How To Use SQL in Excel: A Step-by-Step Guide

How To Use SQL in Excel: Programming is an important skill that is used in almost every industry. It allows individuals to automate tasks and extract meaningful insights from large amounts of data. SQL is a programming language that is commonly used to manage and manipulate data in relational databases.

In this article, I will explain you, how does SQL work, how to use SQL in Excel, how to connect to the database in Excel, how to write SQL Queries in Excel and how to Analyzing Data in Excel, a popular spreadsheet program.

Before we dive into how to use SQL in Excel, let’s first understand what SQL is and how it works.

What is SQL?

SQL stands for Structured Query Language. It is a programming language that is used to manage and manipulate data in relational databases. SQL is used to perform tasks such as retrieving data from a database, inserting new data, updating existing data, and deleting data. SQL is a standard language that is used by many database management systems such as MySQL, Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, and PostgreSQL.

What is Relational Database?

Relational databases are a type of database that stores data in tables. A table is composed of rows and columns, where each column signifies a different attribute of the data. The rows represent the actual data.

For example, a table that stores customer information might have columns for the customer’s name, address, and phone number. Each row would represent a different customer’s information.

How Does SQL Work?

SQL works by using commands to manipulate data in a relational database. These commands are sent to the database management system, which interprets them and performs the requested operation. SQL commands are grouped into several categories:

1. Data Definition Language (DDL): Used to define the structure of a database, including tables, columns, and constraints.
2. Data Manipulation Language (DML): Used to manipulate data in a database, including inserting, updating, and deleting data.
3. Data Control Language (DCL): Used to control access to a database, including granting and revoking permissions.
4. Transaction Control Language (TCL): Used to manage transactions, which are a series of SQL statements that are executed as a single unit of work.

Also Read: SQL for Data Science, How to Use SQL to Analyze Data

Now that we understand what SQL is and how it works, let’s explore how to use SQL in Excel.

How To Use SQL in Excel?

In order to use SQL in Excel, we first need to install the ODBC driver. Open Database Connectivity(ODBC) is a standard interface for accessing databases. The ODBC driver allows Excel to connect to a database and execute SQL queries.

Step 1: How to Install ODBC Driver

To install the ODBC driver, follow these steps:

1. Go to the Microsoft website and download the appropriate ODBC driver for your version of Excel.
2. Run the installer and follow the on-screen instructions to install the driver.

Step 2: How to Connect to the Database in Excel

Once the ODBC driver is installed, we can connect to the database from Excel. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Open Excel and go to the Data tab.
2. Click on the From Other Sources button and select From Microsoft Query.
3. Select the ODBC data source that you just installed and click OK.
4. Enter your username and password for the database.
5. Select the table or tables that you want to query and click OK.

Step 3: How to Write SQL Queries in Excel

Now that we are connected to the database, we can write an SQL query to retrieve the data we need. To do this, follow these steps:

1. In the Microsoft Query window, click on the SQL button.
2. Enter your SQL query in the window that appears.
3. Click on the Check Syntax button to make sure your query is valid.
4. Click on the Return Data button to execute the query and retrieve the results.

Step 4: How to Analyzing Data in Excel

Once we have retrieved the data, we can analyze it in Excel using the tools that are available. For example, we can create charts and graphs to visualize the data, apply filters and sorting to view specific subsets of the data, and perform calculations using Excel’s built-in formulas.

Also Read: How to Create Tables in SQL

How to use SQL in Excel to retrieve data from a database?

Let’s walk through an example of Retrieving Sales Data.

Suppose we have a database that stores sales data for a XYZ company. The database has a table called “Sales” that contains the following columns:

• Date: the date of the sale
• Product: the name of the product sold
• Quantity: the quantity of the product sold
• Price: price per unit of the product
• Customer: the name of the customer who made the purchase

Our goal is to retrieve the total sales for each product by month for the past year.

Step 1: Install the ODBC Driver

Assuming we are using Excel on a Windows machine, we can download the ODBC driver for Microsoft SQL Server from the Microsoft website. Once the driver is downloaded, we can run the installer and follow the on-screen instructions to install it.

Step 2: Connect to the Database

Open Excel and go to the Data tab. Click on the From Other Sources button and select From Microsoft Query. In the Microsoft Query window, select the ODBC data source that we just installed and click OK. Enter your username and password for the database, and select the Sales table.

Step 3: Write the SQL Query

In the Microsoft Query window, click on the SQL button. Enter the following SQL query:

SELECT
  YEAR(Date) AS Year,
  MONTH(Date) AS Month,
  Product,
  SUM(Quantity * Price) AS TotalSales
FROM
  Sales
WHERE
  Date >= DATEADD(year, -1, GETDATE())
GROUP BY
  YEAR(Date),
  MONTH(Date),
  Product

This query retrieves the year and month, product, and total sales for the past year. We use the YEAR and MONTH functions to extract the year and month from the Date column. We use the SUM function to calculate the total sales for each product by multiplying the quantity sold by the price per unit. We use the WHERE clause to filter the results to only include sales from the past year.

Step 4: Analyze the Data

Click on the Return Data button to execute the query and retrieve the results. The data will be returned to Excel in a table format.

We can use Excel’s built-in tools to analyze the data. For example, we can create a pivot table to summarize the data by product and month and can create a chart to visualize the data.

Also Read: MP Kisan Anudan Yojana: Benefits and How To Apply

Conclusion

In this article, you have learned about SQL, a programming language used to manage and manipulate data in relational databases. Also learned how to use SQL in Excel to retrieve data from a database. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can connect to a database, write SQL queries, and analyze the data in Excel using its built-in tools. SQL is a powerful tool for working with data and can be used to automate tasks and extract insights from large datasets. With the knowledge gained from this article, you can start using SQL in Excel to improve your data analysis and decision-making skills.

FAQs on Use SQL in Excel