Excel Connector allows you to develop Excel spreadsheets that contain values and formulas that are dynamically updated from OPC data, without any programming.

Making a first real-time Excel spreadsheet

In this Getting Started procedure, we will create am Excel spreadsheet that subscribes to OPC Data Access (OPC DA) item or OPC Unified Architecture (OPC UA) node, and continuously displays it changes. With Excel Connector., this can be achieved without any coding, and also without installing any Excel add-ins, only with help of so-called RTD server component that comes with Excel Connector.

1. Install OPC Studio (see Distribution Formats). Make sure that you have selected a installation choices that include Excel Connector.

2. Start Microsoft Excel and create a new blank workbook.

3. From Windows Start menu, navigate to OPC Studio 2024.2 Launcher, and run it.

4. In the Launcher application (when the root node is selected in the tree on the left side, which is the default state), select the Connectivity Explorer icon in the list on the right side, and press the green Go! button. Alternatively, simply double-click on the Connectivity Explorer icon.

5. In the Connectivity Explorer application, locate the Point Editor sub-window, and select a "point" to subscribe to, using one of the procedures described below.

   1. For OPC Data Access (OPC DA), on the Browse tab, navigate in the tree (on the left) to Connectivities -> OPC Data Access and XML-DA -> Local Computer -> OPC Labs Kit Server -> Demo -> Ramp.
   2. For OPC Unified Architecture (OPC UA), on the Browse tab, navigate in the tree (on the left) to Connectivities -> OPC Unified Architecture -> opcua.demo-this.com -> opc.tcp:// opcua.demo-this.com:51210/UA/Sample Server (UA Sample Server) -> Data -> Dynamic -> Scalar -> DoubleValue.

6. Press the dark green Add Row button on the main toolbar (near the upper right corner of the Connectivity Explorer application). Alternatively, use the Live -> Add Row command form the main menu.

   In the Live Point Data sub-window (at the bottom), a new row will be displayed in the grid. The row contains information about the point selected, and dynamically changing value and timestamp(s), and other related information (e.g. diagnostics).

7. In the Live Point Data sub-window, click on the changing number under the Value column header. This should leave only this single cell selected (highlighted).

8. Using the mouse, drag the selected grid cell to the worksheet area of your Excel workbook, and drop it onto a cell of you choice. This will fill the cell with a special formula. The OPC value shows in the cell, and it updates itself dynamically.

   As an alternative to drag-and-drop, you can copy the grid cell from the Live Point Data sub-window using the Edit -> Copy command form the Connectivity Explorer menu, using the Copy button on the main toolbar, or with the Ctrl+C keyboard shortcut. Then, paste the dynamic data to the Excel worksheet.

Where do I go from here?

You now have a basic idea of how to use the Excel Connector. There are many additional resources that you can use to gain additional knowledge about the product. Here are some of them:

• Play with the Demo application (accessible from the Start menu) and explore the various functionalities that the product provides.
• Read the User's Guide.
• Study the Reference documentation.
• Review the additional examples and tools included with the product.