The Microsoft SharePoint ExcelDataSource enables you to use a single Web control to connect to Excel Services and query data. By binding the control to other controls such as the GridView or ListBox, you can display, edit, and save Excel Services data in an ASP.NET page. You can use the Visual Studio Designer to initialize the control, visually build queries, and bind controls; you can also define SQL commands from page code. The examples below show both approaches and use the GridView control as an example.

To use the Microsoft SharePoint ExcelDataSource, add a reference to System.Data.CData.Microsoft SharePoint Excel.Web.dll in your ASP.NET project.

Bind Data Programmatically

The following example shows how to bind the results of a Excel Services query to an ASP.NET data grid. After registering the assembly for use with the Microsoft SharePoint ExcelDataSource, set the DataSourceID field of the GridView control to the Id of the Microsoft SharePoint ExcelDataSource control:

<%@ Register Assembly="System.Data.CData.Microsoft SharePoint Excel.Web" Namespace="System.Data.CData.Microsoft SharePoint Excel" TagPrefix="cc1" %>
...
<cc1:Microsoft SharePoint ExcelDataSource Id="Microsoft SharePoint ExcelDataSource1" runat="server" ConnectionString="Url=https://myorg.sharepoint.com;[email protected];Password=password;File=Book1.xlsx;" SelectCommand="SELECT * FROM Account WHERE Industry = 'Floppy Disks' LIMIT 10"></cc1:Microsoft SharePoint ExcelDataSource>
<asp:GridView DataSourceID="Microsoft SharePoint ExcelDataSource1" runat="server"></asp:GridView>

Bind Data Using the Designer

Complete the following steps to use the Designer in Visual Studio to bind the Microsoft SharePoint ExcelDataSource to a GridView control:

1. Drag a GridView from the Toolbox onto the page.
2. Click the Smart Tag of the GridView.
3. Choose the option to create a new data source, which launches a wizard to configure the control.
4. On the first page, select a connection string from the menu or click New Connection to define a new connection or to save a connection entry in the Web.config file.
5. On the next page, select the option to define a SQL statement or visually build the query.

When you exit the wizard, the GridView displays the columns of the result set.