Set up the Databricks Excel Add-in

Preview

This feature is in Public Preview.

The Databricks Excel Add-in connects your Databricks workspace to Microsoft Excel, bringing governed Lakehouse data directly into your spreadsheets to help you move from data to decisions faster. The add-in is fully supported across Excel for the web and desktop versions for both Windows and macOS.

This page describes the two methods available to set up the Databricks Excel Add-in in Microsoft Excel. This add-in uses single sign-on (SSO) authentication to connect to your Databricks workspace and supports Unity Catalog for data governance and access control.

Prerequisites

Before you install the Excel Add-in, verify that you have the following:

• Access to a Databricks workspace with Unity Catalog enabled.
• Access to a running SQL warehouse.
• Permissions to read data from Unity Catalog tables in your workspace.
• If you use a firewall or a cloud security platform, allowlist the Databricks workspace URLs included in the add-in file.

Set up the add-in file

The add-in file is a small connector file that tells Excel exactly how to securely connect to Databricks. It acts as the digital handshake that ensures the add-in loads correctly and stays up to date every time you open Excel.

You must download and set up the add-in file to use the Databricks Excel Add-in.

1. Open the add-in file by clicking the following link:

   Databricks Excel add-in file

2. Save the page as an .xml file to your local machine. In most browsers, right-click the page and select Save as, or press Ctrl+S (Windows) or Command+S (macOS).

3. Edit the add-in file by specifying your workspace URL as an <AppDomain> within the AppDomains section. Your workspace URL is the base URL you use to access your Databricks workspace in a browser. To switch between multiple Databricks workspaces, add each workspace URL to the add-in file.

   XML

   <AppDomains>
      <!-- DO NOT CHANGE -->
      <AppDomain>https://www.databricks.com</AppDomain>
      <AppDomain>https://login.databricks.com</AppDomain>
      <!-- ADD WORKSPACE URLS AS SHOWN BELOW; PUT EACH WORKSPACE URL IN ITS OWN <AppDomain> TAG  -->
      <!-- EXAMPLE -->
      <AppDomain>https://<instance1-id>.<region>.gcp.databricks.com</AppDomain>
      <AppDomain>https://<instance2-id>.<region>.gcp.databricks.com</AppDomain>
   </AppDomains>

   note

   Paste your workspace URL as plain text, without formatting. In most text editors, use Ctrl+Shift+V (Windows) or Command+Shift+V (macOS).

4. Save your changes. Verify that the file is properly formatted as an .xml file.

Option 1: Admin managed

As a global admin, you can download and configure the Databricks Excel Add-in and deploy it to other users in your organization. Download and set up the add-in file provided in the Prerequisites.

To install the Databricks Excel Add-in as a Microsoft 365 Admin, you must have the global admin permission. As an admin, you can determine which users in your organization can use add-ins. For more about global admins on Microsoft 365, see the Microsoft documentation.

1. In the Microsoft 365 admin center, go to Settings > Integrated apps and click the Add-ins link.
2. Click Deploy Add-in and click Next.
3. Select Upload custom apps as the option to deploy a new add-in.
4. Select the option to upload a manifest. Click Choose File and upload the add-in file.
5. Choose which users should have access to the add-in.
6. Click Deploy.

For detailed steps about uploading the Databricks Excel Add-in, see the Microsoft documentation.

Option 2: Self-service

Installation steps vary depending on your Excel platform. Download and set up the add-in file provided in the Prerequisites.

Excel for the web

To install and connect to the Excel Add-in in Excel for the web do the following:

1. Open Excel for the web and create or open a workbook.
2. Under the Home tab, click Add-ins > Advanced.
3. Click Upload My Add-in.
4. Upload the add-in file.
5. Click Upload.
6. Find and click the Databricks Add-in from the Add-ins menu.
7. Sign in to your Databricks account. If there is an error, make sure to enable pop-up dialogs.
8. If you configured multiple workspace URLs, select the desired Databricks account name. You only need to select a specific workspace if the URLs are within the same account. For more information on account names, see Locate your account ID.

Excel Desktop (Windows)

To install the Excel Add-in in Excel Desktop for Windows, do the following:

1. Create a folder named Manifest on your local drive (for example, C:\Manifest).
2. Copy the add-in file to the C:\Manifest folder.
3. Open the folder properties and share the folder:
   1. Right-click the Manifest folder and select Properties.
   2. Click Sharing > Share and add yourself as a user with read and write permissions.
4. Open Excel Desktop.
5. Configure Excel to trust the manifest folder:
   1. Click File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings.
   2. In the sidebar, click Trusted Add-in Catalogs.
   3. In Catalog Url, enter the path to the shared folder where the add-in file is located (for example, C:\\YourComputerName\Manifest).
   4. Click Add catalog.
   5. Select the Show in Menu checkbox.
   6. Click OK to save your changes.
6. Restart Excel Desktop.
7. Click Add-ins > More Add-ins > Shared Folder.
8. Select the Databricks connector and click Add.
9. Click the Databricks Add-in and complete the sign-in process to your Databricks account.
10. If you configured multiple workspace URLs, select the desired Databricks account name. You only need to select a specific workspace if the URLs are within the same account. For more information on account names, see Locate your account ID.

Excel Desktop (macOS)

To install the Excel Add-in in Excel Desktop for macOS do the following:

1. Find your Microsoft Office Add-ins folder. By default, the directory is:

   /Users/<your-username>/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Excel/Data/Documents/wef

2. Copy the add-in file to this folder.

3. Open or restart Excel Desktop.

4. In the navigation bar, click Add-ins > My Add-ins.

5. Click the Databricks Add-in.

6. Complete the sign-in process to your Databricks account.

7. If you configured multiple workspace URLs, select the desired Databricks account name. You only need to select a specific workspace if the URLs are within the same account. For more information on account names, see Locate your account ID.

Change Databricks workspace

If your add-in file specifies multiple Databricks workspaces, you can switch between those workspaces. For more information, see Set up the add-in file.

To connect to a different Databricks workspace, do the following:

1. In the upper-right of the Databricks Add-in pane, click the three-dot menu next to the compute selector.
2. Click Change workspace.
3. Select the account your workspace is in, the workspace if prompted, and sign in.

Next steps

• Import and query data using the Databricks Excel Add-in