How to update SharePoint from Excel

The CData Excel Add-In for SharePoint enables you to edit and save SharePoint data directly from Excel. This article explains how to transfer data from Excel to SharePoint. This technique is useful if you want to work on SharePoint data in Excel and update changes, or if you have a whole spreadsheet you want to import into SharePoint. In this example, you will use the MyCustomList table; however, the same process will work for any table that can be retrieved by the CData Excel Add-In.

Establish a Connection

If you have not already done so, create a new SharePoint connection by clicking From SharePoint on the ribbon.

Set the URL property to the base SharePoint site or to a sub-site. This allows you to query any lists and other SharePoint entities defined for the site or sub-site.

The User and Password properties, under the Authentication section, must be set to valid SharePoint user credentials when using SharePoint On-Premise.

If you are connecting to SharePoint Online, set the SharePointEdition to SHAREPOINTONLINE along with the User and Password connection string properties. For more details on connecting to SharePoint Online, see the "Getting Started" chapter of the help documentation

Retrieve Data from SharePoint

To insert data into SharePoint, you will first need to retrieve data from the SharePoint table you want to add to. This links the Excel spreadsheet to the SharePoint table selected: After you retrieve data, any changes you make to the data are highlighted in red.

1. Click the From SharePoint button on the CData ribbon. The Data Selection wizard is displayed.
2. In the Table or View menu, select the MyCustomList table.
3. In the Maximum Rows menu, select the number of rows you want to retrieve. If you want to insert rows, you need to retrieve only one row. The Query box will then display the SQL query that corresponds to your request.
4. In the Sheet Name box, enter the name for the sheet that will be populated. By default the add-in will create a new sheet with the name of the table.

Insert Rows to SharePoint

After retrieving data, you can add data from an existing spreadsheet in Excel.

1. In a cell after the last row, enter a formula referencing the corresponding cell from the other spreadsheet; for example, =MyMyCustomListSheetInExcel!A1.
2. After using a formula to reference the cells you want to add to SharePoint, select the cells that you are inserting data into and drag the formula down as far as needed. The referenced values you want to add will be displayed on the MyCustomList sheet.
3. Highlight the rows you want to insert and click the Update Rows button.

As each row is inserted, the Id value will appear in the Id column and the row's text will change to black, indicating that the record has been inserted.