How to refresh excel

If you are viewing a workbook in a browser window, and you want to refresh the data, you can typically do this in one of two modes: view mode or edit mode.

View mode

When you refresh a workbook in view mode, you simply update the data displayed in the workbook. You can do this in a browser window or in Excel, in read-only (not edit) mode.

In this case, the workbook is not tracked as a changed file. This means that in the location where the workbook is stored, your user credentials are not displayed as someone who recently edited the workbook.

Edit mode

When you refresh a workbook in edit mode, you open the workbook for editing (either in a browser window or in Excel). The workbook is tracked as a changed file. This means that your user credentials are displayed as someone who recently edited the workbook.

If you’re editing a workbook and you refresh the data, your changes are automatically saved after the data refresh has occurred. Anyone who has permissions to view the workbook will see your changes as soon as the workbook is saved.

You must use Excel to define external data connections for a workbook. You cannot define such settings while viewing a workbook in a browser window. The settings that you specify by using Excel are preserved when you publish a workbook to a SharePoint library.

To specify data refresh options, choose the Properties button for a particular data connection in Excel. The following table provides a brief description of various data refresh options that you can select.

• Refresh every __ minutes — This option causes the workbook to attempt to refresh data at intervals of time that you specify (in minutes.)

• Refresh data when opening the file — This option causes the workbook to attempt to refresh data automatically when the workbook is opened.

• Refresh this connection on Refresh All — When selected, this option refreshes the data when you or other users click the Refresh All button.

  When unselected, this option prevents this connection from refreshing data when you or others click the Refresh All button. This is useful when you want to avoid data refresh errors, such as timeout errors for a particular connection in Excel Services.

Depending on how your environment is configured, data refresh might not occur. For example, if someone created a workbook that uses secure, external data connections to on-premises servers, those data connections will probably not work in Microsoft 365. If you run into a situation where you can’t refresh the data in a browser window, try opening the workbook in Excel.

You can also contact a SharePoint administrator.

You can refresh an external data range automatically when you open the workbook. Optionally, you can save the workbook without saving the external data to shrink the size of the file.

1. Click a cell in the external data range.

2. On the Data tab, in the Connections group, click Refresh All, and then click Connection Properties.

   

1. Click the Usage tab.

2. Under Refresh control, select the Refresh data when opening the file check box.

3. If you want to save the workbook with the query definition but without the external data, select the Remove data from the external data range before saving the workbook check box.

1. Click a cell in the external data range.

2. On the Data tab, in the Connections group, click Refresh All, and then click Connection Properties.

   

3. Click the Usage tab.

4. Select the Refresh every check box, and then enter the number of minutes between each refresh operation.

Stored passwords aren’t encrypted, so they’re not recommended. If your data source needs a password to connect to it, you can require that users enter the password before they can refresh the external data range. The following procedure doesn’t apply to data retrieved from a text file (.txt) or a Web query (.iqy).

Use strong passwords that combine uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. Weak passwords don’t mix these elements. For example, Strong password: Y6dh!et5. Weak password: House27. Passwords should be 8 or more characters in length. A pass phrase that uses 14 or more characters is better.

It’s critical that you remember your password. If you forget your password, Microsoft cannot retrieve it. Store the passwords that you write down in a secure place away from the information that they help protect.

1. Click a cell in the external data range.

2. On the Data tab, in the Connections group, click Refresh All, and then click Connection Properties.

   

3. Click the Definition tab, and then clear the Save password check box.

Note: Excel prompts you for the password only the first time that the external data range is refreshed in each Excel session. The next time you start Excel, you’ll be prompted for the password again if you open the workbook that contains the query and then attempt a refresh operation.

For very large data sets, consider running a background refresh. This returns control of Excel to you instead of making you wait several minutes or more for the refresh to finish.

1. Click a cell in the external data range.

2. On the Data tab, in the Connections group, click Refresh All, and then click Connection Properties.

   

   Note: You can’t run an OLAP query in the background.

   Note: You can’t run a query for any connection type that retrieves data for the Data Model.

3. Click the Usage tab.

4. Select the Enable background refresh check box to run the query in the background. Clear this check box to run the query while you wait.

   While you record a macro that includes a query, Excel doesn’t run the query in the background. To change the recorded macro so that the query runs in the background, edit the macro in the Visual Basic Editor. Change the refresh method for the QueryTable object from BackgroundQuery := False to BackgroundQuery := True.

If your workbook is connected to a large data source, refreshing it might take a little longer than you expect. To check on the refresh, or to cancel it, do one of the following:

• Check the status of a query    A message appears on the Excel status bar to indicate that the query is running. Double-click the message to check the status of the query.

• Stop a background refresh    To stop a query that’s running in the background, double-click the query status message on the status bar to display the External Data Refresh Status dialog box, and then click Stop Refresh.

• Stop a query    To stop a query from running when background refresh is turned off, press the Esc key.

If you used Get & Transform to query a text file, no further steps are needed. If you imported the text file, the steps to refresh are as follows:

1. Click any cell in the range or table that contains the link to the imported text file.

2. On the Data tab, in the Connections group, click Refresh All.

   

   To update only the selected data, click Refresh.

   You can also right-click a cell in the range or table, and then click Refresh.

3. In the Import Text File dialog box, browse to your text file, and then click Import.

Refreshing an offline cube file, which recreates the file by using the most recent data from the server cube, can be time consuming and require a lot of temporary disk space. Start the process at a time when you don’t need immediate access to other files in Excel, and make sure you have adequate disk space to save the file again.

1. Click the PivotTable connected to the offline cube file.

2. On the Data tab, in the Connections group, click Refresh All, and then click Refresh.

   

1. On the worksheet, click a mapped cell to select the XML map that you want to refresh.

2. If the Developer tab isn’t available, do the following to display it:

   1. Click File, click Options, and then click Customize Ribbon.

   2. Under Main Tabs, select the Developer check box, and then click OK.

3. On the Developer tab, in the XML group, click Refresh Data.

   

• On the Data tab, in the Connections group, click Refresh All.

If you have multiple connections, and you only want to update a certain one, select any cell within that data range, click the arrow next to Refresh All, and click Refresh.

When you use the Power Pivot add-in to refresh previously imported data, you can see whether refresh succeeds, fails, or is cancelled.

In Power Pivot, click Home > Get External Data > Refresh or Refresh All to re-import the current table or all of the tables in the data model.

Status of the refresh is indicated for each connection used in the data model. There are three possible outcomes.

“Success” reports on the number of rows imported into each table.

“Error” can occur if the database is offline, you no longer have permissions, or a table or column is deleted or renamed in the source. Verify the database is available, perhaps by creating a new connection in a different workbook.

“Cancelled” means that Excel did not issue the refresh request, probably because refresh is disabled on the connection.

Tip: Are you sharing this workbook with other people who might want to refresh data? Help your colleagues avoid data refresh errors by reminding them to request permissions on the data sources providing the data.

With the Power Query Editor, you can refresh a query to import the latest data into a table without having to recreate the query.

To refresh a query:

1. Click Get & Transform > Show Queries.

2. In the Workbook Queries pane, select the query you want to refresh.

3. In the Power Query Editor ribbon, click Home > Query > Refresh preview.

When the data you use for your map changes, you can refresh it manually in 3D Maps. The changes will then be reflected on your map. Here’s how:

• In 3D Maps, click Home > Refresh Data.

Add data to Power Map

To add new data to your 3D MapsPower Map:

1. In 3D Maps, go to the map you want to add data to.

2. Leaving the 3D Maps window open, click in Excel and select the worksheet data you want to add.

3. On the Excel ribbon, click Insert > Map arrow > Add Selected Data to Power Map.

Your 3D Maps will automatically update to show the additional data.

Data in a Microsoft Office Excel workbook that has been displayed in Excel Services can come from two different locations. The data may be stored directly in the workbook, or it may be stored in an external data source, such as in a database or in an Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) cube.

If the data comes from an external data source, the workbook author or administrator has defined the connection information, often in an Office data connection (.odc) file, which describes how to locate, log in, query, and access the external data source.

When you are connected to an external data source, you can perform a refresh operation to retrieve the updated data. Each time that you refresh data, you see the most recent version of the data, including any changes that were made to the data since it was last refreshed.

1. Click any cell in the range or table that contains the link to the external data.

2. On the Data tab, in the Connections group, click Refresh All.

   

   To update only the selected data, click Refresh.

   You can also right-click a cell in the range or table, and then click Refresh.

   Note: If you have more than one workbook open, you’ll need to repeat the operation in each workbook.

1. Click any cell in the range or table that contains the link to the imported text file.

2. On the Data tab, in the Connections group, click Refresh All.

   

   To update only the selected data, click Refresh.

   You can also right-click a cell in the range or table, and then click Refresh.

3. In the Import Text File dialog box, browse to your text file, and then click Import.

Refreshing an offline cube file, which recreates the file by using the most recent data from the server cube, can be time consuming and require a lot of temporary disk space. Start the process at a time when you don’t need immediate access to other files in Excel, and make sure you have adequate disk space to save the file again.

1. Click the PivotTable connected to the offline cube file.

2. On the Data tab, in the Connections group, click Refresh All, and then click Refresh.

   

1. On the worksheet, click a mapped cell to select the XML map that you want to refresh.

2. If the Developer tab isn’t available, do the following to display it:

   1. Click File, click Options, and then click Customize Ribbon.

   2. Under Main Tabs, select the Developer check box, and then click OK.

3. On the Developer tab, in the XML group, click Refresh Data.

   

• On the Data tab, click Refresh All.

If you have multiple connections, and you only want to update a certain one, select any cell within that data range, click the arrow next to Refresh All, and click Refresh.

Control how or when the connection is refreshed

1. Click any cell that contains your connected data.

2. On the Data tab, click the arrow next to Refresh All, and click Connection Properties.

   

3. On the Usage tab, set any options you want to change.

   For very large data sets, consider checking the Enable background refresh option. This returns control of Excel to you, instead of making you wait for the refresh to finish.

Cancel or check the status of a refresh

If your workbook is connected to a large data source, refreshing it might take a little longer than you expect. To check on the refresh, or to cancel it, do one of the following:

• Check the status of a query    A message appears on the Excel status bar to indicate that the query is running. Double-click the message to check the status of the query.

• Stop a background refresh    To stop a query that’s running in the background, double-click the query status message on the status bar to display the External Data Refresh Status dialog box, and then click Stop Refresh.

• Stop a query    To stop a query from running when background refresh is turned off, press the Esc key.

When you use the Power Pivot add-in to refresh previously imported data, you can see whether refresh succeeds, fails, or is cancelled.

• In Power Pivot, click Home > Get External Data > Refresh or Refresh All to re-import the current table or all of the tables in the data model.

  Status of the refresh is indicated for each connection used in the data model. There are three possible outcomes.

  

“Success” reports on the number of rows imported into each table.

“Error” can occur if the database is offline, you no longer have permissions, or a table or column is deleted or renamed in the source. Verify the database is available, perhaps by creating a new connection in a different workbook.

“Cancelled” means that Excel did not issue the refresh request, probably because refresh is disabled on the connection.

Tip: Are you sharing this workbook with other people who might want to refresh data? Help your colleagues avoid data refresh errors by reminding them to request permissions on the data sources providing the data.

Table properties show queries used in data refresh

Data refresh is simply rerunning the same query that was used to get the data in the first place. You can view, and sometimes modify, the query by viewing table properties in the Power Pivot window.

1. To view the query used during data refresh, click Power Pivot > Manage to open the Power Pivot window.

2. Click Design > Table Properties.

3. Switch to Query Editor to view the underlying query.

Queries are not visible for every type of data source. For example, queries are not shown for data feed imports.

Connection properties that cancel data refresh

In Excel, you can set connection properties that determine the frequency of data refresh. If refresh is not allowed on a particular connection, you’ll get a cancellation notice when you run Refresh All or attempt to refresh a specific table that uses the connection.

1. To view connection properties, in Excel, click Data > Connections to view a list of all connections used in the workbook.

2. Select a connection and click Properties.

3. In Usage, under Refresh control, if the checkbox is cleared for Refresh this connection on Refresh All, you will get a cancellation when you try Refresh All in the Power Pivot window.

Refresh data on SharePoint Server 2013

On SharePoint Server 2013, you can schedule unattended data refresh on the server, but doing so requires that Power Pivot for SharePoint 2013 is installed and configured in your SharePoint environment. Check with your SharePoint administrator to find out if scheduled data refresh is available.

With Power Query, you can refresh a query to import the latest data into a table without having to recreate the query.

To refresh a query:

1. In the Query Editor ribbon, click Refresh preview.

Note: The Query Editor only appears when you load, edit, or create a new query using Power Query. The following video shows the Query Editor window appearing after editing a query from an Excel workbook. To view the Query Editor without loading or editing an existing workbook query, from the Get External Data section in the Power Query ribbon tab, select From Other Sources > Blank Query. The following video shows one way to display the Query Editor.

If your Excel workbook has a connection to a table or query in an Access database, you can make sure it shows the most up to date information. Use the Refresh command (on the Data tab) to do this.

1. On your worksheet, click any cell that contains your Access data.

2. On the Data tab, in the Connections group, click the arrow next to Refresh All, and then click Refresh.

To control how or how often the connection is refreshed:

1. Click any cell that contains your Access data.

2. In the Connections group, click the arrow next to Refresh All, and click Connection Properties.

For very large data sets, consider running a background refresh. This returns control of Excel to you instead of making you wait several minutes or more for the refresh to finish.

1. On the Usage tab, set any options you want to change.

Check the status of or cancel a refresh

If your workbook is connected to a large data source, refreshing it might take a little longer than you expect. To check on the refresh, or to cancel it, do one or more of the following:

• Check the status of a query    A message appears on the Excel status bar to indicate that the query is running. Double-click the message to check the status of the query.

• Stop a background refresh    To stop a query that’s running in the background, double-click the query status message on the status bar to display the External Data Refresh Status dialog box, and then click Stop Refresh.

• Stop a query    To stop a query from running when background refresh is turned off, press the Esc key.

If your Excel workbook has a connection to a table or query in a SQL Server database, you can make sure it shows the most up to date information. Use the Refresh command (on the Data tab) to do this.

1. On your worksheet, click any cell that contains your SQL Server data.

2. On the Data tab, in the Connections group, click the arrow next to Refresh All, and then click Refresh.

To control how or how often the connection is refreshed:

1. Click any cell that contains your SQL Server data.

2. In the Connections group, click the arrow next to Refresh All, and click Connection Properties.

For very large data sets, consider running a background refresh. This returns control of Excel to you instead of making you wait several minutes or more for the refresh to finish.

1. On the Usage tab, set any options you want to change, such as enabling a background refresh.

Cancel or check the status of a refresh

If your workbook is connected to a large data source, refreshing it might take a little longer than you expect. To check on the refresh, or to cancel it, do one of the following:

• Check the status of a query    A message appears on the Excel status bar to indicate that the query is running. Double-click the message to check the status of the query.

• Stop a background refresh    To stop a query that’s running in the background, double-click the query status message on the status bar to display the External Data Refresh Status dialog box, and then click Stop Refresh.

• Stop a query    To stop a query from running when background refresh is turned off, press the Esc key.

If your Excel workbook has a connection to a table or query in an OLE DB data source, you can make sure it shows the most up to date information. Use the Refresh command (on the Data tab) to do this.

1. On your worksheet, click any cell that contains your OLE DB data.

2. On the Data tab, in the Connections group, click the arrow next to Refresh All, and then click Refresh.

To control how or how often the connection is refreshed:

1. Click any cell that contains your OLE DB data.

2. In the Connections group, click the arrow next to Refresh All, and click Connection Properties.

For very large data sets, consider running a background refresh. This returns control of Excel to you instead of making you wait several minutes or more for the refresh to finish.

1. On the Usage tab, set any options you want to change.

Check or cancel a refresh

If your workbook is connected to a large data source, refreshing it might take a little longer than you expect. To check on or cancel a refresh, do one of the following:

• Check the status of a query    A message appears on the Excel status bar to indicate that the query is running. Double-click the message to check the status of the query.

• Stop a background refresh    To stop a query that’s running in the background, double-click the query status message on the status bar to display the External Data Refresh Status dialog box, and then click Stop Refresh.

• Stop a query    To stop a query from running when background refresh is turned off, press the Esc key.

When the data you use for your map changes, you can refresh it manually in 3D Maps. The changes will then be reflected on your map. Here’s how:

• In 3D Maps, click Home > Refresh Data.

Add data to Power Map

To add new data to your 3D MapsPower Map:

1. In 3D Maps, go to the map you want to add data to.

2. Leaving the 3D Maps window open, click in Excel and select the worksheet data you want to add.

3. On the Excel ribbon, click Insert > Map arrow > Add Selected Data to Power Map.

Your 3D Maps will automatically update to show the additional data.

Manually refresh

1. Click anywhere in the PivotTable.

   This displays the PivotTable Tools, adding an Options and a Design tab.

2. On the Options tab, in the Data group, do one of the following:

3. To update the information to match the data source, click the Refresh button, or press ALT+F5.

   You can also right-click the PivotTable, and then click Refresh.

4. To refresh all PivotTables in the workbook, click the Refresh button arrow, and then click Refresh All.

   

   If refreshing takes longer than you expect, click Options > Refresh > Refresh Status to check the refresh status.

   To stop refreshing, click Cancel Refresh.

Prevent column widths and cell formatting from adjusting

If the column widths and cell formatting of your data adjust when you refresh the PivotTable data, and you don’t want that to happen, make sure the following options are checked:

1. Click Options > Options.

   

2. On the Layout & Format tab, check the Autofit column widths on update and Preserve cell formatting on update boxes.

Refresh PivotTable data automatically when opening the workbook

1. Click anywhere in the PivotTable.

2. On the Options tab, in the PivotTable group, click Options.

   

3. In the PivotTable Options dialog box, on the Data tab, select the Refresh data when opening the file check box.