Cosmos DB Connector for MS Excel In this article you will learn how to integrate Cosmos DB data in MS Excel without coding in just a few clicks (live / bi-directional connection to Cosmos DB). Connect to your Azure Cosmos DB databases to read, query, create, update, and delete documents and more!. Using Cosmos DB Connector you will be able to connect, read, and write data from within MS Excel. Follow the steps below to see how we would accomplish that. Download Documentation The driver mentioned above is part of ODBC PowerPack which is a collection of high-performance Drivers for various API data source (i.e. REST API, JSON, XML, CSV, Amazon S3 and many more). Using familiar SQL query language you can make live connections and read/write data from API sources or JSON / XML / CSV Files inside SQL Server (T-SQL) or your favorite Reporting (i.e. Power BI, Tableau, Qlik, SSRS, MicroStrategy, Excel, MS Access), ETL Tools (i.e. Informatica, Talend, Pentaho, SSIS). You can also call our drivers from programming languages such as JAVA, C#, Python, PowerShell etc. If you are new to ODBC and ZappySys ODBC PowerPack then check the following links to get started. ODBC PowerPack - System Requirements and Installation Getting Started - Using ODBC PowerPack ODBC API Driver Help File

Connect to Cosmos DB in other apps Connect to Cosmos DB in SSIS Connect to Cosmos DB in SQL Server Connect to Cosmos DB in Power BI Connect to Cosmos DB in SSRS Connect to Cosmos DB in Informatica Connect to Cosmos DB in MS Access Connect to Cosmos DB in SSAS Connect to Cosmos DB in C# Connect to Cosmos DB in Python Connect to Cosmos DB in JAVA Connect to Cosmos DB in Tableau Connect to Cosmos DB in SAP Crystal Reports Connect to Cosmos DB in Azure Data Factory (Pipeline) Connect to Cosmos DB in Azure Data Factory (SSIS) Connect to Cosmos DB in Talend Studio Connect to Cosmos DB in UiPath Connect to Cosmos DB in PowerShell Connect to Cosmos DB in ODBC

Create ODBC Data Source (DSN) based on ZappySys API Driver

Step-by-step instructions

To get data from Cosmos DB using MS Excel we first need to create a DSN (Data Source) which will access data from Cosmos DB. We will later be able to read data using MS Excel. Perform these steps:

1. Install ZappySys ODBC PowerPack.

2. Open ODBC Data Sources (x64):
   

3. Create a User Data Source (User DSN) based on ZappySys API Driver

   ZappySys API Driver

   
   You should create a System DSN (instead of a User DSN) if the client application is launched under a Windows System Account, e.g. as a Windows Service. If the client application is 32-bit (x86) running with a System DSN, use ODBC Data Sources (32-bit) instead of the 64-bit version.

4. When the Configuration window appears give your data source a name if you haven't done that already, then select "Cosmos DB" from the list of Popular Connectors. If "Cosmos DB" is not present in the list, then click "Search Online" and download it. Then set the path to the location where you downloaded it. Finally, click Continue >> to proceed with configuring the DSN:

   CosmosDbDSN

   Cosmos DB

   

5. Now it's time to configure the Connection Manager. Select Authentication Type, e.g. Token Authentication. Then select API Base URL (in most cases, the default one is the right one). More info is available in the Authentication section.

    ApiKey [Http]

   Steps to get Cosmos DB Credentials : ApiKey [Http]
   Connecting to your Azure Cosmos DB data requires you to authenticate your REST API access. Follow the instructions below:

   1. Go to your Azure portal homepage: https://portal.azure.com/
   2. In the search bar at the top of the homepage, enter Azure Cosmos DB. In the dropdown that appears, select Azure Cosmos DB.
   3. Click on the name of the database account you want to connect to. (Also copy and paste the name of the database account for later use.)
   4. On the next page where you can see all of the database account information, look along the left side and select Keys.
   5. On the Keys page, you will have two tabs: Read-write Keys and Read-only Keys. If you are going to write data to your database, you need to remain on the Read-write Keys tab. If you are only going to read data from your database, you should select the Read-only Keys tab.
   6. On the Keys page, copy the PRIMARY KEY value and paste it somewhere for later use. (The SECONDARY KEY value may also be copied and pasted instead of PRIMARY KEY.)
   7. Back at the connector screen, enter the primary or secondary key you recorded in step 6 into the Primary or Secondary Key field.
   8. Enter the database account you recorded in step 3 into the Database Account field.
   9. Enter or select the default database you want to connect to using the Defualt Database field.
   10. Enter or select the default table (i.e. container/collection) you want to connect to using the Default Table (Container/Collection) field.
   11. Select the Test Connection button at the bottom of the window to verify proper connectivity with your Azure Devops account.
   12. If the connection test succeeds, select OK.

   Fill in all required parameters and set optional parameters if needed:

   CosmosDbDSN

   Cosmos DB

   ApiKey [Http]

   https://[$Account$].documents.azure.com

   Required Parameters
   Primary or Secondary Key	Fill in the parameter...
   Account Name (Case-Sensitive)	Fill in the parameter...
   Database Name (keep blank to use default) Case-Sensitive	Fill in the parameter...
   API Version	Fill in the parameter...
   Optional Parameters
   Default Table (needed to invoke #DirectSQL)	Fill in the parameter...

   

6. Once the data source has been configured, you can preview data. Select the Preview tab and use settings similar to the following to preview data:
   

7. Click OK to finish creating the data source.

Video instructions

Read data in Excel from the DSN

1. In Excel click Data, then select Get Data, proceed with From Other Sources and choose From ODBC item. This will get data from ODBC data source we created:
   

2. A small window opens, then simply select the data source you created in previous steps:

   CosmosDbDSN

   

3. Most likely, you will be asked to authenticate to a newly created DSN. Just select Windows authentication option together with Use my current credentials option:

   CosmosDbDSN

   

4. Finally, you will be asked to select a table or view to get data from. Select one and load the data!
   

5. Finally, finally, use data extracted from Cosmos DB API in an Excel worksheet:
   

Advanced topics

Create Custom Stored Procedure in ZappySys Driver

You can create procedures to encapsulate custom logic and then only pass handful parameters rather than long SQL to execute your API call.

Steps to create Custom Stored Procedure in ZappySys Driver. You can insert Placeholders anywhere inside Procedure Body. Read more about placeholders here

1. Go to Custom Objects Tab and Click on Add button and Select Add Procedure:
   

2. Enter the desired Procedure name and click on OK:
   

3. Select the created Stored Procedure and write the your desired stored procedure and Save it and it will create the custom stored procedure in the ZappySys Driver:
   Here is an example stored procedure for ZappySys Driver. You can insert Placeholders anywhere inside Procedure Body. Read more about placeholders here
   

   CREATE PROCEDURE [usp_get_orders]
       @fromdate = '<<yyyy-MM-dd,FUN_TODAY>>'
    AS
       SELECT * FROM Orders where OrderDate >= '<@fromdate>';
   

   
   

4. That's it now go to Preview Tab and Execute your Stored Procedure using Exec Command. In this example it will extract the orders from the date 1996-01-01:
   

   Exec usp_get_orders '1996-01-01';

   
   

5. Let's generate the SQL Server Query Code to make the API call using stored procedure. Go to Code Generator Tab, select language as SQL Server and click on Generate button the generate the code.
   As we already created the linked server for this Data Source, in that you just need to copy the Select Query and need to use the linked server name which we have apply on the place of [MY_API_SERVICE] placeholder.
   

   SELECT * FROM OPENQUERY([MY_API_SERVICE], 'EXEC usp_get_orders @fromdate=''1996-07-30''')

   
   

6. Now go to SQL served and execute that query and it will make the API call using stored procedure and provide you the response.
   

Create Custom Virtual Table in ZappySys Driver

ZappySys API Drivers support flexible Query language so you can override Default Properties you configured on Data Source such as URL, Body. This way you don't have to create multiple Data Sources if you like to read data from multiple EndPoints. However not every application support supplying custom SQL to driver so you can only select Table from list returned from driver.

If you're dealing with Microsoft Access and need to import data from an SQL query, it's important to note that Access doesn't allow direct import of SQL queries. Instead, you can create custom objects (Virtual Tables) to handle the import process.

Many applications like MS Access, Informatica Designer wont give you option to specify custom SQL when you import Objects. In such case Virtual Table is very useful. You can create many Virtual Tables on the same Data Source (e.g. If you have 50 URLs with slight variations you can create virtual tables with just URL as Parameter setting.

1. Go to Custom Objects Tab and Click on Add button and Select Add Table:
   

2. Enter the desired Table name and click on OK:
   

3. And it will open the New Query Window Click on Cancel to close that window and go to Custom Objects Tab.

4. Select the created table, Select Text Type AS SQL and write the your desired SQL Query and Save it and it will create the custom table in the ZappySys Driver:
   Here is an example SQL query for ZappySys Driver. You can insert Placeholders also. Read more about placeholders here
   

   SELECT
     "ShipCountry",
     "OrderID",
     "CustomerID",
     "EmployeeID",
     "OrderDate",
     "RequiredDate",
     "ShippedDate",
     "ShipVia",
     "Freight",
     "ShipName",
     "ShipAddress",
     "ShipCity",
     "ShipRegion",
     "ShipPostalCode"
   FROM "Orders"
   Where "ShipCountry"='USA'

   
   

5. That's it now go to Preview Tab and Execute your custom virtual table query. In this example it will extract the orders for the USA Shipping Country only:
   

   SELECT * FROM "vt__usa_orders_only"

   
   

6. Let's generate the SQL Server Query Code to make the API call using stored procedure. Go to Code Generator Tab, select language as SQL Server and click on Generate button the generate the code.
   As we already created the linked server for this Data Source, in that you just need to copy the Select Query and need to use the linked server name which we have apply on the place of [MY_API_SERVICE] placeholder.
   

   SELECT * FROM OPENQUERY([MY_API_SERVICE], 'EXEC [usp_get_orders] ''1996-01-01''')

   
   

7. Now go to SQL served and execute that query and it will make the API call using stored procedure and provide you the response.
   

Actions supported by Cosmos DB Connector

Cosmos DB Connector Examples for MS Excel Connection

This page offers a collection of SQL examples designed for seamless integration with the ZappySys API ODBC Driver under ODBC Data Source (36/64) or ZappySys Data Gateway, enhancing your ability to connect and interact with Prebuilt Connectors effectively.

#DirectSQL SELECT * FROM root where root.id !=null order by root._ts desc

SELECT * FROM TestContainer

SELECT * FROM TestContainer Where Id='user2'

SELECT *
FROM query_documents
WITH(
  --  Database='TestDB', --if you dont supply connection level Default Database name is used
	  Table='TestContainer',  
	  Query='select * from root Where root.id!=null order by root._ts desc',
	  Meta='id:string(50);name:string(50);city;age'
	  --Meta='id; name; city; age' -- no types at all. Default is string(2000)
	  --Meta='id; name:string(50); city; age: int'   --Mixed types. If type is missing default string(2000) used
	  --check below URL for more information on Qyery Language Syntax
	  --https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cosmos-db/nosql/query/select
)

INSERT INTO TestContainer (PartitionKey, Document)
VALUES(
'["user2"]', --partition key value must match its attribute from document else it will throw error. In this example container PartitionKey is /id so we used its value. For multiple key use JSON array ["val1","val2"]
'{
  "id": "user2",
  "name": "John Doe",
  "email": "jdoe@contoso.com",
  "phone": ["12345"],
  "level": "platinum"
}'
)
WITH(Upsert='true')

INSERT INTO TestContainer (PartitionKey, Document)
VALUES(
'["user2"]', --partition key value must match its attribute from document else it will throw error. In this example container PartitionKey is /id so we used its value. For multiple key use JSON array ["val1","val2"]
'@c:\data\order.json'   --path must start with @ symbol
)
WITH(Upsert='true', IsMultiPart=1)

INSERT INTO TestContainer (PartitionKey, Document)
VALUES(
'["user2"]', --partition key value must match its attribute from document else it will throw error. In this example container PartitionKey is /id so we used its value. For multiple key use JSON array ["val1","val2"]
'{
  "id": "user2",
  "name": "John Doe",
  "email": "jdoe@contoso.com",
  "phone": ["12345"],
  "level": "platinum"
}')
 WITH(Upsert='true')

UPSERT INTO TestContainer (PartitionKey, Document)
VALUES(
'["user2"]', --partition key value must match its attribute from document else it will throw error. In this example container PartitionKey is /id so we used its value. For multiple key use JSON array ["val1","val2"]
'{
  "id": "user2",
  "name": "John Doe",
  "email": "jdoe@contoso.com",
  "phone": ["12345"],
  "level": "platinum"
}')

UPDATE TestContainer 
SET  
 PartitionKey='["user2"]'
,Document=
'{
  "id" : "user2",
  "name": "John Doe at <<FUN_NOW>>",
  "email": "jdoe@contoso.com",
  "phone": ["<<FUN_TODAY>>"],
  "level": "platinum"
}'
Where Id='user2'

UPDATE TestContainer 
SET  
 PartitionKey='["user2"]'
,Document=
'{
  "operations": [
     { "op": "set", "path": "/name", "value": "updated name" }
	,{ "op": "set", "path": "/email", "value": "updated@email.com" }
  ]
}'
Where Id='user2'
WITH(
		RequestMethod='PATCH' --Partial Replace (change name and email only)
    )
	
/*
Example Document Operations
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cosmos-db/partial-document-update
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/rest/api/cosmos-db/patch-a-document

[
  { "op": "add", "path": "/color", "value": "silver" },
  { "op": "remove", "path": "/used" },
  { "op": "set", "path": "/price", "value": 355.45 }
  { "op": "incr", "path": "/inventory/quantity", "value": 10 },
  { "op": "add", "path": "/tags/-", "value": "featured-bikes" },
  { "op": "move", "from": "/color", "path": "/inventory/color" }
]

*/

UPDATE TestContainer 
SET  
 PartitionKey='["user2"]'
,Document='@c:\temp\b.txt'  --path must start with @ symbol
Where Id='user2'
WITH(
		 RequestMethod='PATCH' --Partial Replace (change name and email only)
	    ,IsMultiPart=1 --this enables file upload	
    )
	
/*
Example Document Operations
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cosmos-db/partial-document-update
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/rest/api/cosmos-db/patch-a-document

[
  { "op": "add", "path": "/color", "value": "silver" },
  { "op": "remove", "path": "/used" },
  { "op": "set", "path": "/price", "value": 355.45 }
  { "op": "incr", "path": "/inventory/quantity", "value": 10 },
  { "op": "add", "path": "/tags/-", "value": "featured-bikes" },
  { "op": "move", "from": "/color", "path": "/inventory/color" }
]

*/

SELECT * FROM SysDatabases

SELECT * FROM SysTables

SELECT * FROM SysTables WITH (Database='MyCosmos DB')

SELECT * FROM SysUsers

Conclusion

In this article we discussed how to connect to Cosmos DB in MS Excel and integrate data without any coding. Click here to Download Cosmos DB Connector for MS Excel and try yourself see how easy it is. If you still have any question(s) then ask here or simply click on live chat icon below and ask our expert (see bottom-right corner of this page).

Download Cosmos DB Connector for MS Excel Documentation 

More integrations

Other application integration scenarios for Cosmos DB

SSIS

SQL Server

Power BI

SSRS

Informatica

MS Access

SSAS

C#

Python

JAVA

Tableau

SAP Crystal Reports

Azure Data Factory (Pipeline)

Azure Data Factory (SSIS)

Talend Studio

UiPath

PowerShell

ODBC

Other connectors for MS Excel

Amazon Ads

Amazon MWS

Amazon Selling Partner (SP-API)

Asana

Azure DevOps

Cosmos DB

DropBox

ElasticSearch

FastSpring

Google BigQuery

Google Calendar

Google Drive

Google Sheets

Hubspot

Jira

Mailchimp

ManagedEngine ServiceDesk Plus (Zoho)

Nativo

OData

OneDrive

Outlook Mail (Office 365)

Power BI

ServiceNow

SharePoint Online

Shopify

Smartsheet

Stripe

YouTube

Zendesk

Zoho CRM

Zoho SalesIQ

Zoom

REST API

JSON

JSON File

XML

SOAP

XML File

JDBC-ODBC Bridge

Salesforce

CSV

Amazon S3 JSON File

Amazon S3 XML File

Amazon S3 CSV File

Azure Blob JSON File

Azure Blob XML File

Azure Blob CSV File

FTP/SFTP JSON File

FTP/SFTP XML File

FTP/SFTP CSV File

Build your own Custom API Connector

Download Cosmos DB Connector for MS Excel Documentation

Common Searches: