Posted   by 

Excel Online Outlook



-->

Excel Online (Business) connector lets you work with Excel files in document libraries supported by Microsoft Graph (OneDrive for Business, SharePoint Sites, and Office 365 Groups). With Microsoft 365 for the web (formally Office 365) you can edit and share Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote files on your devices using a web browser.

Excel Online (Business) connector lets you work with Excel files in document libraries supported by Microsoft Graph (OneDrive for Business, SharePoint Sites, and Office 365 Groups).

This connector is available in the following products and regions:

Excel Online (OneDrive) connection provider lets you work with Excel files stored in OneDrive. This connection provider only supports personal (MSA) accounts. Excel Online (Business) connector lets you work with Excel files in document libraries supported by Microsoft Graph (OneDrive for Business, SharePoint Sites, and Office 365 Groups). In this article This connector is available in the following products and regions.

ServiceClassRegions
Logic AppsStandardAll Logic Apps regions except the following:
- Azure China regions
Power AutomateStandardAll Power Automate regions except the following:
- US Government (GCC High)
- China Cloud operated by 21Vianet
Power Apps-Not available
Contact
NameMicrosoft
URLMicrosoft LogicApps Support
Microsoft Power Automate Support
Link excel to outlook email
Connector Metadata
PublisherMicrosoft
Websitehttps://products.office.com/excel

Excel, Word & Outlook. Choose just one of these, or choose any combination of the three. Learn the core software tools any professional needs in a modern office environment. Excel for Decision Making.

Known Issues and Limitations

  • The maximum size of an Excel file that is supported by the Excel Online (Business) connector is 25 MB.
  • The data may not be up to date (there may be some delay) when filtering or sorting is used in the List rows present in a table action.
  • The List rows present in a table action supports basic filtering and sorting:
    • Supports the following filter functions: eq, ne, contains, startswith, endswith.
    • Only 1 filter function can be applied on a column.
    • Only 1 column can be used for sorting.
  • An Excel file may be locked for an update or delete up to 6 minutes since the last use of the connector.
  • A single Excel file should be used by a single connection to prevent writing data from multiple connections and possible data inconsistency.
  • Simultaneous file modifications made by other connectors or manual edits are not supported.
  • The connector supports files only in Microsoft Excel Open XML Spreadsheet format (*.xlsx).
  • The File property expected by the connector's actions should be filled using one of the following options:
    • Pick a file from the file picker.
    • Use an output from the OneDrive for Business connector's triggers/actions (file's Id or File identifier property depending on which one is present for the particular OneDrive for Business's action or trigger).
    • Use an output from the SharePoint connector's triggers/actions (file's Id or Identifier property depending on which one is present for the particular Sharepoint's action or trigger).
  • The connector retrieves rows for 500 columns maximum in the List rows present in a table action. Rows for first 500 columns are returned by default. You can provide comma-separated list of specific columns to retrieve in Select Query parameter.
  • The connector doesn't support using OData parameters for tables that contain hidden columns.
  • The connector timeout caused by re-calculations can occur, either there are complicated formulas or there are too many rows in the worksheet. In both cases, data can be inserted multiple times because of retry policy.
  • The connector will return the Bad Gateway error if the spreadsheet is in a read-only mode. In order to disable read-only mode, please learn more here.
  • Filter Query / Order By / Select Query operation parameters support only alphanumeric column names.
  • Pivot tables are not supported due to Graph API limitations.
  • The connector always returns all document libraries available under the Document Library drop-down control. For most users, only one document library will be returned, but if there are multiple available, all of them will be listed. For more information about document library (e.g. Drive resources) and expected behavior for users, Groups, and Sites, please view this page.
  • If a user makes too many requests within a short period of time, it is possible to get a 429 response. The throttling limit is unique to each request and it varies based on the request count, memory used, and other important factors.
  • In operations such as Delete a row, the key column field is case-sensitive.
  • In case of multiple matches in operations such as Update a row, Delete a row operations, only the first row will be updated/deleted.

Column names handling

Please note that column names in the action's response results may be transformed in order to be compatible with OData format:

CharacterEncoded value
._x002e_
@_x0040_
:_x003a_
#_x0023_

E.g. Column [one]#1 -> Column [one]_x0023_1

General Limits

NameValue
Maximum number of identity column variants that can be used to Get/Insert/Update/Delete a row from a single excel table. Current value is set to 2, which means that up to two column name variants should be in use across workflows for one particular table.2

Concepts and examples

  • Key column: column in a table that will be use to search a value (key value)
  • Key value: value in the key column that will be used to identify a specific row.

Take the following table as an example. To perform a row operation in the second row of the table, the key column should be Column 1 and key value should be 200.

Column 1Column 2Column 3
100A-2A-3
200B-2B-3
300C-2C-3

Throttling Limits

NameCallsRenewal Period
API calls per connection310 seconds

Actions

Add a key column to a table

Add a key column to an Excel table. The new column will be appended to the right.

Add a row into a table

Add a new row into the Excel table.

Add a row into a table [DEPRECATED]

This action has been deprecated. Please use Add a row into a table instead.

Add a new row into the Excel table.

Create table

Create a new table in the Excel workbook.

Create worksheet

Create a new worksheet in the Excel workbook.

Delete a row

Delete a row using a key column.

Get a row

Get a row using a key column.

Get tables

Get a list of tables in the Excel workbook.

Get worksheets

Get a list of worksheets in the Excel workbook.

List rows present in a table

List rows present in a table.

Run script (Preview)

Runs a script against an Excel workbook.

Update a row

Update a row using a key column. The input value will overwrite the specified cells and columns left blank will not be updated. In order to append (instead of overwrite) a value, use the 'Get a row' action to retrieve the content first.

Add a key column to a table

Add a key column to an Excel table. The new column will be appended to the right.

Parameters

NameKeyRequiredTypeDescription
source True string

Select from the drop-down or specify one of the following:- 'me'- 'SharePoint Site URL'- 'users/someone's UPN'- 'groups/group Id'- 'sites/SharePoint Site URL:/teams/team name:' (the colons are required).

Document Library
drive True string

Select a document library from the drop-down.

file True string

Select an Excel file through File Browse.

Table
table True string

Select a table from the drop-down.

idColumn string

Provide the key column name.

Add a row into a table

Add a new row into the Excel table.

Parameters

NameKeyRequiredTypeDescription
source True string

Select from the drop-down or specify one of the following:- 'me'- 'SharePoint Site URL'- 'users/someone's UPN'- 'groups/group Id'- 'sites/SharePoint Site URL:/teams/team name:' (colons are required).

Document Library
drive True string

Select a document library from the drop-down.

file True string

Select an Excel file through File Browse.

Table
table True string

Select a table from the drop-down.

item True dynamic

Row to add into the specified Excel table.

DateTime Format
dateTimeFormat string

DateTime Format.

Returns

Add a row into a table [DEPRECATED]

This action has been deprecated. Please use Add a row into a table instead.

Add a new row into the Excel table.

Parameters

NameKeyRequiredTypeDescription
source True string

Select from the drop-down or specify one of the following:- 'me'- 'SharePoint Site URL'- 'users/someone's UPN'- 'groups/group Id'- 'sites/SharePoint Site URL:/teams/team name:' (colons are required).

Document Library
drive True string

Select a document library from the drop-down.

file True string

Select an Excel file through File Browse.

Table
table True string

Select a table from the drop-down.

item True dynamic

Row to insert into the specified Excel table.

Returns

Create table

Create a new table in the Excel workbook.

Parameters

NameKeyRequiredTypeDescription
source True string

Select from the drop-down or specify one of the following:- 'me'- 'SharePoint Site URL'- 'users/someone's UPN'- 'groups/group Id'- 'sites/SharePoint Site URL:/teams/team name:' (the colons are required).

Document Library
drive True string

Select a document library from the drop-down.

file True string

Select an Excel file through File Browse.

Table name
TableName string

Enter the Excel table name.

Range True string

Enter the table address using A1 notation.

Columns names
ColumnsNames string

Enter the columns names separated by ';' or ','.

Returns

Table metadata

Create worksheet

Create a new worksheet in the Excel workbook.

Parameters

NameKeyRequiredTypeDescription
source True string

Select from the drop-down or specify one of the following:- 'me'- 'SharePoint Site URL'- 'users/someone's UPN'- 'groups/group Id'- 'sites/SharePoint Site URL:/teams/team name:' (colons are required).

Document Library
drive True string

Select a document library from the drop-down.

file True string

Select an Excel file through File Browse.

Name
name string

Worksheet name.

Returns

Delete a row

Delete a row using a key column.

Parameters

NameKeyRequiredTypeDescription
source True string

Select from the drop-down or specify one of the following:- 'me'- 'SharePoint Site URL'- 'users/someone's UPN'- 'groups/group Id'- 'sites/SharePoint Site URL:/teams/team name:' (the colons are required)

Document Library
drive True string

Select a document library from the drop-down.

file True string

Select an Excel file through File Browse.

Table
table True string

Select a table from the drop-down.

idColumn True string

Select a column from the drop-down.

Key Value
id True string

Enter the key value.

Get a row

Get a row using a key column.

Parameters

NameKeyRequiredTypeDescription
source True string

Select from the drop-down or specify one of the following:- 'me'- 'SharePoint Site URL'- 'users/someone's UPN'- 'groups/group Id'- 'sites/SharePoint Site URL:/teams/team name:' (the colons are required)

Document Library
drive True string

Select a document library from the drop-down.

file True string

Select an Excel file through File Browse.

Table
table True string

Select a table from the drop-down.

idColumn True string

Select a column from the drop-down.

Key Value
id True string

Enter the key value.

dateTimeFormat string

DateTime Format.

Returns

The outputs of this operation are dynamic.

Get tables

Get a list of tables in the Excel workbook.

Parameters

NameKeyRequiredTypeDescription
source True string

Select from the drop-down or specify one of the following:- 'me'- 'SharePoint Site URL'- 'users/someone's UPN'- 'groups/group Id'- 'sites/SharePoint Site URL:/teams/team name:' (colons are required).

Document Library
drive True string

Select a document library from the drop-down.

file True string

Select an Excel file through File Browse.

Returns

NamePathTypeDescription
value
value array of object
value.id string

Table Id.

Name
value.name string

Table name.

value.showBandedColumns boolean

Show banded columns.

Highlight first column
value.highlightFirstColumn boolean

Highlight first column.

value.highlightLastColumn boolean

Highlight last column.

Show banded rows
value.showBandedRows boolean

Show banded rows.

value.showFilterButton boolean

Show filter button.

Show headers
value.showHeaders boolean

Show headers.

value.showTotals boolean

Show totals.

Style
value.style string

Table style.

Get worksheets

Get a list of worksheets in the Excel workbook.

Parameters

NameKeyRequiredTypeDescription
source True string

Select from the drop-down or specify one of the following:- 'me'- 'SharePoint Site URL'- 'users/someone's UPN'- 'groups/group Id'- 'sites/SharePoint Site URL:/teams/team name:' (colons are required).

Document Library
drive True string

Select a document library from the drop-down.

file True string

Select an Excel file through File Browse.

Returns

NamePathTypeDescription
value
value array of WorksheetMetadata

List rows present in a table

List rows present in a table.

Parameters

NameKeyRequiredTypeDescription
source True string

Select from the drop-down or specify one of the following:- 'me'- 'SharePoint Site URL'- 'users/someone's UPN'- 'groups/group Id'- 'sites/SharePoint Site URL:/teams/team name:' (the colons are required)

Document Library
drive True string

Select a document library from the drop-down.

file True string

Select an Excel file through File Browse.

Table
table True string

Select a table from the drop-down.

$filter string

An ODATA filter query to restrict the entries returned.

Order By
$orderby string

An ODATA orderBy query for specifying the order of entries.

$top integer

Total number of entries to retrieve (default = all).

Skip Count
$skip integer

The number of entries to skip (default = 0).

$select string

Comma-separated list of columns to retrieve (first 500 by default).

DateTime Format
dateTimeFormat string

DateTime Format.

Returns

Run script (Preview)

Runs a script against an Excel workbook.

Parameters

Outlook 2016 Tutorials For Beginners

NameKeyRequiredTypeDescription
source True string

Select from the drop-down or specify one of the following:- 'me'- 'SharePoint Site URL'- 'users/someone's UPN'- 'groups/group Id'- 'sites/SharePoint Site URL:/teams/team name:' (colons are required).

Document Library
drive True string

Select a document library from the drop-down.

file True string

Select an Excel file through File Browse.

Script
scriptId True string

Select the script you want to run from the drop-down.

ScriptParameters True dynamic

Provide the script's parameters.

Returns

The outputs of this operation are dynamic.

Update a row

Update a row using a key column. The input value will overwrite the specified cells and columns left blank will not be updated. In order to append (instead of overwrite) a value, use the 'Get a row' action to retrieve the content first.

Parameters

NameKeyRequiredTypeDescription
source True string

Select from the drop-down or specify one of the following:- 'me'- 'SharePoint Site URL'- 'users/someone's UPN'- 'groups/group Id'- 'sites/SharePoint Site URL:/teams/team name:' (the colons are required)

Document Library
drive True string

Select a document library from the drop-down.

file True string

Select an Excel file through File Browse.

Table
table True string

Select a table from the drop-down.

idColumn True string

Select a column from the drop-down.

Key Value
id True string

Enter the key value.

item True dynamic

Provide the item properties.

DateTime Format
dateTimeFormat string

DateTime Format.

Returns

Triggers

For a selected row

Triggers a flow for a selected row in an Excel table. (Available only for Power Automate.)

For a selected row

Triggers a flow for a selected row in an Excel table. (Available only for Power Automate.)

Parameters

NameKeyRequiredTypeDescription
Location True string

Select from the drop-down or specify one of the following: 'me', 'SharePointSiteURL', 'users/someone's UPN', 'groups/group id', 'sites/SharePoint Site URL:/teams/team name:' (colons are required)

DocumentLibrary
DocumentLibrary True string

Select a document library from the drop-down

File True string

Select an Excel file through File Browse

Table
Table True string

Select a table from the drop-down

Returns

Definitions

TableMetadata

Table metadata

NamePathTypeDescription
name string

Table name

title
title string

Table title

x-ms-permission string

Table permission

x-ms-capabilities
x-ms-capabilities TableCapabilitiesMetadata

Metadata for a table (capabilities)

schema Object
referencedEntities
referencedEntities Object
webUrl string

Url link

TableCapabilitiesMetadata

Metadata for a table (capabilities)

NamePathTypeDescription
sortRestrictions TableSortRestrictionsMetadata

Metadata for a table (sort restrictions)

filterRestrictions
filterRestrictions TableFilterRestrictionsMetadata

Metadata for a table (filter restrictions)

selectRestrictions TableSelectRestrictionsMetadata

Metadata for a table (select restrictions)

isOnlyServerPagable
isOnlyServerPagable boolean

Server paging restrictions

filterFunctionSupport array of string

List of supported filter capabilities

serverPagingOptions
serverPagingOptions array of string

List of supported server-driven paging capabilities

Object

TableSortRestrictionsMetadata

Metadata for a table (sort restrictions)

NamePathTypeDescription
sortable boolean

Indicates whether this table has sortable columns

unsortableProperties
unsortableProperties array of string

List of unsortable properties

ascendingOnlyProperties array of string

List of properties which support ascending order only

TableFilterRestrictionsMetadata

Metadata for a table (filter restrictions)

NamePathTypeDescription
filterable boolean

Indicates whether this table has filterable columns

nonFilterableProperties
nonFilterableProperties array of string

List of non filterable properties

requiredProperties array of string

List of required properties

TableSelectRestrictionsMetadata

Metadata for a table (select restrictions)

NamePathTypeDescription
selectable boolean

Indicates whether this table has selectable columns

WorksheetMetadata

NamePathTypeDescription
id string

Worksheet Id.

Name
name string

Worksheet name.

position integer

Worksheet position.

Visibility
visibility string

Worksheet visibility.

-->

Summary Learn how Excel Online supports connections with SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS), SQL Server databases, and OLE DB and ODBC data sources.

Retrieving data from a data source requires a user to be authenticated by the data source and then authorized to access the data that is contained therein. In the case of a workbook, Excel Online authenticates to the data source on behalf of the user who is viewing it in order to refresh the data to which the workbook is connected.

Which authentication method Excel Online can use to retrieve data depends on the type of the underlying data source, as outlined in the following table. For data sources that support more than one authentication method, data connections must specify which one to use.

Data sources and authentication methods for Excel Online

Data sourceAuthentication method
Analysis Services
Windows authentication (integrated security)
using Kerberos Constrained Delegation
using Secure Store
using the EffectiveUserName connection string property
SQL Server
One of:
Windows authentication (integrated security)
using Kerberos Constrained Delegation
using Secure Store
SQL Server Authentication
Custom data providers
Varies per data source, typically a user-name and password pair stored in the connection string.

The following data sources are supported in Excel but not in Excel Online:

  • Access databases

  • Web content

  • XML data

  • Microsoft Azure Marketplace

  • Text files

Connecting to external data with Excel Online

Excel Online can connect to various external data sources, including SQL Server, Analysis Services, and custom OLE DB/ODBC data providers. To connect to the data source, Excel Online uses a specific data provider for each data source.

Connecting to a SQL Server data source can be done by using either:

  • Windows authentication

  • SQL Server Authentication

Connecting to an Analysis Services data source is done by using Windows authentication.

Other data sources use a connection string usually consisting of a user name and password.

Data connections for Excel Online workbooks

Excel Online workbooks use one of two kinds of connections:

Office

  • Embedded connections

  • Linked connections

Embedded connections are stored as part of the Excel workbook. Linked connections are stored externally to a workbook in Office Data Connection (ODC) files. To use a linked connection, a workbook must reference an .odc file that is also stored in the same SharePoint Server farm as the workbook. Each data connection consists of:

Excel Online Outlook Login

  • A connection string

  • A query string

  • An authentication method

  • Optionally, some metadata required to retrieve external data

Each kind of connection has its advantages and drawbacks discussed here. Choose the one that best suits your scenario.

Comparison of data connections for Excel Online

Connection typeEmbedded connectionsODC files
Advantages
All connection information is stored in the workbook.
Embedded connections require little administrative overhead to support.
Embedded connections are easy to create.
Linked connections can be centrally stored, managed, audited, shared and access to them can be controlled by using a SharePoint document library.
Workbook authors can use existing connections without having to create queries and connection strings.
If the data connection details for a data source change, an administrator only need update one ODC file. With that change, all workbooks that refer to the ODC file will use the updated connection information when the next refresh occurs. (An example of this scenario is when the database server is moved or the database name is changed.)
Drawbacks
If the data connection details for a data source change, all workbooks with embedded connections to that data source will have to be republished with updated connection information.
Embedded data connections are more difficult to audit by SharePoint administrators.
Linked connections may require the help of a SharePoint administrator to share, manage and secure.
Linked connections are saved in clear text and may contain database passwords. Extra care must be taken to help secure these files.
Requires server-to-server authentication between Office Online Server and SharePoint Server. This adds configuration and administration overhead.

Choose a linked data connection, by using an ODC file, for scenarios in which you must have a data connection to an enterprise-scale data source such as SQL Server or Analysis Services. Linked data connections are most useful in scenarios in which they will be shared across many users and in which administrator control of the connection is important.

Choose an embedded connection for scenarios where you need a data connection that will not be widely used.

Excel Online Outlook

ODC files can be centralized in a data connection library. Doing so has several advantages:

  • Administrators can restrict write access to a data connection library to trusted data connection authors to ensure that only well tested and secure data connections are used by workbook authors.

  • Administrators have a single location to manage data connections for a large group of users.

  • Administrators can easily approve, audit, revert and manage data connection files by using document library versioning and workflow features.

  • Data connection libraries can be reused across other Office applications such as Visio and Visio Services.

  • Workbook authors only have a single location to find workbook data connections, reducing confusion and user training.

Windows authentication

Windows authentication requires that Excel Online present to the data source a set of Windows credentials. This kind of credential is common on Windows networks and is the same credential used to log on to computers on a Windows domain. Windows credentials are considered the most secure and manageable means of controlling access to SQL Server databases. However, one obstacle to using Windows authentication with Excel Online is the Windows double hop security measure, wherein a user's credentials cannot be passed across more than one computer in a Windows network. Given that Excel Online used with SharePoint Server is a multi-tiered system, special authentication methods are required for Excel Online to retrieve data on behalf of the end-user.

The authentication method to choose depends on various factors as outlined in the following table. Choose the one that best suits your scenario.

Comparison of authentication methods

Authentication methodKerberos delegationSecure StoreEffective User Name
Description
Using Kerberos constrained delegation, the workbook viewer's Windows credentials are sent to the data source directly.
Using the Secure Store Service, the viewer's Windows credentials are mapped to another set of credentials specified in a Secure Store target application.
Using the EffectiveUserName Global Setting, the user's domain user name is passed to Analysis Services data sources.
Data connection credentials
The Windows credentials of the workbook viewer.
The credentials specified in the Secure Store target application.
The credentials of the Office Online Server process identity.
Advantages
The Kerberos protocol is an industry standard in credentials management.
Kerberos ties into the existing Active Directory infrastructure.
Kerberos delegation permits auditing of individual accesses to a data source.
Given that the workbook viewer's identity is known, workbook creators can embed personalized database queries into workbooks.
The Secure Store Service is part of SharePoint Server and is easier to configure than Kerberos.
Mappings are flexible: a user can be mapped either 1-to-1 or many-to-1.
Non-Windows credentials can be used to connect to data sources that do not accept Windows credentials.
Mappings created for Excel Online can be re-used by other business intelligence applications such as Visio Services.
Per-user data security without the need to configure Kerberos delegation.
Minimal configuration and administrative overhead.
Drawbacks
Additional administrative effort required to configure SharePoint Server and Excel Online.
Establishing and managing mapping tables requires some administrative overhead.
Secure Store permits limited auditing. In the many-to-1 scenario, individual incoming users are mapped into the same credentials through a target application, effectively blending them into one user.
Only works with Analysis Services data sources.
For the authentication operation to succeed …
Kerberos delegation must be set up on the Office Online Server.
The Secure Store Service must be provisioned and configured on the SharePoint Server farm. It must also contain appropriate mapping information for a particular incoming user. Additionally the mapping information may need to be updated periodically to reflect password changes on the mapped account.
The EffectiveUserName option must be enabled in Office Online Server.
The user must be a member of the appropriate Analysis Services role.

Kerberos delegation

Choose Kerberos delegation for secure and fast authentication to enterprise-scale relational data sources that support Windows authentication. If you plan to configure Kerberos constrained delegation, the following requirements are specific to using Kerberos constrained delegation with Excel Online in Office Online Server:

  • The Claims to Windows Token Service must be running on each server in the Office Online Server farm and set to run as Local System.

  • Each server in the Office Online Server farm must be allowed to delegate to each back-end data source as shown in the Active Directory Domain Services delegation list.

  • The c2wtshost.exe.config file (located at Program FilesWindows Identity Foundationv3.5) must be updated and the comment tags removed from NT AUTHORITYNetwork Service allowedCallers list:

Secure Store

Choose Secure Store for authentication to enterprise-scale relational data sources that may or may not support Windows Authentication. Secure Store is also useful in scenarios in which you want to control user credential mappings.

For information about using Secure Store with Excel Online, see:

SQL Server Authentication

SQL Server Authentication requires that Excel Online present a SQL Server user name and password to a SQL Server data source to authenticate. Excel Online passes the connection string to the data source. The connection string must contain the user name and password.

If the user name and password are stored in a Secure Store target application (recommended for best security), then Excel Online will impersonate the Office Online Server network service account and when the connection is made, the SQL credentials are set as properties of the connection.

Authentication against OLEDB/ODBC data sources

Authentication to third party data sources typically requires that Excel Online present a user name and password to a data source.

If the user name and password are stored in the workbook or in the ODC file, then Excel Online impersonates a Windows identity dependent on which option has been selected for Excel Services authentication settings, either in the workbook or in the ODC file.

Excel Online Through Outlook

If the user name and password are stored in a Secure Store target application (recommended for best security), then Excel Online impersonates the Office Online Server network service account and when the connection is made, the SQL credentials are set as properties of the connection.

Data refresh in Excel Online

Excel Online supports refreshing workbooks connected to one or more of the following data sources:

  • SQL Server

  • SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS)

Note

If the data source that you plan to connect to is not in the list above, you can add support for it by creating a Custom Data Provider. This technology enables you to wrap your existing data sources into one that Excel Online can consume.

External data refresh is the result of the following set of steps through Excel Online.

  1. Creating a workbook: A workbook author uploads a data-connected workbook to SharePoint Server.

  2. Triggering Refresh: The workbook viewer triggers refresh on a data-connected workbook.

  3. Data Connections: Excel Online retrieves data connection information for each external data source in the workbook.

  4. Trusted Data Providers: Excel Online checks to see if there is a trusted data provider it can use to retrieve data.

  5. Authentication: Excel Online authenticates into the data source and retrieves the requested data on behalf of the workbook viewer.

  6. Workbook Refresh: Excel Online updates the workbook based on the data source data and returns it to the viewer.

Refresh can be triggered in one of following ways from within the browser:

  • The end-user opens the workbook (if the workbook is configured to refresh on open).

  • The end-user clicks on the refresh button on an already open workbook.

If there are no previously cached versions of this workbook, any of these actions will trigger a refresh and update the workbook.

Excel online, free Outlook

See also