Excel/SharePoint synchronzation - respecting column types?

I'm using the XL2007SynchronizeWSSandExcel Excel plugin to synchronize and maintain SP lists in Excel, and I'm running into a major constraint. When I initially import the list into Excel to configure the synchronization, columns that are of type People and Groups get imported to Excel as plain text fields, not as a drop down list. When I then publish the list to SP as a synchronized list, the People and Groups columns are created as column type Single line of text.

I've done some research and it does not appear that you can convert a column of type Single line of text to a column of type People and Groups in SP. Does anyone know if it's possible to force Excel to recognize and respect column types when using the  XL2007SynchronizeWSSandExcel plugin?

Thanks.

July 14th, 2015 2:39pm

Hi Jetboy2K,

Could you tell me which version of Excel and SharePoint you are using with this add-in?

As far as I know, the add-in allows you to publish a read-write list to Windows SharePoint Services. If you want to retain the functionality, you need to save the workbook in the Excel 97-2003 (Biff8) file format.  If the format of your Excel file is different, it might cause compatibility problems.

Based on your description, I suggest you take a screenshot and explain the mean of >>columns that are of type People and Groups get imported to Excel as plain text fields, not as a drop down list<<, tell me the result that you want to get. Or you could provide a sample data about your requirement.

You could send the sample data or screenshot to our email address:
ibsofc@microsoft.com
Note: Please add the URL of the case in the email subject or body.

I will test your requirement in my own environment, and I'm glad to help and follow up your reply.

Regards,

Emi Zhang
TechNet Community Su

Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
July 15th, 2015 3:52am

Please do not mark this as an answer. The question has not been answered.

I realize that I have not provided the data requested but that's mainly because as I dug into the issue more myself, I determined that the answer is, no, what I need cannot be done when using the Excel SharePoint synchronization plugin.

With respect to asking about what I mean when I say that the SharePoint people and column data gets imported into Excel as plain text, in all honesty, that's pretty self-explanatory. And the reason that what I want to do can't be done is because in SharePoint, if a column is of type People or Group, then it's generally pulling that information from the domain resources directory, which Excel cannot do. So it makes sense that the data cannot be imported from Excel into SharePoint that way.

My guess is that I would need to figure out a way to do this in Access, but, regardless, just because I haven't replied to this post for a certain period of time does not mean that the above response should be considered an accepted, or acceptable answer. The information in this post would not help anyone else who had the same question, so it has not been answered, and should not be marked as such.

August 12th, 2015 1:36am

Hi Jetboy2k,

I'm sorry for my behavior. I didn't get any replies or emails from you, I suppose you resolve your problem. I should ask your result first and then marked as answer.

Now you're trying another way to get your result, if you succeed I suggest you share your experience here. It will help other users who have the same problem. Thank you very much.

If you need more information or help, I'm glad to help you.

Regards,

Emi Zhang
TechNet Community Su

Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
August 12th, 2015 2:11am

This topic is archived. No further replies will be accepted.

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