Connect a sheet to a data source

Spreadsheet connections allow you to pull and update information directly from an external data source. If you have Spreadsheets and Controls Management, you can use this feature.

To access the Connectors feature, open the spreadsheet you want to connect to a data source and click the Data toolbar.

Create a data source

You can connect to external data sources or create them directly in Spreadsheets.

To create a data source from an existing spreadsheet:

1

Open the spreadsheet you want to use as a data source.

2

From the Data toolbar, click Data Set .

3

Click Publish Data Set from the dropdown menu.

4

In the Publish Sheet Data window, enter a Data Set Name, select who in your organization can access it, and add a description.

5

Click Publish to create your data source.

Connect to a data source

A spreadsheet document can contain multiple connected sheets, with each sheet connecting to the same or different data sources.

To connect a sheet to a data source:

1

In the outline, select the sheet you want to connect to a data source.

2

From the Data toolbar, click Connect and select the data source you want to connect to.

3

In the dialog box, select the data set you want to connect and click Next to import it. If your sheet contains locked cells, you must unlock them before importing your data set.

After completing the import process, the Connected Sheet  icon appears next to each sheet with a connection.

Once the sheet is connected to a data source, you can build views and reports, add cross-sheet formulas, or perform lookups. Data from a connection cannot be modified in the spreadsheet and must be changed at the source.

If you have Wdata enabled on your account, you can also further customize your data sources and queries by using Wdata Connections.  

Update a data source

Once you've created a data source and connected it to other sheets, you'll need to update both the source and the connected sheets any time you make changes.  

To update a data source in a Workiva spreadsheet, click Republish in the Data toolbar.

Then, to update the data in your connected sheets to the most recent source data, click Update in the Data toolbar.

You can view the time and date of the most recent update by opening the Connected Sheets panel.

Disconnect from a data source

You can disconnect a sheet from a data source at any time.

To disconnect a source:

1

From the outline panel, right-click the Connected Sheet icon for the sheet you want to disconnect.

2

Select Disconnect Data Set from the menu.

Alternatives

You may find it easier to use the updated Connections panels when sharing large datasets between spreadsheets. This updated functionality allows you to connect spreadsheets on a 1:1 basis -- including across workspaces.