Loading Analytics Cloud Directly from Excel

Since my previous post on Combining Salesforce and External Data, it is now even easier to load the example sales data.  With the release of Salesforce Wave Connector for Excel, no longer do you need to export data to a comma separated value (csv) file first.  Let’s take a look at using the connector to directly populate Salesforce Analytics Cloud from our Excel file.

Salesforce Wave Connector foe Excel Installation

First, you want to add the Salesforce Wave Connector for Excel from the Office store, which is a free install.  Alternatively, you can install from directly within Excel.  Using Excel 2013, my steps were the following:

• Go to the Insert tab
• Click Apps for Office, See All, then Featured Apps
• Search for Wave Connector, Select the result and click Trust It
• A side-bar opens, and you supply your Microsoft account details

With the Wave Connector installed, it’s time to specify the Salesforce credentials to your Analytics Cloud environment.  You must also grant permission to the Wave Connector, like any OAuth app.  You can check out the help page if you need additional details on installing the connector.

Uploading Data from Excel

Now we need to specify the Excel data to load.  Simply select a range of columns and rows and provide a name to use in Analytics Cloud for your dataset. You can also review the number of Columns and Rows (32,767 is the row limit per import) as well as preview the Column Names and Data types. 

If you want to change a data type, look for a column that is hyperlinked.  Clicking on it will cycle through the supported data types (text and date for dimensions and numeric for measures)

Then simply click submit data and the magic happens.  The upload progress will be reported and a summary of columns and rows displayed.  You can then jump to Analytics cloud or Import Another Dataset.

Success

Head over to your Analytics Cloud environment and look for your new dataset.  You may have to refresh the page if it takes a few minutes for the import to complete.  Our new SalesDataGenerator dataset is now ready to be analyzed through lenses and dashboards.

Additional Notes

• If you need to change Analytics Cloud environment, use the drop down next to your login in the Wave Connector for Excel to Log Out and supply new credentials
• Administrators, take note of additional steps if you are using Office 365, outlined in the help files
• Use the ? next to Get Started in the Wave Connector for Excel for additional details and troubleshooting tips.  Excel in Office 365 users need to remember to Bind Current Selection when uploading data
• Remember you are limited to 20 datasets per day from external sources, and each upload from the Wave Connector for Excel counts towards this limit