Configuring Excel to Connect to Oracle
Open a new book or sheet in
Excel. Follow the Data>Import External Data>Import Data path to select a
data source. Highlight +Connect to New Data Source and click Open (or
double-click it) to bring up the Data Connection
Wizard.
Select Oracle from the list
and click Next.
Enter the information for your
Oracle database connection and click Next.

Scroll down to Scott's
tables and select a single table (EMP). Click Next.

Enter a description for the
table and click Finish.

Import the data into a range
of cells.

The sheet now reflects the
contents of Scott's EMP table.

Having a hard time
remembering how to sort in Oracle (or don't know how in the first place)? If
your user is even marginally adept at using Excel, sorting (and summing,
formatting, etc.) is no problem.
In closing
As you can see, the steps
behind setting up a PC for ODBC are very simple to perform. Likewise, the steps
to access an Oracle database via Access or Excel are also fairly
straightforward. Not all of the screenshots and steps were shown, but enough of
them were, so if you were faced with this task tomorrow, you should feel
confident that you would be able to make the connection with Oracle.
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See All Articles by Columnist Steve Callan