Refreshing Data in Excel Reports

ETL+ extracts data from Excel files. Excel workbooks can also download data from DataSelf data warehouse databases. Thus, with this framework, data can be both uploaded from and downloaded to, or refresh, Excel files and workbooks.

There are several ways to refresh (download) data into Excel reports within the DataSelf framework:

1. Seamless, secure, and centrally managed: Users just press the Refresh icon in Excel desktop reports to see their latest data. Excel reports will pull data directly from the SQL data warehouse or Power BI datasets. SQL or Power BI security controls what data each user has access to. Every user will need their own SQL or Power BI user license. Their secure access to the data might require additional IT setups.
   ⚒️ Work in progress: Click here to learn more.

2. Seamless, easy, and inexpensive: Users just press the Refresh icon in Excel desktop reports to see their latest data. ETL+ can download report data into CSV files on a schedule, and these files can be used for Excel reporting. This usually requires users access to CSV files on shared network folders. Security can be built around Windows shared folders. WIP: Click here to learn more.

3. Manual data download: Users can manually download their data from MS SQL data warehouse, Tableau, Power BI, or other reporting tools connected to DataSelf into their Excel Desktop files.
   WIP: Click here to learn more.

4. DataSelf Automatic Distribution Module: Excel AD is an add-on that can automatically refresh and email Excel reports on a schedule. This approach can also be used to refresh Excel Online reports on a schedule. WIP: Click here to learn more.

Excel Desktop and Online: With some additional setup, options 1 to 3 above might support Excel Online reports as well.

Security concerns using Excel: Once the data is loaded into an Excel file, there’s no way to control what a user can do with that Excel file (for instance, accidentally sharing it with the wrong people). Please consider Tableau and Power BI to have a more centralized way to distribute your private data.