How to update BigQuery from Excel

The CData Excel Add-In for BigQuery enables you to edit and save BigQuery data directly from Excel. This article explains how to transfer data from Excel to BigQuery. This technique is useful if you want to work on BigQuery data in Excel and update changes, or if you have a whole spreadsheet you want to import into BigQuery. In this example, you will use the Orders table; however, the same process will work for any table that can be retrieved by the CData Excel Add-In.

Getting Started

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Establish a Connection

If you have not already done so, create a new BigQuery connection by clicking From BigQuery on the ribbon.

Google uses the OAuth authentication standard. To access Google APIs on behalf of individual users, you can use the embedded credentials or you can register your own OAuth app.

OAuth also enables you to use a service account to connect on behalf of users in a Google Apps domain. To authenticate with a service account, you will need to register an application to obtain the OAuth JWT values.

In addition to the OAuth values, you will need to specify the DatasetId and ProjectId. See the "Getting Started" chapter of the help documentation for a guide to using OAuth.

Retrieve Data from BigQuery

To insert data into BigQuery, you will first need to retrieve data from the BigQuery table you want to add to. This links the Excel spreadsheet to the BigQuery table selected: After you retrieve data, any changes you make to the data are highlighted in red.

1. Click the From BigQuery button on the CData ribbon. The Data Selection wizard is displayed.
2. In the Table or View menu, select the Orders table.
3. In the Maximum Rows menu, select the number of rows you want to retrieve. If you want to insert rows, you need to retrieve only one row. The Query box will then display the SQL query that corresponds to your request.
4. In the Sheet Name box, enter the name for the sheet that will be populated. By default the add-in will create a new sheet with the name of the table.

Insert Rows to BigQuery

After retrieving data, you can add data from an existing spreadsheet in Excel.

1. In a cell after the last row, enter a formula referencing the corresponding cell from the other spreadsheet; for example, =MyOrdersSheetInExcel!A1.
2. After using a formula to reference the cells you want to add to BigQuery, select the cells that you are inserting data into and drag the formula down as far as needed. The referenced values you want to add will be displayed on the Orders sheet.
3. Highlight the rows you want to insert and click the Update Rows button.

As each row is inserted, the Id value will appear in the Id column and the row's text will change to black, indicating that the record has been inserted.