Microsoft Office

Part V
Analyzing Data with Excel
Fortunately, Excel saves the query definition with the workbook. Simply move the cell pointer anywhere
within the external data table in the worksheet and then use one of the following methods to refresh the
query:
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Right-click and choose Refresh from the shortcut menu.
Choose Data ➪ Manage Connections ➪ Refresh All.
Click Refresh in the Workbook Connections dialog box (displayed by choosing Data ➪ Manage
Connections ➪ Connections).
Excel uses your original query to bring in the current data from the external database.
TIP
If you find that refreshing the query causes undesirable results, use Excel’s Undo feature to
“unrefresh” the data.
A single workbook can hold as many external data ranges as you need. Excel gives each query
a unique name, and you can work with each query independently. Excel automatically keeps
track of the query that produces each external data range.
NOTE
After performing a query, you may want to copy or move the external data range, which you
can do by using the normal copy, cut, and paste techniques. However, make sure that you
copy or cut the entire external data range — otherwise, the underlying query is not copied, and the copied
data can’t be refreshed.
CAUTION
Deleting a query
If you decide that you no longer need the data returned by a query, you can delete it by selecting the entire
external data range and pressing Delete. Excel displays a warning and asks you to verify your intentions.
Changing your query
If you bring the query results into your worksheet and discover that you don’t have what you want, you can
modify the query. Move the cell pointer anywhere within the external data table in the worksheet. Rightclick
and choose Table ➪ Edit Query from the shortcut menu. You need to edit the query using Microsoft
Query. See the next section to learn how to work with Query directly.
Using Query Without the Wizard
When you choose Data ➪ Get External Data ➪ From Other Sources ➪ From Microsoft Query, the Choose
Data Source dialog box gives you the option of whether to use Query Wizard to create your query. If you
choose not to use Query Wizard, Microsoft Query is launched in a new window. You also work directly
with Query if you choose to edit a query that was created with Query Wizard.
NOTE
Microsoft Query is a relatively old application, and its user interface hasn’t been updated to
match the other Office 2007 programs. It works fine. It just looks old-fashioned.
Creating a query manually
Before you can create a query, you must display the Criteria pane. In Query, open the View menu and place
a check next to the Criteria command. The Criteria pane appears in the middle of the window. Figure 33.13
shows Microsoft Query, after selecting the Budget Database from Excel’s Choose Data Source dialog box.
The Criteria pane also appears.
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