How to Change Data Source in Excel

Your painstakingly built Excel report is perfect, but there's a problem: the source data has moved. Maybe the CSV file you linked to was moved to a new shared drive, or maybe you need to update your weekly sales dashboard with the newest data export. Manually rebuilding the report is out of the question. This guide will show you exactly how to change the data source in Excel, saving you from headaches and repetitive work. We’ll primarily focus on using Power Query, Excel's modern and powerful data tool, to make this process simple and repeatable.

Why You Might Need to Change a Data Source

While frustrating, broken or outdated data links are a common part of working with data in Excel. You’ll find yourself needing to change a data source connection for several everyday reasons:

• File Relocation: The source file (like a CSV, TXT, or another Excel file) was moved to a different folder, server, or cloud storage location like SharePoint.
• Data Updates: You have a template that a report is built from - for example, one that ingests a file named 'Sales_January.csv'. When February's data is ready in 'Sales_February.csv', you need to point your report to the new file.
• Collaboration: You've shared an Excel report with a colleague, but their file path to the source data has changed.
• System Changes: You're transitioning from a local file to a SharePoint or OneDrive file, or perhaps updating connection details for a database.

In all these cases, the goal is the same: tell Excel where to find the new data without having to start from scratch.

The Best Way: Using Excel's Power Query Editor

If you're importing or connecting to external data in a modern version of Excel (2016 or newer), you're likely using Power Query, even if you don't know it by name. It's the engine behind the "Get & Transform Data" group on Excel's Data tab. Using it is the most reliable and flexible way to manage your data connections.

Working directly in Power Query allows you to edit the connection's source efficiently. Once updated there, all the transformations, calculations, PivotTables, and charts that rely on that data will automatically use the new source after a quick refresh.

Step-by-Step Guide to Changing Your Data Source

Let's walk through the process inside the Power Query Editor. It’s easier than it might sound.

Step 1: Open the Power Query Editor

First, you need to access the query that connects to your external data. The easiest way to do this is through the Queries & Connections pane.

1. Navigate to the Data tab on the Excel ribbon.
2. Click on Queries & Connections. This will open a side panel listing all the data connections in your workbook.
3. In the pane, find the query you want to update, right-click on it, and select Edit.

This will launch the Power Query Editor in a new window, which is where you have full control over the connection and its data transformation steps.

Step 2: Access Data Source Settings

With the Power Query Editor open, you can now access the centralized settings for all the connections in your file. This is the simplest method for straightforward path changes.

1. In the Power Query Editor window, go to the Home tab.
2. Click the Data Source Settings button. A dialog box will appear, listing the data sources used in the current workbook.

Step 3: Change the Source File Path

This is where you'll point Excel to the new file location or the new file name.

1. In the Data Source Settings window, select the data source you need to modify from the list.
2. Click the Change Source... button.
3. A new window will pop up that's specific to the type of data source you're using. If it's a CSV or Excel file, it will display the current file path.
4. Click the Browse... button and navigate to the new file or the file's new location.
5. Select the correct file and click OK.
6. Click Close on the Data Source Settings window.

You'll see the data preview in the Power Query Editor update instantly with data from the new source. All you need to do now is click Close & Load in the top-left corner to apply your changes back to the Excel sheet.

Step 4: A Quick Refresh

Back in your main Excel window, navigate back to the Data tab and click Refresh All. Excel will now fetch the data from the new source, apply all your predefined transformation steps, and update your charts, tables, and PivotTables. Your report is now up-to-date.

Using the Advanced Editor for More Control

Sometimes, clicking through the menus isn't enough, or you might want to understand more about what’s happening behind the scenes. The Power Query Advanced Editor lets you look directly at the M language code that executes your query.

While seeing code might seem intimidating, it's often the quickest way to make a change. For example, if you just want to swap from "Q1_Sales.csv" to "Q2_Sales.csv" in the same folder, editing one word in the code can be faster than browsing files.

1. With a query open in the Power Query Editor, click on Advanced Editor in the Home tab.
2. You'll see a script that looks something like this for a CSV file:

let
    Source = Csv.Document(File.Contents("C:\Users\YourName\Documents\Reports\Q1_Sales.csv"),[Delimiter=",", Columns=5, Encoding=1252, QuoteStyle=QuoteStyle.None]),
    #"Promoted Headers" = Table.PromoteHeaders(Source, [PromoteAllScalars=true]),
    #"Changed Type" = Table.TransformColumnTypes(#"Promoted Headers",{{"Date", type date}, {"Region", type text}, {"Product", type text}, {"Units Sold", Int64.Type}, {"Revenue", type number}})
in
    #"Changed Type"

The only part you care about is the file path inside the File.Contents function. You can manually edit the text inside the quotation marks to point to a new file, then click Done. It’s that simple.

Pro Tip: Making Your Reports Dynamic with Parameters

If you find yourself changing a file path every week or month for the same report, you can make the process dramatically faster by using parameters. A parameter acts as a placeholder for a value - like a file path or file name - that can be easily updated without ever opening the Power Query Editor again.

Here’s a quick overview of how to set this up:

1. Create a Parameter for the File Path

Inside the Power Query Editor, go to Home > Manage Parameters > New Parameter.

• Give it a simple name, like FilePath.
• For the type, select Text.
• In the Current Value box, paste the full path to your data file (e.g., C:\Users\YourName\Reports\MyData.xlsx).
• Click OK.

2. Use the Parameter in Your Query

Now, modify your source query to use this new parameter instead of a hard-coded file path.

• Select your main data query.
• Click on the gear icon next to the Source step in the "Applied Steps" pane on the right.
• In the dialog that appears, instead of a text value for the file path, change the input type from "Text" to "Parameter".
• Select your newly created FilePath parameter from the dropdown.
• Click OK.

If you look at the Advanced Editor now, you'll see the file path has been replaced with your parameter name:

let
    Source = Excel.Workbook(File.Contents(FilePath), null, true),
    ...
in
    ...

3. The Payoff

With this setup, the next time you need to update the file path, you just change the parameter's value under Data > Get Data > Data Source Settings. You can even link the parameter’s value directly to a cell in your Excel sheet, allowing you to update the entire report simply by typing a new file name into your spreadsheet.

What About Old “Legacy Wizard” Connections?

If you're working with a much older Excel file, it might be using an older connection method. You can tell if you go to Data > Connections. If you're not using Power Query, you'll manage the connection differently.

1. Go to the Data tab and click Connections.
2. Select the connection you want to change from the list and hit Properties.
3. In the Connection Properties dialog, navigate to the Definition tab.
4. Here, you'll see a field called Connection string or Connection file. You can edit this information directly to point to the new data source.

While this method works, it's less flexible than Power Query. If possible, consider re-creating the link using the modern Data > From Text/CSV or From File options to take advantage of Power Query's superior features.

Final Thoughts

Learning how to cleanly change a data source is a fundamental Excel skill for anyone who builds reports. By mastering Power Query’s Data Source Settings, you move beyond fragile, manual copy-paste workflows and create robust, refreshable dashboards that save you immense amounts of time and prevent errors.

While being an Excel pro helps you streamline reporting, managing numerous data files and connections across different platforms (Google Analytics, your CRM, ad platforms) can still be a heavy manual lift. At Graphed, we created our tool specifically to eliminate this part of the process. We connect directly to your various data sources to generate live dashboards that update in real-time. Instead of hunting for the latest CSV and updating file paths, you can ask questions in plain English and get instant answers and insights from all your data in one place.