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Get the Report →How to update Workday from Excel
This article explains how to transfer data from Excel to Workday using the Excel Add-In for Workday.
The CData Excel Add-In for Workday enables you to edit and save Workday data directly from Excel. This article explains how to transfer data from Excel to Workday. This technique is useful if you want to work on Workday data in Excel and update changes, or if you have a whole spreadsheet you want to import into Workday. In this example, you will use the Workers table; however, the same process will work for any table that can be retrieved by the CData Excel Add-In.
About Workday Data Integration
CData provides the easiest way to access and integrate live data from Workday. Customers use CData connectivity to:
- Access the tables and datasets you create in Prism Analytics Data Catalog, working with the native Workday data hub without compromising the fidelity of your Workday system.
- Access Workday Reports-as-a-Service to surface data from departmental datasets not available from Prism and datasets larger than Prism allows.
- Access base data objects with WQL, REST, or SOAP, getting more granular, detailed access but with the potential need for Workday admins or IT to help craft queries.
Users frequently integrate Workday with analytics tools such as Tableau, Power BI, and Excel, and leverage our tools to replicate Workday data to databases or data warehouses. Access is secured at the user level, based on the authenticated user's identity and role.
For more information on configuring Workday to work with CData, refer to our Knowledge Base articles: Comprehensive Workday Connectivity through Workday WQL and Reports-as-a-Service & Workday + CData: Connection & Integration Best Practices.
Getting Started
Establish a Connection
If you have not already done so, create a new Workday connection by clicking From Workday on the ribbon.
To connect to Workday, users need to find the Tenant and BaseURL and then select their API type.
Obtaining the BaseURL and Tenant
To obtain the BaseURL and Tenant properties, log into Workday and search for "View API Clients." On this screen, you'll find the Workday REST API Endpoint, a URL that includes both the BaseURL and Tenant.
The format of the REST API Endpoint is: https://domain.com/subdirectories/mycompany, where:
- https://domain.com/subdirectories/ is the BaseURL.
- mycompany (the portion of the url after the very last slash) is the Tenant.
Using ConnectionType to Select the API
The value you use for the ConnectionType property determines which Workday API you use. See our Community Article for more information on Workday connectivity options and best practices.
API | ConnectionType Value |
---|---|
WQL | WQL |
Reports as a Service | Reports |
REST | REST |
SOAP | SOAP |
Authentication
Your method of authentication depends on which API you are using.
- WQL, Reports as a Service, REST: Use OAuth authentication.
- SOAP: Use Basic or OAuth authentication.
See the Help documentation for more information on configuring OAuth with Workday.
Retrieve Data from Workday
To insert data into Workday, you will first need to retrieve data from the Workday table you want to add to. This links the Excel spreadsheet to the Workday table selected: After you retrieve data, any changes you make to the data are highlighted in red.
- Click the From Workday button on the CData ribbon. The Data Selection wizard is displayed.
- In the Table or View menu, select the Workers table.
- 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.
- 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 Workday
After retrieving data, you can add data from an existing spreadsheet in Excel.
- In a cell after the last row, enter a formula referencing the corresponding cell from the other spreadsheet; for example, =MyWorkersSheetInExcel!A1.
- After using a formula to reference the cells you want to add to Workday, 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 Workers sheet.
- 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.
