The Office 365 Microsoft Excel data provider allows PADS4 to connect to Excel documents stored in the cloud via SharePoint or OneDrive for Business.

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Steps to Add or Modify an Office 365 Microsoft Excel Connection

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1. Start the Data Provider Wizard

  • Open the Data Provider Wizard in PADS4.
  • Follow the steps for Adding a Data Provider or Editing a Data Provider.
  • Select Office 365 Microsoft Excel as the provider type.

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2. Configure Connection Settings

  • Specify Proxy Settings (If Required)
    • If your organization uses a proxy server, enter the required settings.
    • Contact your system administrator for details.
  • Authenticate with Microsoft
    • Click the Authenticate button.
    • A Microsoft sign-in page will open.
    • Log in with your Office 365 credentials and authorize PADS4 to access your environment.
    • Once authentication is successful, the status will display successful.
  • Reauthentication
    • Each time you edit this data provider, you will need to reauthenticate.
Click Next to continue.

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3. Select the Data Source Location

Choose where your Excel document is stored:
  • SharePoint
  • OneDrive for Business
Note: If your document is stored locally, use the Microsoft Excel data provider instead.

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4. Connecting to an Excel Document on SharePoint

  • Select the SharePoint Site
    • Click the Browse button to open a site selection window.
    • Choose the correct SharePoint site.
  • Select the Document Library
    • The first available library is selected by default.
    • If needed, choose the correct library manually.
  • Select the Excel File
    • Click Browse to locate and select your Excel document.
  • Open Excel Document (Optional)
    • Click Open Excel document to preview the file inside a web browser.
    • Use this preview to confirm where the data is located in the spreadsheet.
Click Next to continue.

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5. Configure Columns and Data Range

  • Specify Column Names
    • If the column names are in a specific range, check the box for Column names range.
    • Enter the row number and column range containing the column names.
    • If left blank, columns will be named Column1, Column2, etc.
  • Select Data Range
    • If data is in a specific range, enter the start row and start column.
    • If left blank, PADS4 will automatically detect the data range.
    • Ensure that the data range does not include column headers, or they will be treated as data.
  • Preview Data
    • Click Preview to check if the retrieved data is correct.
Click Next to continue.

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6. Finalize the Setup

  • Complete the remaining steps in the Data Provider Wizard.
  • Click Finish to finalize the setup.

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Additional Notes

  • If authentication fails, ensure that your Microsoft 365 account has the necessary permissions to access SharePoint or OneDrive for Business.
  • If your Excel sheet changes frequently, verify that your data range settings correctly capture the latest data.
  • If using a proxy server, ensure that proxy settings are correctly configured.
This setup allows PADS4 to retrieve and display real-time Excel data from Office 365 within your presentations.