Microsoft Excel 2013 ®® Tutorial 11: Connecting to External Data.
Connecting Excel to Mysql
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Transcript of Connecting Excel to Mysql
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CONNECTING EXCEL TO MySQL
Sure Excel is used for spreadsheets, but did you know you can connect Excel to external data
sources?
In this article were going to discuss how to connect an Excel spreadsheet to a MySQL database
table and use the data in the database table to populate our spreadsheet. There are a few things
you need to do in order to prepare for this connection.
Preparation
First, you must download the most recent Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) driver for
MySQL. The current ODBC driver for MySQL can be located at
http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/connector/odbc/
Make sure after you download the file that you check the files md5 hash against that listed on
the download page.
Next, you will need to install the driver you just downloaded. Double click the file to start the
install process. Once the install process is complete you will need to create a Database Source
Name (DSN) to use with Excel.
Creating the DSN
The DSN will contain all of the connection information necessary to use the MySQL database
table. On a Windows XP system, you will need to click on Start, then Control Panel,
then Administrative Tools, then Data Sources (ODBC). You should see the following
information:
http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/connector/odbc/http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/connector/odbc/ -
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Notice the tabs in the image above. A User DSN is only available to the user that created it. A
System DSN is available to anyone that can log into the machine. A File DSN is a .DSN file that
can be transported to and used on other systems that have the same OS and drivers installed.
To continue creating the DSN, click on the Add button near the top right corner. You should be
presented with a window that looks something like this image:
http://www.online-tech-tips.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/ODBC_data_source_admin.png -
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You will probably have to scroll down to see the MySQL ODBC 5.1 Driver. If its not present,
something went wrong with installing the driver in the Preparation section of this post. To
continue creating the DSN, make sure MySQL ODBC 5.1 Driver is highlighted and click on
the Finish button. You should now see a window similar to the one listed below:
http://www.online-tech-tips.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/create_new_data_source.png -
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Next you will need to supply the information necessary to complete the form shown above. The
MySQL database and table were using for this post is on a development machine and is only
used by one person.
For production environments, it is suggested you create a new user and grant the new user
SELECT privileges only. In the future, you can grant additional privileges if necessary.
After you have supplied the details for your data source configuration, you should click on
the Test button to make sure everything is in working order. Next, click on the OKbutton.
After you have click on the OK button, you should now see the data source name you supplied
on the form in the previous set listed on the ODBC Data Source Administrator window. Itshould look something like this:
http://www.online-tech-tips.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/data_source_config.png -
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Creating the Spreadsheet Connection
Now that you have successfully created a new DSN, you can close the ODBC Data Source
Administrator window and open Excel. Once you have opened Excel, click on the Data ribbon.
You should see something like this:
http://www.online-tech-tips.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/dataribbon.pnghttp://www.online-tech-tips.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/ODBC_data_source_after.png -
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The next step is to click on the Connections link located right under the word Data in the tab
list. The location of the Connections link is circled in red in the above image. You should be
presented with the Workbook Connections window. It should look something like this:
The next step is to click on the Add button. This will present you with the Existing Connections
window and it should look something like this:
http://www.online-tech-tips.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/workbook_conn.png -
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Obviously you dont want to work on any of the connections listed. Therefore, click on
the Browse for More button. This will present you with the select data source window and it
should look like this:
http://www.online-tech-tips.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/existing_conn.png -
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Just like the previous Existing Connections window, you do not want to use the connections
listed in the Select Data Source window. Therefore, you want to double click on the +Connect
to New Data Source.odc folder. In doing so, you should be now see the Data Connection
Wizard window. It should look something like this:
http://www.online-tech-tips.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/select_data_source.png -
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Given the data source choices listed, you want to highlight ODBC DSN and clickNext. The
next step of the Data Connection Wizard will display all of the ODBC data sources available on
the system you are using.
Hopefully, if all as gone according to plan, you should see the DSN that you created in previous
steps listed among the ODBC data sources. Highlight it and click on Next.
http://www.online-tech-tips.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/select_data_source_2.png -
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The next step in the Data Connection Wizard is to save and finish. The file name field should be
auto filled for you. You can supply a description. The description used in the example is pretty
self-explanatory for anyone that might use it. Next, click on the Finish button in the lower right
of the window.
http://www.online-tech-tips.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/select_data_source_3.png -
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You should now be back at the Workbook Connection window. The data connection you just
created should be listed. It should look something like this:
http://www.online-tech-tips.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/select_data_source_4.png -
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Importing the Table Data
You can close the Workbook Connection window. We need to click on the Existing
Connections button in the Data ribbon of Excel. The Existing Connections button should be
located to the left on the Data ribbon. See image below for approximate location:
http://www.online-tech-tips.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/existing_conn_1.pnghttp://www.online-tech-tips.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/select_data_source_5.png -
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Clicking on the Existing Connections button should present you with the Existing Connections
window. Youve seen this window in previous steps, the different now is that your data
connection should be listed near the top. The Existing Connections window should look
something like this:
Make sure the data connection you created in the previous steps is highlighted and then click on
the Openbutton. You should now see the Import Data window. Hopefully, it looks something
like this:
http://www.online-tech-tips.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/existing_conn_2.png -
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For the purposes of this post, we are going to use the default settings on the Import Data
window. Next, click on the OKbutton. If everything worked out for you, you should now be
presented with the MySQL database table data in your worksheet.
For this post, the table we were working with had two fields. The first field is an auto
incrementing INT field titled ID. The second field is VARCHAR(50) and is titled fname. Our
final spreadsheet looks likes like this:
As youve probably noticed, the first row contains the table column names. You can also use the
drop down arrows next to the column names to sort the columns.
http://www.online-tech-tips.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/final.pnghttp://www.online-tech-tips.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/import_data.png -
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Wrap-Up
In this post we covered where to find the latest ODBC drivers for MySQL, how to create a DSN,
how to create a spreadsheet data connection using the DSN and how to use the spreadsheet data
connection to import data into an Excel spreadsheet.
This process isnt going to be used as the main stream means of gathering MySQL data. It could
prevent the daily/weekly/monthly call where someone requests a few pieces of basic data from a
table and they want it in spreadsheet form.
Use the tricks from this post to give the user the ability to retrieve the data themselves from a
database table view. For those of you looking for something a little more advanced, stay tuned
for a future post regarding the Microsoft Query tool that you can also use with Excel andexternal data sources.
* Apple users: If you are running an Intel powered system, please see
http://forums.mysql.com/read.php?37,194261,194261#msg-194261
For more information. At the time of this post, this issue is still unresolved. Tested on a 10.5.8
system with Office 2008 for Mac and the same issue was found as the post on the MySQL
forum.
http://forums.mysql.com/read.php?37,194261,194261#msg-194261http://forums.mysql.com/read.php?37,194261,194261#msg-194261