Excel as Database Connector

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Overview

The Etlworks Excel as Database connector allows the fastest and easiest way to connect to real-time Excel data. The connector works just like any other connector for connected app.

Etlworks partnered with CData to provide access to Excel as Database using industry-standard JDBC protocol. Read about CData Excel as Database JDBC connector.

When to use Excel as Database connector

Use this connector to create Flows that extract data and load data into Excel using SQL.

For working with Excel files (read/write) in most cases we recommend built-in and free Excel formats (XLSX and XLS).

Prerequisites

Enable the Excel as Database connector for your Etlworks account. Contact support@etlworks.com to enable the connector.

Create a Connection

Here's how you can create a Connection in two easy steps:

Step 1. In the Connections window, click +, and type in excel, select Excel as Database.

Step 2. Enter Connection parameters:

Enter filename and folder name in Excel filename or folder. As usual you can use tokens such as {app.data}

Use Other parameters to specify the Connection string options. Read about available Connection string options.

Work with Excel as Database

Excel Data Models

The connector models the worksheets and ranges in your workbooks as bidirectional tables. When you connect, the connector retrieves the metadata from Excel worksheets and reflects any changes to the table schemas. 

Read about Excel data model.

Stored procedures

Stored procedures are available to complement the data available from the Data Model. It may be necessary to update data available from a view using a stored procedure because the data does not provide for direct, table-like, two-way updates. In these situations, the retrieval of the data is done using the appropriate view or table, while the update is done by calling a stored procedure. Stored procedures take a list of parameters and return back a dataset that contains the collection of tuples that constitute the response.

Read about available stored procedures in the data model.  

To call stored procure from the SQL Flow or from Before/After SQL use EXEC sp_name params=value. Example:

EXECUTE my_proc @second = 2, @first = 1, @third = 3;

SQL Compliance

The connector supports several operations on data, including querying, deleting, modifying, and inserting.

Read about SQL Compliance.

Extract data from Excel

Extracting data from Excel as Database is similar to extracting data from the relational database.

Here's how you can do this:

Step 1. Create Excel as Database Connection which will be used as a source (FROM).

Step 2. Create a destination Connection, for example, a Connection to the relational database, and if needed, a Format (Format is not needed if the destination is a database or well-known API).

Step 3. Create a Flow where the source is a connected app, and the destination is a Connection created in step 2, for example, a relational database.

Step 4. Add a new source-to-destination transformation.

Step 5. Select the Excel as Database Connection created in step 1 as a source Connection and select the data object you are extracting data from.

Step 6. Select TO Connection, Format (if needed), and object (for example, database table) to load data into.

Step 7. Click MAPPING and optionally enter Source query (you don't need a query if you are extracting data from the Excel data object unconditionally).

Step 8. Optionally define the per-field Mapping.

Step 9. Add more transformations if needed.

Load data in Excel

Loading data in Excel as Database is similar to loading data into a relational database.

Here's how you can do this:

Step 1. Create a source Connection and a Format (if needed).

Step 2. Create a destination Excel as Database Connection.

Step 3. Create a Flow where the destination is a connected app.

Step 4. Add new source-to-destination transformation.

Step 5. Select FROM and TO Connections and objects (also a FROM Format if needed).

Step 6. Optionally define the per-field Mapping.

Step 7. Add more transformations if needed.

Browse data in Excel

You must have an Excel as Database Connection to browse objects and run SQL queries.

Use the Etlworks Explorer to browse data and metadata in Excel worksheets as well as execute DML and SELECT queries against the Excel as Database Connection.