Integrate Excel Data in Pentaho Data Integration

The CData JDBC Driver for Microsoft Excel enables access to live data from data pipelines. Pentaho Data Integration is an Extraction, Transformation, and Loading (ETL) engine that data, cleanses the data, and stores data using a uniform format that is accessible.This article shows how to connect to Excel data as a JDBC data source and build jobs and transformations based on Excel data in Pentaho Data Integration.

Configure to Excel Connectivity

Connecting to Local or Cloud-Stored (Box, Google Drive, Amazon S3, SharePoint) Excel Files

CData Drivers let you work with Excel files stored locally and stored in cloud storage services like Box, Amazon S3, Google Drive, or SharePoint, right where they are.

Setting connection properties for local files

Set the URI property to local folder path.

Setting connection properties for files stored in Amazon S3

To connect to Excel file(s) within Amazon S3, set the URI property to the URI of the Bucket and Folder where the intended Excel files exist. In addition, at least set these properties:

• AWSAccessKey: AWS Access Key (username)
• AWSSecretKey: AWS Secret Key

Setting connection properties for files stored in Box

To connect to Excel file(s) within Box, set the URI property to the URI of the folder that includes the intended Excel file(s). Use the OAuth authentication method to connect to Box.

Dropbox

To connect to Excel file(s) within Dropbox, set the URI proprerty to the URI of the folder that includes the intended Excel file(s). Use the OAuth authentication method to connect to Dropbox. Either User Account or Service Account can be used to authenticate.

SharePoint Online (SOAP)

To connect to Excel file(s) within SharePoint with SOAP Schema, set the URI proprerty to the URI of the document library that includes the intended Excel file. Set User, Password, and StorageBaseURL.

SharePoint Online REST

To connect to Excel file(s) within SharePoint with REST Schema, set the URI proprerty to the URI of the document library that includes the intended Excel file. StorageBaseURL is optional. If not set, the driver will use the root drive. OAuth is used to authenticate.

Google Drive

To connect to Excel file(s) within Google Drive, set the URI property to the URI of the folder that includes the intended Excel file(s). Use the OAuth authentication method to connect and set InitiateOAuth to GETANDREFRESH.

Built-in Connection String Designer

For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the Excel JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.

java -jar cdata.jdbc.excel.jar

Fill in the connection properties and copy the connection string to the clipboard.

👁 Using the built-in connection string designer to generate a JDBC URL (Salesforce is shown.)

When you configure the JDBC URL, you may also want to set the Max Rows connection property. This will limit the number of rows returned, which is especially helpful for improving performance when designing reports and visualizations.

Below is a typical JDBC URL:

jdbc:excel:URI='C:/MyExcelWorkbooks/SampleWorkbook.xlsx';

Save your connection string for use in Pentaho Data Integration.

Connect to Excel from Pentaho DI

Open Pentaho Data Integration and select "Database Connection" to configure a connection to the CData JDBC Driver for Microsoft Excel

1. Click "General"
2. Set Connection name (e.g. Excel Connection)
3. Set Connection type to "Generic database"
4. Set Access to "Native (JDBC)"
5. Set Custom connection URL to your Excel connection string (e.g.
   

   jdbc:excel:URI='C:/MyExcelWorkbooks/SampleWorkbook.xlsx';

6. Set Custom driver class name to "cdata.jdbc.excel.ExcelDriver" 👁 Configuring the JDBC Driver connection.
   
7. Test the connection and click "OK" to save. 👁 Saving the connection.
   

Create a Data Pipeline for Excel

Once the connection to Excel is configured using the CData JDBC Driver, you are ready to create a new transformation or job.

1. Click "File" >> "New" >> "Transformation/job"
2. Drag a "Table input" object into the workflow panel and select your Excel connection. 👁 Configuring the Table input object
   
3. Click "Get SQL select statement" and use the Database Explorer to view the available tables and views. 👁 Selecting data (QuickBooks Online is shown).
   
4. Select a table and optionally preview the data for verification. 👁 Previewing the data (QuickBooks Online is shown).
   

At this point, you can continue your transformation or jb by selecting a suitable destination and adding any transformations to modify, filter, or otherwise alter the data during replication.

👁 A completed transformation/job.

Free Trial & More Information

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData JDBC Driver for Microsoft Excel and start working with your live Excel data in Pentaho Data Integration today.