Import Real-Time SharePoint Excel Services Data in ColdFusion to Build Applications


Use CData ODBC drivers to import and use SharePoint Excel Services data in ColdFusion.

Adobe ColdFusion is a web and mobile application development platform. It uses its own scripting language, ColdFusion Markup Language (CFML), to create data-driven websites as well as generate remote services, such as REST. When ColdFusion is paired with the CData ODBC Driver for SharePoint Excel Services, you can link your ColdFusion web and mobile applications to operational SharePoint Excel Services data. This allows for your applications to be more robust and complete. This article details how to use the ODBC driver to create a table populated with SharePoint Excel Services data from within a ColdFusion markup file.

To follow along with this tutorial, you need to install the CData ODBC Driver for SharePoint Excel Services and Adobe ColdFusion.

Configuring the Connection

If you have not already, first specify connection properties in an ODBC DSN (Data Source Name). This is the last step of the driver installation process. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs.

The URL, User, and Password properties, under the Authentication section, must be set to valid credentials for SharePoint Online, SharePoint 2010, or SharePoint 2013. Additionally, the Library property must be set to a valid SharePoint Document Library and the File property must be set to a valid .xlsx file in the indicated Library.

Adding a Data Source and Creating a Table

After creating a DSN, follow the steps below to add a new data source, test our connection to it, create a ColdFusion markup file, and, finally, import SharePoint Excel Services SharePoint Excel Services data and display it in a table in ColdFusion:

  1. From the ColdFusion administrator interface, choose Data & Services.
  2. Here, click "Add New Data Source". The data source name can be any name, provided it conforms to the ColdFusion variable naming conventions. For our ODBC driver, choose "ODBC Socket", then click the "Add" button.
  3. From the ODBC DSN Dropdown menu select CData SharePoint Excel Services Sys. Under the Advanced Settings section, leave the Connection String blank. Note that any properties specified in this input field will override the ones specified in the DSN Configuration.
  4. Now, test the connection by pressing the check mark to the left of the CDataSharePoint Excel ServicesODBC data source you just created. When the data source reports an "OK" status, it is ready for use.
  5. Next, create a new ColdFusion Markup file (.cfm) and place it in the wwwroot directory ("C:\ColdFusion2021\cfusion\wwwroot") for ColdFusion.

    The following code queries the data source: 

                
        <cfquery name="SharePoint Excel ServicesQuery" dataSource="CDataSharePoint Excel ServicesODBC"> 
          SELECT * FROM Account 
        </cfquery>
    And a CFTable can be used to quickly output the table in HTML: 
                
          <cftable  
          query = "SharePoint Excel ServicesQuery" 
          border = "1" 
          colHeaders 
          colSpacing = "2" 
          headerLines = "2" 
          HTMLTable 
          maxRows = "500" 
          startRow = "1"> 

          <cfcol header="<b>Name</b>" align="Left" width=2 text="Name"/> 

          <cfcol header="<b>AnnualRevenue</b>" align="Left" width=15 text="AnnualRevenue"/> 

          ...

        </cftable>
    Full code, including the HTML portion is available below: 
                
        <html> 
        <head><title>CData Software | SharePoint Excel Services Account Table Demo </title></head> 
        <body> 
        <cfoutput>#ucase("SharePoint Excel Services Account Table Demo")#</cfoutput> 
        <cfquery name="SharePoint Excel ServicesQuery" dataSource="CDataSharePoint Excel ServicesODBC"> 

          SELECT * FROM Account 

        </cfquery> 
        <cftable  
          query = "SharePoint Excel ServicesQuery" 
          border = "1" 
          colHeaders 
          colSpacing = "2" 
          headerLines = "2" 
          HTMLTable 
          maxRows = "500" 
          startRow = "1"> 
          <cfcol header="<b>Name</b>" align="Left" width=2 text="Name"/> 

          <cfcol header="<b>AnnualRevenue</b>" align="Left" width=15 text="AnnualRevenue"/> 

          ...

        </cftable> 
        </body> 

        </html>
  6. Finally, run the code in a browser. It produces a table populated with SharePoint Excel Services data!

As a note, the CData ODBC Drivers also support parameterized queries using the cfqueryparam element. For example: SELECT * FROM Account WHERE name =

Get Started Today

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData ODBC Driver for SharePoint Excel Services and start building SharePoint Excel Services-connected applications with Adobe ColdFusion. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.

Ready to get started?

Download a free trial of the SharePoint Excel Services ODBC Driver to get started:

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Learn more:

SharePoint Excel Services Icon SharePoint Excel Services ODBC Driver

The Excel Services ODBC Driver is a powerful tool that allows you to connect with live Excel Services data, directly from any applications that support ODBC connectivity.

Access Excel Spreadsheet data hosted on SharePoint server like you would a database - read, write, and update data through a standard ODBC Driver interface.

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