Connecting to SQL Server from Excel using ADO (Active X Data Objects)
First of all to use ADO you have to add a reference to its Object Library. Go to the VB Editor, click Tools,
then References. Type an M to see the entries beginning with M, scroll down till you find Microsoft ActiveX
Data Objects 2.8. Click in the adjacent checkbox, and then click the OK button. This should add the
references.
Use Tools References again to check that the library for ADO has been added and close the window.
Connecting to a SQL Server Database
The trickiest aspect of all is to establish a working connection string. This could be put into a string
variable, but for a little more convenience here it is typed into a public constant and so can be used by
any of the subs in the workbook.
For example,
Public Const gstrCONNcompany As String = _
"Provider = SQLOLEDB;" & _
"Data Source=localhost;" & _
"Initial Catalog=Company;" & _
"User ID=sa;Password=niceday;" & _
"Network Library=dbmssocn"
The parameters are as follows:
Provider = SQLOLEDB
always this for SQLServer
Data Source = servername
usually the NetBIOS name of the computer where SQL Server is installed, with the syntax
NetBIOS name\SQL Server name
For example,
Data Source=Dell500\Dell500
(for me it is set to localhost because I am running an installation of Ms SQL Server Express Edition 2005 on
the same laptop as the spreadsheet)
Initial Catalog=database name
one instance of SQL server can contain many databases; here I connect to a database called Company
User ID=username;Password=password
for SQL server authentication
Network Library=
here I am using TCP/IP protocol for which the setting is the name of the TCP/IP network library, which is
dbmssocn
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Integrated Security=SSPI
you would use this if you were using Windows integrated security rather than SQL server
authentication and the named pipes connection protocol. No need to supply the User ID and Password as it
would be ignored
It’s all rather technical and can take a while to sort out, but once it’s done it’s done. Find a local guru
for further advice.
Connect to a database with a plain text SQL query
If you get this far you can try some examples. The first is the simplest, it just uses an SQL query in a
string variable. You need to be familiar with SQL basics to understand it.
Sub
Dim
Set
Dim
Set
Dim
ConnectCompany1()
cn As ADODB.Connection
cn = New ADODB.Connection
rs As ADODB.Recordset
rs = New ADODB.Recordset
strSQL As String
cn.Open gstrCONNcompany
'uses the connection string from above
strSQL = "Select * FROM SalesOrder " & _
"WHERE CustomerID = 'ELIT01' " & _
"ORDER BY OrderDate"
rs.Open strSQL, cn, , , adCmdText
Range("A1").CurrentRegion.Clear
ActiveSheet.Range("A1").CopyFromRecordset rs
ActiveSheet.UsedRange.EntireColumn.AutoFit
rs.Close
Set rs = Nothing
Set cn = Nothing
End Sub
The ADO components in the above example are the use of Connection and Recordset objects (which are
beyond a simple explanation); however the good news is that the code is the same every time, and can
be pasted into any sub you create.
Finally there are three Excel VBA lines; the significant line is the CopyFromRecordset method of a
range, and just provide the name of the recordset variable. This dumps all the data to the worksheet
without the need for a loop.
Using Stored Procedures
Stored procedures are saved SQL statements that are stored on the database. You can connect to them
from Excel VBA and copy the data.
First, another connection string to use a database called Books
Public Const gstrCONNbooks As String = _
"Provider = SQLOLEDB;" & _
"Data Source=localhost;" & _
"Initial Catalog=Books;" & _
"User ID=sa;Password=niceday;" & _
"Network Library=dbmssocn"
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The stored procedure in the Books database is called GetTitles and is as follows:
CREATE PROC GetTitles
AS
SELECT
ISBN,
Title
FROM
Book
ORDER BY
Title
and the code:
Sub
Dim
Dim
Set
Dim
Set
ConnectBooks()
cn As ADODB.Connection
cmd As ADODB.Command
cn = New ADODB.Connection
rs As ADODB.Recordset
rs = New ADODB.Recordset
cn.Open gstrCONNbooks
Set cmd = New ADODB.Command
Set cmd.ActiveConnection = cn
cmd.CommandText = "GetTitles"
cmd.CommandType = adCmdStoredProc
Set rs = cmd.Execute
Range("A1").CurrentRegion.Clear
ActiveSheet.Range("A1").CopyFromRecordset rs
ActiveSheet.UsedRange.EntireColumn.AutoFit
rs.Close
Set
Set
Set
End
rs = Nothing
cn = Nothing
cmd = Nothing
Sub
The ADO code uses a third type of object, the Command object. The interaction between the Connection,
Recordset and Command is now more complicated, but again it follows the same pattern every time so
can be copied and reused – just ensure your variable names are consistent within any given sub.
Using Stored Procedures with parameters
Finally, we go back to the Company database for an example of how to send a parameter to a stored
procedure. The procedure is called spGetCustomerNames and uses a table called Customer. The parameter,
City, will be supplied from the VBA code.
CREATE PROC spGetCustomerNames
@City nvarchar(25)
AS
SELECT
CustomerID,
CustomerName, Address1,
City
FROM
Customer
WHERE
City = @City
ORDER BY
CustomerName
Finally the VBA code:
Sub ConnectCompanywithStoredProcedure()
Dim cn As ADODB.Connection
Set cn = New ADODB.Connection
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Dim rs As ADODB.Recordset
Set rs = New ADODB.Recordset
Dim cmd As ADODB.Command
cn.Open gstrCONNcompany
Set cmd = New ADODB.Command
Set cmd.ActiveConnection = cn
cmd.CommandText = "spGetCustomerNames"
cmd.CommandType = adCmdStoredProc
Set rs = cmd.Execute(, "London")
Range("A1").CurrentRegion.Clear
ActiveSheet.Range("A1").CopyFromRecordset rs
ActiveSheet.UsedRange.EntireColumn.AutoFit
rs.Close
Set rs = Nothing
Set cn = Nothing
Set cmd = Nothing
End Sub
The parameter ("London") is supplied in the second argument of the cmd.Execute method. Just change
the parameter to another City for a different recordset (or better still, concatenate in a reference to a
List Box which has the cities as values.)
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