes	A column name (text), a list of column names, or a comparer function to determine ordering.
`default`	`any`	No	Optional value to return if the table is empty. Defaults to null.

Return Value

any — The row with the lowest value as a record, or the default if the table is empty.

Remarks

Table.Min returns the entire row (as a record) that contains the minimum value for the given comparison criteria. If multiple rows share the minimum value, the first one encountered is returned. Access individual fields from the result with record field syntax: Table.Min(t, "OrderDate")[CustomerName].

Table.Min is the counterpart of Table.Max. It is useful when you need the full row context for the minimum — for example, finding the cheapest product's name and category, or the earliest order's customer information. If you only need the minimum scalar value, chain field access directly: Table.Min(t, "Price")[Price].

If the table is empty, Table.Min returns null by default, or the specified default value. Always provide a default when the table may be empty to prevent null-propagation errors in dependent steps.

Examples

Example 1: Find the lowest-priced product

let
    Products = #table(
        type table [ProductID = number, ProductName = text, Category = text, Price = number, InStock = logical],
        {{1,"Widget A","Widgets",25.00,true},{2,"Gadget B","Gadgets",50.00,true},
         {3,"Widget C","Widgets",15.00,false},{4,"Gadget D","Gadgets",75.00,true},{5,"Thingamajig E","Misc",120.00,false}}
    )
in
    Table.Min(Products, "Price")

Output

	Result
1	[ProductID = 3, ProductName = "Widget C", Category = "Widgets", Price = 15, InStock = false]

Example 2: Extract the earliest order date as a scalar

let
    Sales = #table(
        {"OrderID", "CustomerName", "Product", "OrderDate"},
        {{1,"Alice","Widget A",#date(2024,1,15)},{2,"Bob","Gadget B",#date(2024,1,18)},
         {3,"Charlie","Widget C",#date(2024,2,1)},{8,"Diana","Widget C",#date(2024,4,15)}}
    )
in
    Table.Min(Sales, "OrderDate")[OrderDate]

Output

	Result
1	1/15/2024

Example 3: Return a safe default when the filtered table is empty

let
    Sales = #table(
        {"OrderID", "CustomerName", "Region", "UnitPrice"},
        {{1,"Alice","East",25.00},{3,"Charlie","East",15.00}}
    ),
    WestSales = Table.SelectRows(Sales, each [Region] = "West")
in
    Table.Min(WestSales, "UnitPrice", [OrderID = 0, CustomerName = "N/A", Region = "West", UnitPrice = 0])

Applied Steps

The final output — since WestSales is empty, Table.Min returns the provided default record with UnitPrice 0 instead of null.

	Result
1	[OrderID = 0, CustomerName = "N/A", Region = "West", UnitPrice = 0]

Compatibility

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

Contributors