How to update Bitbucket from Excel

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

Establish a Connection

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

For most queries, you must set the Workspace. The only exception to this is the Workspaces table, which does not require this property to be set, as querying it provides a list of workspace slugs that can be used to set Workspace. To query this table, you must set Schema to 'Information' and execute the query SELECT * FROM Workspaces>.

Setting Schema to 'Information' displays general information. To connect to Bitbucket, set these parameters:

• Schema: To show general information about a workspace, such as its users, repositories, and projects, set this to Information. Otherwise, set this to the schema of the repository or project you are querying. To get a full set of available schemas, query the sys_schemas table.
• Workspace: Required if you are not querying the Workspaces table. This property is not required for querying the Workspaces table, as that query only returns a list of workspace slugs that can be used to set Workspace.

Authenticating to Bitbucket

Bitbucket supports OAuth authentication only. To enable this authentication from all OAuth flows, you must create a custom OAuth application, and set AuthScheme to OAuth.

Be sure to review the Help documentation for the required connection properties for you specific authentication needs (desktop applications, web applications, and headless machines).

Creating a custom OAuth application

From your Bitbucket account:

1. Go to Settings (the gear icon) and select Workspace Settings.
2. In the Apps and Features section, select OAuth Consumers.
3. Click Add Consumer.
4. Enter a name and description for your custom application.
5. Set the callback URL:
   • For desktop applications and headless machines, use http://localhost:33333 or another port number of your choice. The URI you set here becomes the CallbackURL property.
   • For web applications, set the callback URL to a trusted redirect URL. This URL is the web location the user returns to with the token that verifies that your application has been granted access.
6. If you plan to use client credentials to authenticate, you must select This is a private consumer. In the driver, you must set AuthScheme to client.
7. Select which permissions to give your OAuth application. These determine what data you can read and write with it.
8. To save the new custom application, click Save.
9. After the application has been saved, you can select it to view its settings. The application's Key and Secret are displayed. Record these for future use. You will use the Key to set the OAuthClientId and the Secret to set the OAuthClientSecret.

Retrieve Data from Bitbucket

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

1. Click the From Bitbucket button on the CData ribbon. The Data Selection wizard is displayed.
2. In the Table or View menu, select the Issues 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 Bitbucket

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, =MyIssuesSheetInExcel!A1.
2. After using a formula to reference the cells you want to add to Bitbucket, 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 Issues 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.