Open In Excel

Open your data directly in Excel for the Web with zero installation - A JavaScript library that converts web tables and data into interactive Excel workbooks with Power Query integration and custom branded templates

✨ Key Features & Benefits

Transform your web applications with enterprise-grade Excel integration that goes far beyond simple CSV exports.

🎯 Interactive Excel Workbooks, Not Static Files

Convert raw data or HTML tables arrays to Excel tables while preserving data types, ensuring your data maintains its structure and formatting. instead of basic CSV exports that lose all structure and functionality.

🌐 Zero-Installation Excel Experience

Launch workbooks directly in Excel for the Web through any browser without requiring Excel desktop installation, making your data accessible to any user anywhere. No installation required, works on any device.

🎨 Corporate Branding & Custom Dashboards

Inject your data into pre-built Excel templates containing your company branding, PivotTables, charts, and business logic while preserving all formatting and calculations. Use your own branded Excel templates with PivotTables and charts to maintain corporate identity and pre-built analytics.

🔄 Live Data Connections with Power Query

Create workbooks that automatically refresh from your web APIs, databases, or data sources using Microsoft's Power Query technology, eliminating manual data updates. Create workbooks that refresh data on-demand using Power Query for real-time data updates and automated reporting.

⚙️ Advanced Configuration

Full control over document properties including title and description for professional document management, allowing you to customize metadata and maintain enterprise standards.

🏢 Where is this library used?

Open In Excel powers data export functionality across Microsoft's enterprise platforms:

||||| |:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:| |Azure Data Explorer|Log Analytics|Datamart|Viva Sales|

🚀 Quick Start

Installation

npm install @microsoft/connected-workbooks

💡 Usage Examples

📋 HTML Table Export

Perfect for quick data exports from existing web tables.

import { workbookManager } from '@microsoft/connected-workbooks';

// One line of code to convert any table
const blob = await workbookManager.generateTableWorkbookFromHtml(
  document.querySelector('table') as HTMLTableElement
);

// Open in Excel for the Web
// Edit mode with full editing capabilities (default)
workbookManager.openInExcelWeb(blob, "QuickExport.xlsx");

// View mode with typing disabled
workbookManager.openInExcelWeb(blob, "QuickExport.xlsx", false, false);

// View mode with typing enabled
workbookManager.openInExcelWeb(blob, "QuickExport.xlsx", true, false);

📊 Smart Data Formatting

Transform raw data arrays into professionally formatted Excel tables.

import { workbookManager } from '@microsoft/connected-workbooks';

const salesData = {
  config: {
    promoteHeaders: true,      // First row becomes headers
    adjustColumnNames: true    // Clean up column names
  },
  data: [
    ["Product", "Revenue", "InStock", "Category", "LastUpdated"],
    ["Surface Laptop", 1299.99, true, "Hardware", "2024-10-26"],
    ["Office 365", 99.99, true, "Software", "2024-10-26"],
    ["Azure Credits", 500.00, false, "Cloud", "2024-10-25"],
    ["Teams Premium", 149.99, true, "Software", "2024-10-24"]
  ]
};

const blob = await workbookManager.generateTableWorkbookFromGrid(salesData);
workbookManager.openInExcelWeb(blob, "SalesReport.xlsx", true);

🎨 Custom Branded Templates

Transform your data using pre-built Excel templates with your corporate branding.

Steps:

1. Prepare Your Template File

   Open Excel and create (or open) your branded file.

2. Pick one sheet that will hold your data.

   The default "Sheet1"(3)

3. Inside that sheet, choose were you want your data to be populated(1) and create a table (Insert → Table).

   The default table name is Table1(2)
   The table need to have the same column structure as your incoming data.

4. Add any charts, formulas, or formatting that reference this table.

   Example: Pie chart using Gross column(4).

5. Save the Excel file (e.g., my-template.xlsx).

6. Use the saved file as the template for your incoming data

The library will then populate the designated table with your data. Any functions, figures, or references linked to this table within the Excel template will automatically reflect the newly exported data.

📁 Loading Template Files

// Method 1: File upload from user
const templateInput = document.querySelector('#template-upload') as HTMLInputElement;
const templateFile = templateInput.files[0];

// Method 2: Fetch from your server
const templateResponse = await fetch('/assets/templates/sales-dashboard.xlsx');
const templateFile = await templateResponse.blob();

// Method 3: Drag and drop
function handleTemplateDrop(event: DragEvent) {
  const templateFile = event.dataTransfer.files[0];
  // Use templateFile with the library
}

📊 Generate Branded Workbook

const quarterlyData = {
  config: { promoteHeaders: true, adjustColumnNames: true },
  data: [
    ["Region", "Q3_Revenue", "Q4_Revenue", "Growth", "Target_Met"],
    ["North America", 2500000, 2750000, "10%", true],
    ["Europe", 1800000, 2100000, "17%", true],
    ["Asia Pacific", 1200000, 1400000, "17%", true],
    ["Latin America", 800000, 950000, "19%", true]
  ]
};

// Inject data into your branded template
const blob = await workbookManager.generateTableWorkbookFromGrid(
  quarterlyData,
  undefined, // Use template's existing data structure
  {
    templateFile: templateFile,
    TempleteSettings: {
      sheetName: "Dashboard",     // Target worksheet
      tableName: "QuarterlyData"  // Target table name
    }
  }
);

// Users get a fully branded report
workbookManager.openInExcelWeb(blob, "Q4_Executive_Dashboard.xlsx", true);

💡 Template Requirements: Include a query named "Query1" connected to a Table.

🔄 Live Data Connections with Power Query

Create workbooks that automatically refresh from your data sources.

import { workbookManager } from '@microsoft/connected-workbooks';

// Create a workbook that connects to your API
const blob = await workbookManager.generateSingleQueryWorkbook({
  queryMashup: `let 
    Source = {1..10} 
  in 
    Source`,
  refreshOnOpen: true
});

workbookManager.openInExcelWeb(blob, "MyData.xlsx", true);

📚 Learn Power Query: New to Power Query? Check out the official documentation to unlock the full potential of live data connections.

Add metadata and professional document properties for enterprise use.

const blob = await workbookManager.generateTableWorkbookFromHtml(
  document.querySelector('table') as HTMLTableElement, 
  {
    docProps: { 
      createdBy: 'John Doe',
      lastModifiedBy: 'Jane Doe',
      description: 'Sales Report Q4 2024',
      title: 'Quarterly Sales Data'
    }
  }
);

// Download for offline use
workbookManager.downloadWorkbook(blob, "MyTable.xlsx");

📚 Complete API Reference

Core Functions

🔗 generateSingleQueryWorkbook()

Create Power Query connected workbooks with live data refresh capabilities.

async function generateSingleQueryWorkbook(
  query: QueryInfo, 
  grid?: Grid, 
  fileConfigs?: FileConfigs
): Promise<Blob>

| Parameter | Type | Required | Description | |-----------|------|----------|-------------| | query | QueryInfo | ✅ Required | Power Query configuration | | grid | Grid | Optional | Pre-populate with data | | fileConfigs | FileConfigs | Optional | Customization options |

📋 generateTableWorkbookFromHtml()

Convert HTML tables to Excel workbooks instantly.

async function generateTableWorkbookFromHtml(
  htmlTable: HTMLTableElement, 
  fileConfigs?: FileConfigs
): Promise<Blob>

| Parameter | Type | Required | Description | |-----------|------|----------|-------------| | htmlTable | HTMLTableElement | ✅ Required | Source HTML table | | fileConfigs | FileConfigs | Optional | Customization options |

📊 generateTableWorkbookFromGrid()

Transform raw data arrays into formatted Excel tables.

async function generateTableWorkbookFromGrid(
  grid: Grid, 
  fileConfigs?: FileConfigs
): Promise<Blob>

| Parameter | Type | Required | Description | |-----------|------|----------|-------------| | grid | Grid | ✅ Required | Data and configuration | | fileConfigs | FileConfigs | Optional | Customization options |

🌐 openInExcelWeb()

Open workbooks directly in Excel for the Web.

async function openInExcelWeb(
  blob: Blob,
  filename?: string,
  allowEdit?: boolean
): Promise<void>

| Parameter | Type | Required | Description | |-----------|------|----------|-------------| | blob | Blob | ✅ Required | Generated workbook | | filename | string | Optional | Custom filename | | allowEdit | boolean | Optional | Open in edit mode with full editing capabilities (default: true) |

💾 downloadWorkbook()

Trigger browser download of the workbook.

function downloadWorkbook(file: Blob, filename: string): void

🔗 getExcelForWebWorkbookUrl()

Get the Excel for Web URL without opening (useful for custom integrations).

async function getExcelForWebWorkbookUrl(
  file: Blob,
  filename?: string,
  allowEdit?: boolean
): Promise<string>

| Parameter | Type | Required | Description | |-----------|------|----------|-------------| | file | Blob | ✅ Required | Generated workbook | | filename | string | Optional | Custom filename | | allowEdit | boolean | Optional | Use edit URL with full editing capabilities (default: true) |

🔧 Type Definitions

QueryInfo

Power Query configuration for connected workbooks.

interface QueryInfo {
  queryMashup: string;        // Power Query M language code
  refreshOnOpen: boolean;     // Auto-refresh when opened
  queryName?: string;         // Query identifier (default: "Query1")
}

Grid

Data structure for tabular information.

interface Grid {
  data: (string | number | boolean)[][];  // Raw data rows
  config?: GridConfig;                    // Processing options
}

interface GridConfig {
  promoteHeaders?: boolean;     // Use first row as headers
  adjustColumnNames?: boolean;  // Fix duplicate/invalid names
}

FileConfigs

Advanced customization options.

interface FileConfigs {
  templateFile?: File | Buffer;        // Custom Excel template
  docProps?: DocProps;                 // Document metadata
  hostName?: string;                   // Creator application name
  TempleteSettings?: TempleteSettings; // Template-specific settings
}

interface TempleteSettings {
  tableName?: string;    // Target table name in template
  sheetName?: string;    // Target worksheet name
}

DocProps

Document metadata and properties.

interface DocProps {
  title?: string;           // Document title
  subject?: string;         // Document subject
  keywords?: string;        // Search keywords
  createdBy?: string;       // Author name
  description?: string;     // Document description
  lastModifiedBy?: string;  // Last editor
  category?: string;        // Document category
  revision?: string;        // Version number
}

Contributing

This project welcomes contributions and suggestions. Most contributions require you to agree to a Contributor License Agreement (CLA) declaring that you have the right to, and actually do, grant us the rights to use your contribution. For details, visit https://cla.opensource.microsoft.com.

When you submit a pull request, a CLA bot will automatically determine whether you need to provide a CLA and decorate the PR appropriately (e.g., status check, comment). Simply follow the instructions provided by the bot. You will only need to do this once across all repos using our CLA.

This project has adopted the Microsoft Open Source Code of Conduct. For more information see the Code of Conduct FAQ or contact [email protected] with any additional questions or comments.

Getting Started

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Add tests for new functionality
5. Submit a pull request

Development Setup

git clone https://github.com/microsoft/connected-workbooks.git
cd connected-workbooks
npm install
npm run build
npm test

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

🔗 Related Resources

• 📖 Power Query Documentation
• 🏢 Excel for Developers
• 🔧 Microsoft Graph Excel APIs

Trademarks

This project may contain trademarks or logos for projects, products, or services. Authorized use of Microsoft trademarks or logos is subject to and must follow Microsoft's Trademark & Brand Guidelines. Use of Microsoft trademarks or logos in modified versions of this project must not cause confusion or imply Microsoft sponsorship. Any use of third-party trademarks or logos are subject to those third-party's policies.

Keywords

Power Query, Excel, Office, Workbook, Refresh, Table, xlsx, export, CSV, data export, HTML table, web to Excel, JavaScript Excel, TypeScript Excel, Excel template, PivotTable, connected data, live data, data refresh, Excel for Web, browser Excel, spreadsheet, data visualization, Microsoft Office, Office 365, Excel API, workbook generation, table export, grid export, Excel automation, data processing, business intelligence