The Excel and SQL Server experts blog

How to Update an SQL Table from Excel: Easiest Method
Johannes Åkesson - May 23, 2025

People in Business Intelligence, Data Analytics and other data projects often know how to update data in SQL Server — but find it time consuming or frustrating. We hear from IT and BI teams that they spend time writing scripts, building custom web applications, or even manually updating data in SQL Server to fulfill requests …
How to insert data from Excel to SQL Server
Johannes Åkesson - Jan 20, 2025

Most people do not know that there is a really simple way to copy and paste data from Excel to SQL Server. In this article, I will show you what you need to know to copy and paste data from Excel to SQL Server.
I will go through and show the technique using simple step-by-step instructions, and I will also cover a few special cases that are great to know.
Top Devart Excel add-in alternatives in 2025
Johannes Åkesson - Jan 08, 2025

Is Devart falling short on essential safeguards in your needs for secure and reliable SQL data management? Many teams have looked for alternatives to Devart’s Excel add-ins because of security limitations and lagging performance. Plenty of these users found SQL Spreads to be an excellent alternative, highlighting its intuitive approach to role-based permissions and faster …
Top CData Excel Add-in Alternatives in 2025
Johannes Åkesson - Dec 23, 2024

Is CData proving too complex or not user-friendly enough for your SQL data management needs? You’re not alone. Plenty of our users migrated to SQL Spreads from CData’s Excel add-in, attracted by an exceptionally intuitive interface and the promise of a leaner stack. Here’s everything you need to know about the top CData competitors this …
The Best Alternative to Microsoft Access in 2025
Andy McDonald - Dec 07, 2024

If you’ve been frustrated with Microsoft Access’s limitations or wondering if it’s still worth using in 2025, you’re not alone. With businesses moving towards more scalable and flexible solutions, SQL Spreads Excel Add-In is a powerful, user-friendly alternative. In this article, we’ll explore why Access is losing popularity and how this lean tech stack alternative …
How to Export Data from SQL Server to Excel
Andy McDonald - Nov 08, 2024

For organizations that use SQL Server and Excel extensively, there is often a need to export data from SQL Server to Excel. In this article, we’re going to look at how to export data from SQL Server to Excel using 3 methods. We’ll also introduce a valuable feature in the SQL Spreads Excel Add-In that allows …
Use Case: How to build a KPI Excel template with SQL Server
Andy McDonald - Mar 06, 2024

In this article, we’re going to show you how to build a KPI Excel template using SQL Server and an Excel Add-In. Many organizations collect performance metrics related to aspects of their business and then use KPIs to measure and track performance against targets. However, the process of collecting the data is often a manual …
Update View in SQL Server using Excel – Step by Step Guide
Johannes Åkesson - Sep 08, 2023

In many businesses, it’s common to use Views to present database tables in a user-friendly way. With SQL Spreads, you can update a View in SQL Server from within Excel. SQL Spreads allows you to work with SQL Server Views, making it easy to display data side by side in Excel, similar to any other …
SQL Spreads: a front end for SQL Server
Andy McDonald - Jul 05, 2023

There are several options available if you are looking for a front end for SQL Server. Like most things, what is best for you will depend on a number of factors. In this article, we’re going to look at the things to consider when choosing a front end for SQL Server and how the SQL …
Tree Filters in Excel: an easy way to view and filter SQL data
Andy McDonald - May 11, 2023

With the rise of data democratization in the workplace, more people across the organization are working with datasets on a day-to-day basis. SQL Spreads makes this easier for people by letting them use Excel to update and manage data in SQL Server. One of the reasons people enjoy working in Excel is the familiarity of the UI …
SQL Server Import and Export Wizard Guide
Andy McDonald - May 06, 2022

This guide explains how to use the SQL Server Import and Export Wizard to get data into a SQL Server database. What is the SQL Server Import and Export Wizard? SQL Server Import and Export Wizard is a simple way to copy data from a source to a destination. It is most commonly used to …
Connect Excel to SQL Server: 3 Easy Steps
Andy McDonald -

In a previous article, we spoke about why you need both Excel and SQL in your data management solutions, but how do you connect Excel to SQL Server? In this article, we’re going to show you the steps and highlight a key benefit of using an Excel add-in like SQL Spreads. But, first, we’re going …
CSV to SQL: How to Convert, Open & Import
Andy McDonald - Jan 31, 2022

In this article, we’re going to look at 3 ways to convert a CSV file to SQL. This is a common use case, so hopefully, you’ll find the following information useful in your day-to-day work. Introduction Comma Separated Values (CSV) files are commonly used to exchange data from one system or application to another. The …
How to use Excel to update SQL Server data
Johannes - Oct 17, 2014

End users love working in Excel; they know the tool and they are free to do what they want. That’s the heart of the much-loved Excel application, but also the start of problems for the people taking care of the data. The freedom to add cells and enter “whatever-you-like” values causes huge problems when trying …
Introducing the new Table Wizard
Johannes - Sep 08, 2014

We are proud to announce the release of SQL Spreads 2014 with the completely new Table Wizard. The Table Wizard makes it extremely simple to create an Excel document which can be used to Update, Insert or Delete data in a SQL Server table. The Wizard contains five screen: When clicking Finish, SQL Spreads will load the …