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Connect to Excel Data from PowerBuilder



This article demonstrates how to access Excel data from PowerBuilder using the Excel JDBC Driver.

The CData JDBC Driver for Excel is a standards-based control that can be used from any platform or development technology that supports JDBC, including PowerBuilder. This article shows how to use the CData JDBC Driver for Excel in PowerBuilder.

This article shows how to create a basic PowerBuilder application that uses the CData JDBC Driver for Excel to perform reads and writes.

Connect to Excel Data from PowerBuilder

Follow the steps below to use the Database Painter tool to create a database profile based on an JDBC URL for Excel. You can use a database profile to save connection properties. In the Database Painter, you can graphically manipulate data as well as execute SQL queries.

  1. Add the driver JAR to the PowerBuilder classpath. Set the CLASSPATH system environment variable to the path to the driver JAR, located in the lib subfolder of the installation directory.

    Note: If you are using PowerBuilder Classic, you can also add the path to the driver JAR by clicking Tools -> System Options -> Java.

  2. Click Tools -> Database Painter.
  3. Right-click the JDBC node and click New Profile.
  4. In the Database Profile Setup dialog, enter the following:
    • Profile Name: Enter a user-friendly name for the profile.
    • Driver Name: Enter the class name of the driver, cdata.jdbc.excel.ExcelDriver
    • URL: Enter the JDBC URL.

      The ExcelFile, under the Authentication section, must be set to a valid Excel File.

      Built-in Connection String Designer

      For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the Excel JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.

      java -jar cdata.jdbc.excel.jar

      Fill in the connection properties and copy the connection string to the clipboard. A typical JDBC URL is below:

      jdbc:excel:Excel File='C:/MyExcelWorkbooks/SampleWorkbook.xlsx';
  5. To view and modify a table, right-click a table and then click Edit Data -> Grid.

Using Excel Data with PowerBuilder Controls

You can use standard PowerBuilder objects to connect to JDBC data sources and execute queries. The following example shows how to retrieve Excel data into a DataWindow. You can add the following code to the open method:

SQLCA.DBMS = "JDBC" SQLCA.AutoCommit = False SQLCA.DBParm = "Driver='cdata.jdbc.excel.ExcelDriver',URL='jdbc:excel:Excel File='C:/MyExcelWorkbooks/SampleWorkbook.xlsx';"; CONNECT USING SQLCA; dw_sheet.SetTransObject(SQLCA); dw_sheet.Retrieve();