When you install the Analytics Edge Add-in for Excel, a new ribbon bar will appear in Excel. License status is visible on the License button (‘License ok’). Starting with version 11, all connectors are pre-installed but they are still licensed separately.
Licenses
In the License wizard, after you have entered your email address and accepted the terms of use, you can see the status of all licenses. The add-in (Application) on the lkeft side shows the trial license and has a space to enter a paid lciense key.
Connectors are listed down the right side. Click a Start Trial button to start a 30-day trial period for any connector you are interested in. Replace the trial license key with a paid one if you want to continue to use it beyond the trial period.
Introductory Video
Status Log
In the upper right, there is a status log that shows the current status of the Add-in. It changes color when a process is running, or if an error was detected.
Many steps may be recorded in quick succession, and you can click the dropdown to see all of the steps in the most recent action.
Simply clicking on any entry in the list will copy the entire list to the Clipboard.
Is It Locked Up?
There may be times that the Status Log seems to ‘freeze’. Try to wait a little longer — some processes can take 100 seconds to timeout if an API server doesn’t respond. As long as the ‘spinner’ is rotating, the Add-in may still be running, and any error message will only appear after the timeout.
Application Mode
The Add-in operates in three distinct modes — Interactive, Quick Query and AE Macro — that can be selected from the ribbon.
Use Quick Query mode to quickly add a new query to the spreadsheet — select a target cell, then pick the connector function desired. Queries added this way can easily be edited and refreshed. A limited number of Quick Functions like pivot and arrange are available in this mode. See Quick Query.
Use AE Macro mode to allow creation and editing of Analytics Edge macros — a series of functions that you can edit and refresh using the task pane. Macros can contain multiple queries and a combination of the full list of analytics functions to join and manipulate the data. See AE Macro.
Use Interactive mode to perform a one-of query or function that is not to be repeated. This mode allows you to use any of the analytics functions to manipulate the data in your spreadsheet, or to perform a one-time connector query. See Interactive.
Step Results Sheet
When the App is working with data, before it is written into the spreadsheet, a Step Results worksheet is displayed with a distinctive green background. This is not a permanent sheet — it is displayed so you can see a sample of the data that the App is working with. When you write the data to the worksheet, the Step Results sheet is removed.
Function Wizards
When you add or edit a function, the Add-in opens a new window — a function wizard. The Status Log shows a wizard is open (it may be open behind the Excel window). Closing the wizard or clicking the CANCEL button below the Status Log will return control back to Excel.
Selecting Cell References
In some wizards, there is an ability to use the value dynamically obtained from a worksheet cell. When editing the function, clicking the cell reference button will shift control back to Excel for you to select a cell. A yellow banner notice will appear in the wizard that it is waiting for you to select a cell. In Excel, select the sheet and cell you want to use, then click the OK button as directed. Control will return to the wizard window.
