[PARTNER BLOG] Access Databricks Data Natively in Excel Using the New Excel Add-in

[VasaviKS]

Introduction

If you have spent any time working with enterprise data, you know the struggle: your Lakehouse holds the ground truth, but business stakeholders live in Excel. Until now, bridging that gap meant manual exports, scheduled jobs, or CSV files that drift out of sync the moment they land on someone's desktop. The Azure Databricks Excel Add-in solves this. Now in Public Preview, it connects your Databricks workspace directly to Excel, letting you browse Unity Catalog tables, run SQL queries, and pull live Lakehouse data into a spreadsheet without ever leaving Excel. No SQL knowledge is required for basic table imports, and full custom query support is available for power users. This guide covers everything you need: prerequisites, two installation paths, and how to start querying your data.

Prerequisites

Databricks Requirements

• An Azure Databricks workspace with Unity Catalog enabled
• Access to a running SQL Warehouse — classic or serverless
• Read permissions on Unity Catalog tables in your workspace
• You are using one of the following versions of Excel:
  • Excel 2019 or later on Mac
  • Excel on Windows (Microsoft 365)
  • Excel on the web
  • Excel on Mac (Microsoft 365)

• If you use a firewall or a cloud security platform, allowlist the Azure Databricks workspace URLs included in the add-in file.

Authentication

The add-in uses Single Sign-On (SSO) exclusively. Personal Access Tokens (PAT) and Service Principals are not supported in this release. You will sign in with your Azure Databricks credentials when you first open the add-in pane.

Excel Platform Support

• Excel for the Web — fully supported
• Excel Desktop on Windows — fully supported
• Excel Desktop on macOS — fully supported

Step 1: Set up the add-in file

The add-in requires a small XML manifest file. This file acts as the connector that tells Excel where Databricks lives and how to load the add-in securely every time Excel opens.
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).

1. You must download and set up the add-in file to use the Azure Databricks Excel Add-in.
   Download the  add- in file by clicking the following link: Azure 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. Once downloaded, open the file in any text editor and add your workspace URL inside the AppDomains section:

<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 -->
   // highlight-next-line
   <AppDomain>https://adb-<workspace1-id>.<random-number>.azuredatabricks.net</AppDomain>
   // highlight-next-line
   <AppDomain>https://adb-<workspace2-id>.<random-number>.azuredatabricks.net</AppDomain>
</AppDomains>
​

Tip: To connect to multiple workspaces, add each workspace URL as a separate AppDomain entry in the same file.Save the file and confirm it still carries the .xml extension before proceeding.

Option 1: Excel for the Web (Easiest)

Excel Web is the fastest path to get started. No folder configuration or system settings are required. These steps also work even if Add-ins have been disabled by your organization’s IT policy.

1. Open a workbook in Excel for the Web.
2. Under the Home tab, click Add-ins (all the way on the right), then click Advanced…
   
3. Click on “upload My Add-in”

1. Upload the Add-On file (.xml) that was shared with you
2. Open ‘Add-on’ -> If you see an error make sure to enable pop-ups
3. Find and click the Azure Databricks Add-in from the Add-ins menu.
4. Sign in to your Azure Databricks account. If there is an error, make sure to enable pop-up dialogs.
5. If you configured multiple workspace URLs, select the desired Azure Databricks account name. You only need to select a specific workspace if the URLs are within the same account.

Option 2: Excel Desktop on Windows

On Windows Desktop, the add-in is installed by registering a shared folder as a trusted add-in catalog in Excel's Trust Center. This method works even when the Office Store is blocked by your organisation.

Step 1: Open Windows File Explorer

Press Win + E to open Windows File Explorer. You will see your Home view with Quick Access folders listed.

Step 2:  Navigate to This PC

In the left sidebar, click This PC. You will see your local drives and any network locations.

Step 3: Open Local Disk (C:)

Double-click Local Disk (C:) to navigate into your C drive root.

Step 4: Create the Manifest folder and add the XML file

Inside the C: drive, create a new folder named Manifest. Then copy or move your .xml manifest file (prepared in Step 1) into this folder.

Step 5: Open Folder Properties and enable Sharing

Right-click the Manifest folder and select Properties. The Properties dialog will open showing file details.

Step 6 : Share the folder and copy the network path

Click the Sharing tab, then click Share. In the sharing dialog, add yourself as a user and grant Read/Write permissions. Click Share to confirm.After sharing completes, a confirmation screen will show the network path for the folder (e.g. \\YourComputerName\Manifest). Copy this path — you will need it in the next step.

Step 7: Open Excel Trust Center Settings

Open Excel Desktop. Go to File → Options → Trust Center → Trust Center Settings.

Step 8:  Select Trusted Add-in Catalogs

In the Trust Center sidebar, click Trusted Add-in Catalogs.

Step 9:  Enter the network path and add the catalog

In the Catalog Url field, paste the network path you copied in Step 6 (e.g. \\YourComputerName\Manifest). Then click Add catalog.

step 10: Check "Show in Menu" and click OK

Once the catalog appears in the Trusted Catalogs Table, check the Show in Menu checkbox for your catalog entry. Click OK to save all Trust Center settings.

Step 11: Close and reopen Excel

Close Excel completely and reopen it. The Trust Center changes do not take effect until Excel is restarted.

Step 12: Load the Databricks connector from Shared Folder

After restarting Excel, click Add-ins → More Add-ins → Shared Folder. You will see the Databricks connector listed under your shared folder.

Select the Databricks connector and click Add. The add-in pane will open on the right side of your workbook.

Step 13: Sign in to your Databricks account

With the add-in pane open, click sign in. Authenticate using your Azure Databricks SSO credentials. Once signed in, you will be connected to your workspace and ready to query data.

Note: If a dialog appears saying "The security settings in your browser prevent us from creating a dialog box", click OK and try a different browser, or configure the browser so that the Databricks staging domain and your Excel domain are in the same security zone.

Option 3: Admin managed

As a global admin, you can download and configure the Azure 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 Azure 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 Azure Databricks Excel Add-in, see the Microsoft documentation.

What You Can Do with the Add-in

Once connected, the add-in gives you several ways to pull Lakehouse data into your spreadsheet.

Import a Table Directly

1. Open the add-in pane and specify a Unity Catalog table (catalog.schema.table).
2. Optionally select specific columns and set a row limit.
3. Click Import Table. Data lands in your active sheet immediately.

Pivot Data

1. Specify a table or UC Metric View in the add-in.
2. Select Pivot Data.
3. Configure rows, columns, values, and filters.
4. Click Import.

Write a Custom SQL Query

1. Click Write SQL Query in the add-in pane.
2. Browse the catalog to find your table paths, then write your SQL.
3. Run and preview, then click Import Data into the sheet.

Custom Excel Functions

The add-in registers two Excel functions you can type directly into cells:

Table import:

=DATABRICKS.Table("catalog.schema.table", [columns], [limit])

SQL query with optional parameters:

=DATABRICKS.SQL("SELECT * FROM table WHERE id=:id", {"id", 123})

Parameters can also be supplied as a cell range (e.g. A1:B2), where column A holds parameter names and column B holds values.

Known Limitations

• Workspace switching (selecting between multiple workspaces at runtime) is not yet available in self-service mode — it is planned as a future feature.
• Scheduled refresh is not yet available.
• Genie (AI-powered query assistance) integration is not yet available.

Summary

The Databricks Excel Add-in is a clean, low-friction way to bring governed Lakehouse data into the tool your business stakeholders use every day. Installation is lightweight, authentication is handled entirely via SSO, and the feature set covers everything from simple table imports to parameterized SQL queries and custom cell functions.For teams already running Unity Catalog, this is a direct path to surfacing trusted data in Excel — without manual exports, file copies, or pipelines that drift out of sync.