Access Live PostgreSQL Data in Excel (Desktop) through Connect Spreadsheets

Microsoft Excel is a widely used spreadsheet software application, primarily used for tasks related to data management, analysis, and visualization. When combined with Connect Spreadsheets by CData, you gain immediate access to PostgreSQL data directly within Excel, facilitating data analysis, collaboration, calculations, and more. This article shows how to connect to PostgreSQL in Connect Spreadsheets and access and update live PostgreSQL data in Excel spreadsheets.

Connect Spreadsheets is the easiest way to get all your live data into Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets - no more downloading, wrangling, and uploading files again. Just connect to your data, select the dataset you'd like to see, and import it into your spreadsheet.

Configure PostgreSQL Connectivity for Excel

Connectivity to PostgreSQL from Excel is made possible through Connect Spreadsheets. To work with PostgreSQL data from Excel, we start by creating and configuring a PostgreSQL connection.

1. Log into Connect Spreadsheets, click Connections and click Add Connection 👁 Adding a Connection
   
2. Select "PostgreSQL" from the Add Connection panel 👁 Selecting a data source
   
3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to PostgreSQL.

   To connect to PostgreSQL, set the Server, Port (the default port is 5432), and Database connection properties and set the User and Password you wish to use to authenticate to the server. If the Database property is not specified, the data provider connects to the user's default database.

   SSH Connectivity for PostgreSQL

   You can use SSH (Secure Shell) to authenticate with PostgreSQL, whether the instance is hosted on-premises or in supported cloud environments. SSH authentication ensures that access is encrypted (as compared to direct network connections).

   SSH Connections to PostgreSQL in Password Auth Mode

   To connect to PostgreSQL via SSH in Password Auth mode, set the following connection properties:

   • User: PostgreSQL User name
   • Password: PostgreSQL Password
   • Database: PostgreSQL database name
   • Server: PostgreSQL Server name
   • Port: PostgreSQL port number like 3306
   • UserSSH: "true"
   • SSHAuthMode: "Password"
   • SSHPort: SSH Port number
   • SSHServer: SSH Server name
   • SSHUser: SSH User name
   • SSHPassword: SSH Password

   SSH Connections to PostgreSQL in Public Key Auth Mode

   To connect to PostgreSQL via SSH in Password Auth mode, set the following connection properties:

   • User: PostgreSQL User name
   • Password: PostgreSQL Password
   • Database: PostgreSQL database name
   • Server: PostgreSQL Server name
   • Port: PostgreSQL port number like 3306
   • UserSSH: "true"
   • SSHAuthMode: "Public_Key"
   • SSHPort: SSH Port number
   • SSHServer: SSH Server name
   • SSHUser: SSH User name
   • SSHClientCret: the path for the public key certificate file
   👁 Configuring a connection (Salesforce is shown)
   
4. Click Create & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add PostgreSQL Connection page and update the User-based permissions. 👁 Updating permissions
   

With the connection configured, you are ready to connect to PostgreSQL data from Excel.

Access Live PostgreSQL Data in Excel

The steps below outline connecting to Connect Spreadsheets from Excel to access live PostgreSQL data.

1. Open Excel, create a new sheet (or open an existing one).
2. Click Insert and click Get Add-ins. (if you have already installed the Add-In, jump to step 4).
3. Search for Connect Spreadsheets and install the Add-in. 👁 Install the Add-In
   
4. Click Data and open the CData Connect Spreadsheets Add-In.
5. In the Add-In panel, click "Log in" to authenticate with your Connect Spreadsheets account 👁 Authorizing the Add-In
   
6. In the Connect Spreadsheets panel in Excel, click Import 👁 Connect Spreadsheets panel in Excel
   
7. Choose a Connection (e.g. PostgreSQL1), Table (e.g. Orders), and Columns to import 👁 Connect Spreadsheets panel in Excel
   
8. Optionally add Filters, Sorting, and a Limit 👁 Choosing a Connection, Table, and Columns
   
9. Click Execute to import the data and opt to overwrite the existing sheet or create a new one. 👁 Executing the Query
   

Update PostgreSQL Data from Excel

In addition to viewing PostgreSQL data in Excel, Connect Spreadsheets also lets you update and delete PostgreSQL data. Begin by importing data (as described above).

1. Update any cell or cells with changes you want to push to PostgreSQL (your changes will be in red)
2. In the Connect Spreadsheets Add-In panel, select Update
3. Optionally highlight the cell(s) you wish to update and select an update option ("Update All" or "Update Selected") 👁 Executing the update (Salesforce is shown).
   
4. Click Execute to push the updates to PostgreSQL

A notification will appear when the update is complete

Live Access to PostgreSQL Data from Spreadsheet Apps

New, you have a direct, cloud-to-cloud connection to live PostgreSQL data from your Excel workbook. You can add more data to your workbook for calculations, aggregations, collaboration, and more.

Try Connect Spreadsheets and get real-time data access to hundreds of SaaS, Big Data, and NoSQL sources directly from Microsoft Excel.