Access Live API Data in Excel for the Web (Excel 365/Online)



Connect to API data from Excel 365 Online (Excel for the web) with Connect Spreadsheets.

Looking for Connect Cloud instructions?

Your Connect Cloud account includes Connect Spreadsheets, so you can use the instructions below. You can expect minor differences when referencing the Connect Spreadsheet platform, but the principles still apply!


Microsoft Excel for the web represents a cloud-native iteration of Microsoft Excel. When combined with Connect Spreadsheets by CData, you gain immediate access to API data directly within Excel, facilitating data analysis, collaboration, calculations, and more. This article shows how to connect to your API in Connect Spreadsheets and access and update live API data in Excel spreadsheets online.

Connect Spreadsheets is the easiest way to get all your live data into Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets - no more downloading, wrangling, and uploading files again. Just connect to your data, select the dataset you'd like to see, and import it into your spreadsheet.

This setup requires a Connect Spreadsheets instance and the Connect Spreadsheets Add-In for Excel. To get started, sign up a free trial of Connect Spreadsheets and install the free Connect Spreadsheets Excel Add-In.


Configure your API Connectivity for Excel

Connectivity to your API from Excel is made possible through Connect Spreadsheets . To work with API data from Excel, we start by creating and configuring a your API connection.

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

    To connect to your API, configure the following properties on the Global Settings page:

    • In Authentication, select the Type and fill in the required properties
    • In Headers, add the required HTTP headers for your API
    • In Pagination, select the Type and fill in the required properties

    After the configuring the global settings, navigate to the Tables to add tables. For each table you wish to add:

    1. Click "+ Add"
    2. Set the Name for the table
    3. Set Request URL to the API endpoint you wish to work with
    4. (Optional) In Parameters, add the required URL Parameters for your API endpoint
    5. (Optional) In Headers, add the required HTTP headers for the API endpoint
    6. In Table Data click " Configure"
    7. Review the response from the API and click "Next"
    8. Select which element to use as the Repeated Elements and which elements to use as Columns and click "Next"
    9. Preview the tabular model of the API response and click "Confirm"
  4. Click Create & Test

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

Access Live API Data in Excel for the web

The steps below outline connecting to Connect Spreadsheets from Excel to access live API 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 Connect Spreadsheets and click "Get it now" to install the Add-in.
  4. Back in Excel, open the Data ribbon select and click the Connect Spreadsheets "Get Data" button.
  5. In the Add-In panel, click "Log in" to sign into and authenticate with your Connect Spreadsheets account
  6. In the Connect Spreadsheets panel in Excel, click Import
  7. Choose a Connection (e.g. API1), Table (e.g. posts), and Columns to import
  8. Optionally add Filters, Sorting, and a Limit
  9. Click Execute to import the data

Update API Data from Excel

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

  1. Update any cell or cells with changes you want to push to your API
  2. In the Connect Spreadsheets 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 your API

A notification will appear when the update is complete

Live Access to API Data from Spreadsheets

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

Try Connect Spreadsheets and get real-time data access to 100+ SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources directly from your spreadsheet apps.

Ready to get started?

Learn more about Connect Spreadsheets or sign up for free trial access:

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