Link a Table to External Data (Concept)

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Link a Table to External Data

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Concept

Procedure

Quick Reference

A table can be linked to data in a Microsoft Excel (XLS, .XLSX, or CSV) file. You can link to an entire spreadsheet, individual row, column, cell, or cell range in Excel.

NoteMicrosoft Excel must be installed to use Microsoft Excel data links. To link to the XLSX filetype, Microsoft Excel 2007 must be installed.

You can bring data from Microsoft Excel into a table in the following three ways:

As formulas with supported data formats attached.
As calculated data from formulas calculated in Excel (supported data formats not attached).
As calculated data from formulas calculated in Excel (with data formats attached).

A table that contains data links displays indicators around linked cells. If you hover your mouse cursor over the data link, information about the data link is displayed.

If a linked spreadsheet has been changed, such as adding a row or column, the table in your drawing can be updated accordingly using the DATALINKUPDATEcommand. Likewise, if a change is made to a table in your drawing, then you can update the linked spreadsheet using the same command.

By default, a data link is locked from editing to prevent undesired changes to the linked spreadsheet. You can lock cells from data changes, format changes, or both. To unlock a data link, click Locking on either the Table ribbon contextual tab or the Table toolbar.