You can use Microsoft Office Excel to create and edit connections to external data sources that are stored in a workbook or in a connection file. By using the Workbook Connections dialog box, you can easily manage these connections, including creating, editing, and deleting them.

To open the Existing Connections dialog box, select Data > Existing Connections. You can display all the connections available to you and Excel tables in your workbook. You can open a connection or table from the list and then use the Import Data dialog box to decide how you want to import the data.

A data connection is a dynamic link between a form and a data source that stores or provides data for that form. A form can have one primary data connection, called the main data connection, and it can optionally have one or more secondary data connections. The main data connection defines the main data source of the form.

Use the Connection Properties dialog box to control various settings for connections to external data sources, and to use, reuse, or switch connection files.

You can connect your Excel workbook to an external data source, such as a SQL Server database, an OLAP cube, or even another Excel workbook. This connection can appear in your workbook as a table, PivotTable report, or PivotChart. You can keep the data in your workbook up to date by refreshing the link to its source.

If you want users to retrieve data from this data connection after the form opens, you can add a rule to your form template that uses the data connection under a certain condition, or you can add a button to your form template that your users can click to use the data connection.

Change a data connection. On the Tools menu, click Data Connections. In the Data connections for the form template list, click the data connection that you want to change. Click Modify. The Data Connection Wizard starts to guide you through the process of changing the data connection.

You can create Office Data Connection (ODC) files (.odc) by connecting to external data through the Select Data Source dialog box or by using the Data Connection Wizard to connect to new data sources. An ODC file uses custom HTML and XML tags to store the connection information.

In Excel, select Data > Queries & Connections, and then select the Queries tab. In the list of queries, locate the query, right click the query, and then select Load To . The Import Data dialog box appears.

You're unable to view data types because of your current privacy settings. To allow viewing, do the following: Open the Trust Center: Select File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings. Under Security settings for linked data types, do one of the following: