XL: Error: Opening Query Failed Accessing Oracle

The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft Excel for Windows 95, versions 7.0, 7.0a
• Microsoft Excel for Windows, versions 5.0, 5.0c
• Microsoft Query for Windows 95, version 2.0
• Microsoft Query for Windows, versions 1.0

SYMPTOMS

When you choose Get External Data from the Data menu to get data from an Oracle database, you may receive following error message in Microsoft Excel:

   Opening Query Failed

CAUSE

This error message may occur in Microsoft Excel when you attempt to get data from an Oracle database, and you include any of the following operators in the SQL Statement that requests the data:

   Minus
   Intersect
   Union
   Substring

Although there is no direct workaround for this problem, you may be able to get the desired results with joins rather than using the operators mentioned above (joins behave similarly to the SQL operators that generate the error message).

Steps to Reproduce Behavior

1. In Microsoft Excel, choose Get External Data from the Data menu.

   This command will start Microsoft Query.

2. In Microsoft Query, choose New Query from the File menu.

3. In the Select Data Source dialog box, select the Oracle data source, and choose the Close button to close the New Query dialog box.

4. Open a saved .QRY file that contains any of the following operators:

         Minus
         Intersect
         Union
         Substring.
   

5. From the File menu, choose Return Data To Microsoft Excel.

6. In the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, do either of the following:

       - Double-click the returned data
   

         -or-
   

       - With the cursor in the result set, choose Get External Data from the
         Data menu, and then choose Edit Query.
   

   Opening Query Failed