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Get the Report →How to Connect to & Open Snowflake Data in Microsoft Excel
This article uses the CData ODBC driver for Snowflake to import data in Excel with Microsoft Query. This article also demonstrates how to use parameters with Microsoft Query.
The CData ODBC driver for Snowflake uses the standard ODBC interface to link Snowflake data with applications like Microsoft Access and Excel. Follow the steps below to use Microsoft Query to import Snowflake data into a spreadsheet and provide values to a parameterized query from cells in a spreadsheet.
About Snowflake Data Integration
CData simplifies access and integration of live Snowflake data. Our customers leverage CData connectivity to:
- Reads and write Snowflake data quickly and efficiently.
- Dynamically obtain metadata for the specified Warehouse, Database, and Schema.
- Authenticate in a variety of ways, including OAuth, OKTA, Azure AD, Azure Managed Service Identity, PingFederate, private key, and more.
Many CData users use CData solutions to access Snowflake from their preferred tools and applications, and replicate data from their disparate systems into Snowflake for comprehensive warehousing and analytics.
For more information on integrating Snowflake with CData solutions, refer to our blog: https://www.cdata.com/blog/snowflake-integrations.
Getting Started
If you have not already, first specify connection properties in an ODBC DSN (data source name). This is the last step of the driver installation. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs.
To connect to Snowflake:
- Set User and Password to your Snowflake credentials and set the AuthScheme property to PASSWORD or OKTA.
- Set URL to the URL of the Snowflake instance (i.e.: https://myaccount.snowflakecomputing.com).
- Set Warehouse to the Snowflake warehouse.
- (Optional) Set Account to your Snowflake account if your URL does not conform to the format above.
- (Optional) Set Database and Schema to restrict the tables and views exposed.
See the Getting Started guide in the CData driver documentation for more information.
You can then work with live Snowflake data in Excel.
NOTE: In recent versions of Excel, Microsoft Query is not visible by default. To enable visibility, Navigate to Options > Data and check From Microsoft Query (Legacy) under the Show legacy data import wizards section.
- In Excel, open the Data tab and choose Get Data -> Legacy Wizards -> From Microsoft Query (Legacy).
- Choose the Snowflake DSN. Select the option to use Query Wizard to create/edit queries.
- In the Query Wizard, expand the node for the table you would like to import into your spreadsheet. Select the columns you want to import and click the arrow to add them to your query. Alternatively, select the table name to add all columns for that table.
- The Filter Data page allows you to specify criteria. For example, you can limit results by setting a date range.
- If you want to use parameters in your query, select the option to edit the query in Microsoft Query.
To set a parameter in the query, you will need to modify the SQL statement directly. To do this, click the SQL button in the Query Editor. If you set filter criteria earlier, you should have a WHERE clause already in the query.
To use a parameter, use a "?" character as the wildcard character for a field's value in the WHERE clause. For example, if you are importing the Products, you can set "Id=?".
- Close the SQL dialog when you are finished editing the SQL statement. You will be prompted to enter a parameter value. In the next step, you will select a cell to provide this value. So, leave the box in the dialog blank.
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Click File -> Return Data to Microsoft Excel. The Import Data dialog is displayed. Enter a cell where results should be imported.
- Close the Import Data dialog. You will be prompted to enter a parameter value. Click the button next to the parameter box to select a cell. Select the option to automatically refresh the spreadsheet when the value changes.