Access Live Microsoft Dataverse Data in Excel 365 Online (Excel for the web)

Microsoft Excel for the web represents a cloud-native iteration of Microsoft Excel. When integrated with CData Connect Cloud, you gain immediate access to Microsoft Dataverse data directly from within Excel. This access facilitates data analysis, collaborative work, calculations, and more. This article provides a step-by-step guide on connecting to Microsoft Dataverse within your Connect Cloud instance and accessing live Microsoft Dataverse data in Excel for the web spreadsheets, whether for viewing or updating purposes.

CData Connect Cloud provides a pure cloud-to-cloud interface for Microsoft Dataverse, allowing you to easily access live Microsoft Dataverse data in Excel for the web. Simply use the Connect Cloud Add-In to query live data (or write your own). Using optimized data processing out of the box, CData Connect Cloud pushes all supported query operations (filters, JOINs, etc) directly to Microsoft Dataverse, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return Microsoft Dataverse data.

Configure Microsoft Dataverse Connectivity for Excel

Connectivity to Microsoft Dataverse from Excel is made possible through CData Connect Cloud. To work with Microsoft Dataverse data from Excel, we start by creating and configuring a Microsoft Dataverse connection.

1. Log into Connect Cloud, click Connections and click Add Connection
2. Select "Microsoft Dataverse" from the Add Connection panel
3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Microsoft Dataverse.

   You can connect without setting any connection properties for your user credentials. Below are the minimum connection properties required to connect.

   • InitiateOAuth: Set this to GETANDREFRESH. You can use InitiateOAuth to avoid repeating the OAuth exchange and manually setting the OAuthAccessToken.
   • OrganizationUrl: Set this to the organization URL you are connecting to, such as https://myorganization.crm.dynamics.com.
   • Tenant (optional): Set this if you wish to authenticate to a different tenant than your default. This is required to work with an organization not on your default Tenant.

   When you connect the Common Data Service OAuth endpoint opens in your default browser. Log in and grant permissions. The OAuth process completes automatically.

4. Click Create & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Microsoft Dataverse Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

With the connection configured, you are ready to connect to Microsoft Dataverse data from Excel for the web.

Access Live Microsoft Dataverse Data in Excel for the web

The steps below outline connecting to CData Connect Cloud from Excel to access live Microsoft Dataverse data.

1. Log into Excel, create a new sheet (or open an existing one).
2. Click Insert and click Office Add-ins. (if you have already installed the Add-In, jump to step 4).
3. Search for CData Connect Cloud Add-In and install the Add-in.
4. Click Data and open the CData Connect Cloud Add-In.
5. In the Add-In panel, click Authorize to authenticate with your CData Connect Cloud instance
6. In the CData Connect Cloud panel in Excel, click Import
7. Choose a Connection (e.g. CDS1), Table (e.g. Accounts), and Columns to import
8. Optionally add Filters, Sorting, and a Limit
9. Click Execute to import the data

Update Microsoft Dataverse Data from Excel

In addition to viewing Microsoft Dataverse data in Excel, CData Connect Cloud also lets you update and delete Microsoft Dataverse data. Begin by importing data (as described above).

1. Update any cell or cells with changes you want to push to Microsoft Dataverse (your changes will be in red)
2. In the CData Connect Cloud Add-In panel, select Update
3. Optionally highlight the cell(s) you wish to update and select an update option ("Update All" or "Update Selected")
4. Click Execute to push the updates to Microsoft Dataverse

A notification will appear when the update is complete

Live Access to Microsoft Dataverse Data from Cloud Applications

New, you have a direct, cloud-to-cloud connection to live Microsoft Dataverse data from your Excel workbook. You can add more data to your workbook for calculations, aggregations, collaboration, and more.

Try CData Connect Cloud and get real-time data access to 100+ SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources directly from your cloud applications.