I recently got asked the question: Does PowerPivot have any data access APIs? Is there any way to to programmatically access the data store? I figured that a lot of people will eventually ask this question (heck, that’s what I had asked when I had first heard about PowerPivot). The answer as of 2010 is: Right now, there is no supported way to access the data store within Excel as all PowerPivot for Excel APIs are private. Saying this, the data store backup is stored within Excel itself as per the posting For Excel PowerPivot, the database is IN…
Tag: FAQ
PowerPivot, you are so insensitive! (case that is)
Working with my compatriots Ayad Shammout (@aashammout) and Peter Myers, we had found out that PowerPivot at times can be really insensitive…in terms of case that is. That is by default, the collation for PowerPivot is case-insensitive. For example, if you import the table below: Within the PowerPivot window, you’ll notice that the lower case “a” has now become an upper case “A”. If “a” had come before “A”, then both rows would be “a” instead of “A” 😉 Why are you so in-sensitive? Actually, it isn’t THAT in-sensitive. When importing, the PowerPivot client picks up the regional settings and…
Delegation, Claims, Active Directory….Again?! Frak!
As you may have noted in my original posting Delegation, Claims, Active Directory…Oh My!…Aw Crap!, it quickly described how to solve issues surrounding the delegation of the claims token within an Active Directory environment. In it I referenced Lee Graber’s excellent posting: The data connection uses Windows Authentication and user credentials could not be delegated. Today Lee had followed up with his new posting Testing the Claims To Windows Token Service for different identities which is an important read because: It includes the full script of the how to test the whether different identities can work properly within the c2wts…
Delegation, Claims, Active Directory…Oh My!…Aw Crap!
Heads up, this posting’s title was “User credentials could not be delegated and Active Directory” but I realized I needed a title that evoked my emotional state 😉 Do not fret or worry, this is not “yet another user credentials delegation” blog. After all, there are already the postings including Troubleshooting #PowerPivot Excel Services connectivity (written by yours truly) and Excel Services delegation (by PowerPivotTwins partner Dave Wickert). More importantly, if you want to debug and troubleshoot your way through the PowerPivot / Excel Services delegation issues, the coup-de-grace is Lee Graber’s excellent post: that The data connection uses…
Ramblings about missing time … and #PowerPivot sneak peek!
Wow, I just checked and its been more than a month since I did my last blog post! So for starters, apologies for the lack of cool PowerPivot stuff on this blog. But it’s not like I haven’t been tweeting about PowerPivot…thank goodness I can easily retweet or type 140 characters! (follow me @dennylee) But I do have a good excuse! Really! Oh, and for those of you patient enough to read to the end, I do have an interesting sneak peek for you 🙂 RTM… aaaaaaahhhhhh!! RTM is driving me nuts…but then again, Dave Wickert (PowerPivotGeek) has been handling…
PowerPivot for SharePoint Quick tip: Don’t forget to install Desktop Experience
For those of you who are using Windows 7 client, you should be good-to-go already because you already have Desktop Experience installed. But if you are using a Windows Server OS (e.g. Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2), you will need to install it as part of an additional feature via the Server Manager. Why you ask? Typically when you upload files to SharePoint (including the PowerPivot Gallery), you will do save-as from Excel and/or use the SharePoint UI to upload the file to the URL http://$servername$/PowerPivot%20Gallery/. But if you want to automate the upload of files, you’ll have…
How do I get the menu options for individual reports within the #PowerPivot Gallery?
When you start playing with the PowerPivot Gallery, some of you will be enamored by the various views of the Silverlight control included as part of the PowerPivot Gallery – I know I was! But if I want to modify or view the properties of the individual report – how do I do this? Well, it’s all about the different views within the PowerPivot Gallery. To change the views go to the Ribbon > Library and under the “Current View” you can change the view of your PowerPivot Gallery (the above is the Carousel view). Choose the Public > All…
The Great #PowerPivot FAQ is now accepting applications
Just in case you didn’t already know from the tweets, I figured I’d also give a shout out (again) to the “Great PowerPivot FAQ” and note the fact that it is now accepting applications for moderators. To become a moderator – is it a trial by fire? Does one need to know how to unlock the secrets of chair that nearly killed General O’Neill (Stargate Universe reference)? Or does someone need to quote Admiral Adama? (BSG reference) While those are great – the answer is less complicated and more PowerPivot! So to find out… check out the blog posting at…
Denny Lee 