How to Connect OData to Microsoft Excel

Tired of manually exporting reports and pasting them into spreadsheets? Connecting your business applications directly to Excel using an OData feed is a powerful way to pull live, refreshable data right into your workbook. This article provides a step-by-step guide on how to connect any OData feed to Microsoft Excel, manage your connection, and troubleshoot common issues.

What is OData, Anyway? A Simple Explanation

Think of OData (Open Data Protocol) as a universal language for accessing data over the web. It’s like a specialized API designed to make it easy to request and receive information from different databases and business applications in a standardized way. Instead of downloading a static CSV file that's outdated the moment you export it, an OData feed gives you a live link to the data source.

Why is this useful? Many popular SaaS platforms and enterprise systems, like SharePoint, Salesforce, SAP, and various project management tools, offer OData feeds. By connecting them to Excel, you can:

• Get real-time data: Your spreadsheet can be refreshed with the latest information anytime, without needing another manual export.
• Automate reporting: Build dashboards and charts in Excel that update automatically when the source data changes.
• Analyze data from multiple sources: Pull data from different OData feeds into a single workbook to create a unified view.
• Avoid manual errors: Eliminating the copy-paste process reduces the risk of human error in your reports.

Essentially, using OData transforms Excel from a static spreadsheet tool into a dynamic, connected reporting dashboard.

Before You Start: What You'll Need

Before diving in, make sure you have a couple of things ready. The process is straightforward, but having these prepped will make it completely seamless.

• The OData Feed URL: This is the unique web address for your data. It typically ends in .svc or points to a specific data entity. Your application’s administrator or its help documentation should be able to provide this URL.
• Authentication Credentials (If Required): If the data feed isn't public, you'll need a username and password, an API key, or another form of credentials to gain access. Be sure you know which authentication method the service uses.
• A Modern Version of Excel: This feature is powered by Power Query, which is built into Microsoft 365, Excel 2021, Excel 2019, and Excel 2016 for Windows. If you're using an older version, a Power Query add-in may be available, but the built-in experience is the most reliable.

Step-by-Step Guide: Connecting an OData Feed to Excel

With your OData URL in hand, you're ready to connect. This process takes just a few minutes, and you only have to do it once per feed.

Step 1: Navigate to the Data Tab

Open a new or existing Excel workbook. In the top ribbon, click on the Data tab. This is your central hub for all external data connections.

Step 2: Find the OData Feed Option

On the Data tab, look for the "Get & Transform Data" section on the far left. The exact path can vary slightly between Excel versions, but it's generally one of these two options:

• Click Get Data > From Other Sources > From OData Feed.
• Click From Web. For some versions of Excel, the OData functionality is accessible through this path, and Excel will recognize the OData format from the URL.

This will open a new dialog box asking for the OData feed URL.

Step 3: Enter Your OData URL

In the "OData Feed" pop-up window, paste the URL you obtained earlier into the box. There's usually a choice between "Basic" and "Advanced." For now, "Basic" is all you need. Click OK.

https://services.odata.org/V4/Northwind/Northwind.svc/

This is an example of a public OData feed URL you can use for practice.

Step 4: Provide Authentication Credentials

Next, Excel will ask you how you want to connect. This step is crucial for private data sources. You'll see several options on the left-hand side:

• Anonymous: Choose this if the data feed is public and requires no login.
• Windows: Use this option if the service uses your current Windows user credentials for access.
• Basic: Select this if you need to enter a standard username and password.
• Web API: Use this if you have an API key or a token for authentication.
• Organizational account: This is for logging in with your Microsoft 365 or Azure Active Directory account, commonly used for SharePoint or other Microsoft services.

Choose the method specified by your data source provider, enter your credentials, and click Connect. If you're unsure, "Basic" is a common first choice for many third-party applications.

Step 5: Select Your Data in the Navigator

After successfully connecting, the Navigator window will appear. This window shows you all the available data tables and entities within the OData feed. You can click on a table name on the left to see a preview of its data on the right. This helps you confirm you're pulling the correct information.

Check the box next to one or more tables you want to import into your spreadsheet. Selecting multiple tables is a great way to pull related data – like "Customers" and "Orders" – at the same time.

Step 6: Load or Transform Your Data

At the bottom of the Navigator window, you'll see two primary options: Load and Transform Data.

• Load: This option directly loads the selected data into a new worksheet in your Excel file as a formatted table. This is the quickest way to get the data into Excel. We recommend using 'Load To...' to have more control over where the data goes, such as loading it directly into a PivotTable.
• Transform Data: This is the more powerful choice. It opens the Power Query Editor, a tool that lets you clean and shape your data before it gets loaded into Excel.

You should choose Transform Data if you need to:

• Remove unnecessary columns.
• Filter out rows you don't need (e.g., show only sales from the last 90 days).
• Change data types (e.g., text to number).
• Create calculated columns.
• Merge data from multiple tables.

Filtering data in the Power Query Editor is highly recommended for large datasets, as it makes your Excel file faster and more focused. Once you’ve finished making your changes, click "Close & Load" in the Power Query Editor.

Managing and Refreshing Your Data Connection

The best part about an OData connection is that it's live. You don't have to repeat the setup process every time you need an update. Here’s how to keep your data fresh.

Manually Refreshing Data

To get the latest data from the feed at any time, simply go to the Data tab and click the Refresh All button. Excel will reach out to the OData feed and update all the tables with the latest information.

Setting Up Automatic Refresh

For reports you check regularly, you can set them to refresh automatically.

1. On the Data tab, click Queries & Connections to open the side pane.
2. Right-click on your query (it will usually be named after the table you imported) and select Properties.
3. In the "Query Properties" dialog box, you'll find several refresh control options under the "Usage" tab.
4. You can choose to:

Setting an automatic refresh schedule is perfect for dashboards tracking daily sales, project progress, or website performance.

Common OData Connection Problems & Quick Fixes

Even with a straightforward process, you might encounter a bump or two. Here are some common errors and how to solve them.

• Error: "Access to the resource is forbidden." or "401 Unauthorized" This is almost always an authentication error. The credentials you provided are incorrect or don't have permission to access that specific data feed. Fix: Go to Data &gt, Get Data &gt, Data Source Settings. Find your OData feed in the list, and click "Edit Permissions" to re-enter your credentials. Be sure to select the correct authentication type (e.g., Basic, Web API).
• Error: "We couldn't authenticate with the credentials provided." Similar to the above, this means your login details failed. It can happen if you tried to connect using "Anonymous" but the feed requires a login. Fix: Double-check your username and password. Sometimes, you may need an API token instead of a password. Check the documentation for your data source.
• The Connection is Very Slow or Excel Freezes This usually happens when you try to load an extremely large table with thousands of rows and dozens of columns. Fix: Instead of clicking "Load," choose "Transform Data." In the Power Query Editor, use the filter buttons on column headers to narrow down the data (e.g., by date) and right-click to "Remove" any columns you don't need before loading the data into your worksheet.
• The URL Doesn't Work You might get an error if the URL is incomplete or incorrect. Fix: Ensure you've copied the full URL provided by your service. Some OData services have a "discovery" URL that then links to more specific URLs for each data table. You may need the more specific one.

Final Thoughts

Connecting OData feeds to Excel is a game-changer for anyone who regularly works with data from business applications. It eliminates tedious manual exports, reduces errors, and gives you access to a live, refreshable source of truth right inside your spreadsheet, turning it into a powerful tool for automated reporting.

While direct OData connections in Excel are fantastic for deeper analysis, managing dozens of links and building reports across many different marketing and sales platforms can still be time-consuming. We built Graphed to simplify this entire process. We allow you to connect all your data sources – like Google Analytics, Shopify, Facebook Ads, and Salesforce – in seconds. From there, you just use simple, natural language to ask questions or build real-time dashboards automatically, skipping the entire pipeline setup and manual Power Query work for good.