Dynamic link to .xlxs file?

[Andrew james]

Hi everyone, 

I would really like to table join a layer to an excel file with several worksheets. Rather than exporting .csv files. 

Then our maps will update dynamically as our data changes. Saving several steps.

Is it possible in QGIS?

Thanks

Andrew

[Denis Bourouffala]

Hello Andrew,

Yes, you can do that but you must code a plugin or a qgis overlay in python and Qt.

Best Regards

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[WillyB]

Andrew, 

not sure about your meaning of dynamic link, but the Spreadsheet Layers plugin is likely your solution. 

https://plugins.qgis.org/plugins/SpreadsheetLayers/

It has a few limitations but is worth learning how to use. 

Things to know;

  - QGIS won't open the xl workbook if it is open in Excel. But after it has been set up in QGIS, you can then open it in Excel and make updates. 

  - then go into Properties of the reference layer and make a Join in the QGIS dialog for that. You can do a web search on how to do that, something like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yi4g0kmKQXc&t=13 

  - A lot depends on the quality of the key in your excel table and the reference table in QGIS. Because the reference table in QGIS could be from so many different sources; Postgis, GPKG and the fields could be TEXT, INTEGER, FLOAT, I suggest you look at those details carefully. 

  - if you move columns in the Excel file, you will break the mapping that QGIS relies on. That mapping is in a *.vrt file and some workers have been known to manually edit that file to recreate column mappings of large projects that they were in desperate fear of losing...

  - using lower case column names will make everyone happier. Don't start a column name with a number.

  - you can save the reference and excel table out as a single table, if the join has worked as expected. 

Hope that helps.