How to connect to Excel Online Data from IntelliJ

The CData JDBC Driver for Excel Online enables you to access Excel Online as a JDBC data source, providing integration with rapid development tools in IDEs. This article shows how to use the data source configuration wizard to connect to Excel Online data in IntelliJ.

Create a JBDC Data Source for Excel Online

Follow the steps below to add the driver JAR and define connection properties required to connect to Excel Online data.

1. In the Data Sources window, right-click and then click Add Data Source -> DB Data Source.

2. In the Data Source Properties dialog that appears, the following properties are required:

   • JDBC Driver Files: Click the button next to this menu to add the JDBC Driver file cdata.jdbc.excelonline.jar, located in the installation directory.
   • JDBC Driver Class: In this menu, select cdata.jdbc.excelonline.ExcelOnlineDriver from the list.

   • Database URL: Enter the connection URL in the JDBC URL property. The URL must start with jdbc:excelonline: and includes connection properties separated with semicolons.

     You can connect to a workbook by providing authentication to Excel Online and then setting the following properties:

     • Workbook: Set this to the name or Id of the workbook.

       If you want to view a list of information about the available workbooks, execute a query to the Workbooks view after you authenticate.

     • UseSandbox: Set this to true if you are connecting to a workbook in a sandbox account. Otherwise, leave this blank to connect to a production account.

     You use the OAuth authentication standard to authenticate to Excel Online. See the Getting Started section in the help documentation for a guide. Getting Started also guides you through executing SQL to worksheets and ranges.

     Built-in Connection String Designer

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

     java -jar cdata.jdbc.excelonline.jar

     Fill in the connection properties and copy the connection string to the clipboard.

     A typical JDBC URL is the following:

     jdbc:excelonline:InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH

Edit and Save Excel Online Data

To discover schema information, right-click the data source you just created and click Refresh Tables. To query a table, right-click it and then click Open Tables Editor. You can also modify records in the Table Editor.