To pull data into a presentation, you can connect its tables or charts to sources across the Workiva platform:
- Spreadsheets
- Wdata queries
- Reports from the Database
From the presentation's Connections panel, you can add and refresh its connections to sources to keep its data up-to-date.
Note: In a presentation's outline, you can view which slides have connections . A document can have up to 30 connections.
Connect a table or chart to a source
From the Connections panel, the presentation's Owner can connect its tables or charts to sources they have permission to view in the Workiva platform.
To connect a spreadsheet:
- In the presentation, select the table or chart to connect to the spreadsheet.
- From the Connections panel, click Add Connection, Spreadsheet .
- Search for and select the spreadsheet and which of its sheets to pull data from.
- Click Connect.
To connect a Wdata query:
- In the presentation, select the table or chart to connect to the query.
- From the Connections panel, click Add Connection, Wdata Query .
- Search for and select the query to pull results from.
- Set any parameters for the query, and click Connect.
Note: When you connect to a source chart in Reports, the connection pulls only the chart's data, not any formatting or title.
To connect a report in the Database:
- In the presentation, select the table or chart to the connect to the report.
- From the Connections panel, click Add Connection, Report .
- Search for and select the report to pull data from.
- Click Connect.
- If necessary, hide any irrelevant headers, rows, or columns in the table or chart.
Refresh connections
To update tables or charts with the latest information from their connected sources, the presentation's Owner or Editor can refresh connections from the Connections panel:
- To update a specific table or chart, click Refresh connection for its connection.
- To update all tables and charts in the document, click Refresh connections at the top of the Connections panel.
Note: To cancel a connection's refresh, click its X.
Filter connections
To ease working with the Connections panel, click Filter , and select which connections to view:
- To view all connections in the presentation, select Entire document.
- To view only the current slide's connections, select Current section.
Update a connected query's parameters
If you connect a table or chart to a query, it may include parameter values. To adjust the connection's parameter values, such as to roll the time period forward or back:
- On the Connections panel, click the query's connection.
- Under Parameters, set the criteria of the query results to pull in.
- Click Apply & Refresh.
Open a connected source or section
To open a connected source from the presentation's Connections panel, click the source's name, or select Open Source from the connection's menu.
To open the slide connected to a source, select Go to Section from the connection's menu.
Rename a connection
By default, each connection uses the same name as its connected slide. To edit a connection's name from the Connections panel, select Rename Connection from its menu, and enter its new name.
Replace a connected source
To replace the source connected to a table or chart, you can update the connection to use a different source of the same type. For example, if a chart is connected to a query, you can replace its connection's source to pull from another query instead.
- From the Connections panel, select Replace Source from the connection's menu.
- Select the new source to pull data from, and click Replace.
Note: To replace a connection with a source of a different type, remove the connection, and then add a connection to the new source.
Remove a connection
To disconnect a table or chart from its source, such as to retain a snapshot of the current data, select Remove Connection from the connection's menu on the Connections panel.
View a connection's IDs
To view the ID of a connection or its connected table or chart, select View properties from the connection's menu on the Connections panel.
Note: You can use an ID to identify its item in a Workiva API endpoint or a Workiva connector command in Chains.
Connections and permissions
A document's Owner can connect its tables and charts to only sources they have permission to view.
If you collaborate on the presentation with others, their access to its connections depends on their permissions to the slide and source.
Source permission | Slide permission | Connection access |
---|---|---|
Viewer, Editor, or Owner | Viewer or None | Locked |
Viewer | Editor | Refresh the connection, and update a connected query's parameters |
Editor or Owner | Owner | Full access |