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Automatically Refresh All Data Connections in Excel Using Office Scripts

 

Automate Excel Data Refresh with Office Scripts

If you work with Excel files that contain Power Query, external databases, or connected data sources, manually refreshing the data every time can be repetitive. Office Scripts provide a simple way to automate this process.

In this article, we'll explain the following Office Script:

function main(workbook: ExcelScript.Workbook) {

  // Refresh all data connections
  workbook.refreshAllDataConnections();

}

What is Office Scripts?

Office Scripts is a feature in Excel for Microsoft 365 that allows you to automate repetitive tasks using TypeScript, a language based on JavaScript.

Office Scripts can:

  • Refresh data connections

  • Format worksheets

  • Create tables

  • Generate reports

  • Automate daily Excel tasks

  • Work with Power Automate

Understanding the Script

Let's break the code into smaller parts.

Function Declaration

function main(workbook: ExcelScript.Workbook) {

Every Office Script starts with a main() function.

What does it do?

  • main() is the entry point of the script.

  • workbook represents the currently opened Excel workbook.

  • ExcelScript.Workbook provides access to worksheets, tables, charts, pivot tables, and data connections.

Think of workbook as your entire Excel file.

Refresh All Data Connections

workbook.refreshAllDataConnections();

This is the main line of the script.

It tells Excel to refresh every data connection in the workbook.

This includes:

  • Power Query

  • SQL Server connections

  • Oracle database connections

  • OData feeds

  • CSV connections

  • SharePoint lists

  • Other external data sources

Instead of refreshing each connection manually, this single command updates them all.

How It Works

When the script runs:

  1. Opens the current workbook.

  2. Finds all configured data connections.

  3. Refreshes each connection.

  4. Updates tables, queries, PivotTables, and reports linked to those sources.

Complete Script

function main(workbook: ExcelScript.Workbook){

    // Refresh all data connections

    workbook.refreshAllDataConnections();

}

This is one of the shortest yet most useful Office Scripts for report automation.

Example Scenario

Imagine your Excel report is connected to:

  • Sales Database

  • Employee Database

  • Power Query

  • Inventory CSV

Every morning, instead of clicking:

Data → Refresh All

you simply run this Office Script, and every connected source is updated automatically.

Benefits

Using refreshAllDataConnections() offers several advantages:

  • Saves time

  • Eliminates manual refresh steps

  • Ensures reports always use the latest data

  • Perfect for scheduled automation

  • Integrates with Power Automate for unattended workflows

Common Use Cases

This script is useful for:

  • Daily sales reports

  • Financial dashboards

  • Inventory tracking

  • HR reporting

  • Business intelligence dashboards

  • Power Query automation

  • Scheduled Excel workflows

Things to Remember

  • The workbook must already contain one or more data connections.

  • If there are no data connections, the script completes without making changes.

  • Some external sources may require authentication or appropriate permissions.

  • Refresh duration depends on the size and speed of the connected data source.

Conclusion

The workbook.refreshAllDataConnections() method is a simple but powerful way to automate Excel data refreshes. With just one line of code, you can update every external data connection in your workbook, making it ideal for dashboards, reports, and automated workflows.

If you're building Excel automation with Office Scripts, this method is an essential tool for keeping your data current with minimal effort.

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