How to update CouchDB from Excel

The CData Excel Add-In for CouchDB enables you to edit and save CouchDB data directly from Excel. This article explains how to transfer data from Excel to CouchDB. This technique is useful if you want to work on CouchDB data in Excel and update changes, or if you have a whole spreadsheet you want to import into CouchDB. In this example, you will use the Movies 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 CouchDB connection by clicking From CouchDB on the ribbon.

Set the following to connect:

• Url: The Url of your instance. For example: http://localhost:5984
• User The Apache CouchDB user account used to authenticate.
• Password The Apache CouchDB password associated with the authenticating user.

Retrieve Data from CouchDB

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

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

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, =MyMoviesSheetInExcel!A1.
2. After using a formula to reference the cells you want to add to CouchDB, 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 Movies 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.