The correct answer is to use a custom column with the Html.Table function and to apply Replace Values to manually remove specific tags. The Html.Table function is a native Power Query M function that parses HTML content and extracts clean text from tables, effectively stripping all surrounding markup in one step. Replace Values works as a straightforward find-and-replace method, letting you target known tags like <br> or </p> and replace them with an empty string, which is ideal when you only need to remove a few recurring tags. On the PL-300 exam, this question tests your ability to handle semi-structured web data, a common scenario when importing from HTML tables. A frequent trap is trying to use Text.Remove or Text.Select, which cannot parse HTML structure. Remember the memory tip: “HTML needs a table, not a text cable”—meaning Html.Table is purpose-built for this task, while Replace Values is your manual backup for known tags.
PL-300 Prepare the data Practice Question
This PL-300 practice question tests your understanding of prepare the data. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
You are importing data from a web page that contains an HTML table. Power Query detects the table, but you notice that some columns contain HTML tags. Which TWO methods can you use to remove the HTML tags from the column values?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use 'Replace Values' to remove specific tags like <br> and </p>.
Option B is correct because 'Replace Values' allows you to manually remove specific HTML tags (e.g., <br>, </p>) by replacing them with an empty string, which is a straightforward method for cleaning known tags. Option E is correct because the 'Html.Table' function in Power Query can parse HTML content and extract the text from a table, effectively stripping tags and returning clean text values.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
Split the column by delimiter '<' and then extract the first part.
Why it's wrong here
This may not work for complex HTML.
✓
Use 'Replace Values' to remove specific tags like <br> and </p>.
Why this is correct
For known tags, replace works.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Remove the columns containing HTML tags.
Why it's wrong here
You need the data, not remove it.
✗
Use the 'Clean' function to remove all HTML tags.
Why it's wrong here
Clean removes non-printable characters, not HTML.
✓
Use a custom column with the 'Html.Table' function to extract text.
Why this is correct
Html.Table can extract text from HTML.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse the 'Clean' function (which removes non-printable characters) with a hypothetical HTML-cleaning function, leading them to select option D despite it being irrelevant to HTML tags.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
The 'Html.Table' function uses the Web.Page and Html.Table M functions to parse HTML and extract text from specified table structures, which is ideal for web-scraped data. 'Replace Values' works for simple, known tags but fails with dynamic or nested HTML; for complex cases, you might use a custom function with Text.Remove or Text.Replace to strip all tags via a pattern like '<[^>]*>'.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A cloud solutions architect for a retail company is evaluating services for a new workload. The correct answer here reflects best practice for the specific scenario described — not a general cloud recommendation. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Cloud exam questions reward reading the constraint carefully: the same technology can be right or wrong depending on the use case.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Prepare the data — This question tests Prepare the data — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Use 'Replace Values' to remove specific tags like <br> and </p>. — Option B is correct because 'Replace Values' allows you to manually remove specific HTML tags (e.g., <br>, </p>) by replacing them with an empty string, which is a straightforward method for cleaning known tags. Option E is correct because the 'Html.Table' function in Power Query can parse HTML content and extract the text from a table, effectively stripping tags and returning clean text values.
What should I do if I get this PL-300 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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