实施Excel外部数据源

Question

Is there any way to implement a custom data source that works with the "Import External Data" feature?

Let's say I have data in a file format that Excel doesn't understand. I'd like to implement an add-in (or whatever) for Excel that allows it to understand this format through the "External Data" feature. Obviously, I could just convert the file to something Excel already understands but, for the sake of user friendliness, I'd rather not have this additional step.

Answer 1

I ended up creating a service that runs an HTTP server on localhost that serves up tab-delimited data. It was dead simple to develop and fits my needs perfectly. It integrates with the External Data feature with no need to develop an ODBC driver.

Answer 2

An add-in (or whatever) here would be an ODBC driver (or an OLEDB driver). I think you don't want to write one.

That's the case if you want to use Import External Data, but you can, of course, create an add-in which would parse and load the file on it's own. It will have it's own menu item then and will not be related with Import External Data.

Answer 3

You could try XLLoop . This lets you implement excel functions (UDFs) on an external server.

So your spreadsheet could contain a function called LoadWidgetData(widgettype, date), which would call your server.

There are server implementations in many languages (Java, Ruby, Python, PHP).

BTW, I work on the project so let me know if you have any questions.