How to update Airtable from Excel

The CData Excel Add-In for Airtable enables you to edit and save Airtable data directly from Excel. This article explains how to transfer data from Excel to Airtable. This technique is useful if you want to work on Airtable data in Excel and update changes, or if you have a whole spreadsheet you want to import into Airtable. In this example, you will use the SampleTable_1 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 Airtable connection by clicking From Airtable on the ribbon.

APIKey, BaseId and TableNames parameters are required to connect to Airtable. ViewNames is an optional parameter where views of the tables may be specified.

• APIKey : API Key of your account. To obtain this value, after logging in go to Account. In API section click Generate API key.
• BaseId : Id of your base. To obtain this value, it is in the same section as the APIKey. Click on Airtable API, or navigate to https://airtable.com/api and select a base. In the introduction section you can find "The ID of this base is appxxN2ftedc0nEG7."
• TableNames : A comma separated list of table names for the selected base. These are the same names of tables as found in the UI.
• ViewNames : A comma separated list of views in the format of (table.view) names. These are the same names of the views as found in the UI.

Retrieve Data from Airtable

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

1. Click the From Airtable button on the CData ribbon. The Data Selection wizard is displayed.
2. In the Table or View menu, select the SampleTable_1 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 Airtable

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, =MySampleTable_1SheetInExcel!A1.
2. After using a formula to reference the cells you want to add to Airtable, 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 SampleTable_1 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.