Connect AVEVA Wonderware to Excel
Why getting Wonderware data into Excel is harder than it looks
If you've already tried something and hit a wall, the list below is probably why. Wonderware does have a native Excel add-in — knowing it exists is actually the easy part. Where teams run into trouble is what it takes to get it working, and where it stops working once you do.
AVEVA Historian ships an Excel add-in — but it's part of the desktop client suite
AVEVA Historian includes an Excel add-in as part of the Historian Client software package — the same bundle that includes the desktop Trend and Query tools. On paper, this looks like a complete solution. In practice, "it comes with the client" means every machine that needs to use it must have the full AVEVA Historian Client installed. That's not a lightweight requirement, and it's the first place most teams run into friction.
Every machine that uses it needs the full Historian Client installed
The AVEVA Historian Client is a desktop software installation — not a lightweight plugin a user can add themselves. It requires IT involvement to deploy, a compatible Windows environment, and in many cases an AVEVA software license. Every analyst, engineer, or manager who wants to pull Wonderware data into Excel needs their own installation. As your team grows, so does the deployment footprint.
IT owns the deployment, licensing, and every update
Because the Excel add-in is bundled with the Historian Client, updates to one affect the other. When AVEVA releases a new version, IT has to push the update to every machine. If someone is on an older version, queries may behave differently or break against a newer historian. The add-in isn't something a user can manage independently — it lives on the IT change management schedule.
Every user's machine needs to reach the OT network
The Historian Client connects directly to the AVEVA Historian server, which lives on the OT network. That means every machine using the Excel add-in needs a direct network path to the historian — either because it's on the plant floor network or because it's connected over a carefully managed VPN. Office-based analysts, remote engineers, or anyone working from outside the facility is blocked unless IT has provisioned that access specifically for them.
Retrieval modes add a layer most Excel users don't expect
Wonderware doesn't return data like a standard database. To get useful results, you have to specify a retrieval mode: Cyclic returns evenly spaced readings, Delta returns only values that changed, BestFit compresses data into a summary, and StartOfInterval returns the first value in each period. Use the wrong mode and your data looks fine but means something different than you expect. This knowledge lives with Wonderware engineers, not with the Excel users who need the data.
The add-in is Wonderware-only — teams with other sources need separate tools
The AVEVA Historian Excel add-in connects to AVEVA Historian and nothing else. If your facility also has AVEVA PI, an Emerson DeltaV historian, a SQL-based production database, or any other data source, you need different tools for each one. That means multiple add-ins, multiple connection configurations, and no consistent way to build a report that spans more than one system.
AVEVA's rebranding adds version and compatibility uncertainty
Wonderware became AVEVA, and AVEVA's product names and version numbering have shifted several times since. Documentation written for "Wonderware Historian" may describe a different product version than what you're running. Add-in compatibility between Historian Server versions and Historian Client versions isn't always linear, and finding the right answer for your specific version often means navigating a fragmented documentation landscape.
The approaches teams usually try
Most teams try one of these before looking for a different path.
Use the AVEVA Historian Excel add-in
Install the full AVEVA Historian Client on each machine, configure network access to the historian server, and use the bundled Excel add-in to pull data. Works well once set up for users on the OT network who have full IT support.
The catch: Every user needs the Historian Client installed and OT connectivity. Anyone outside the plant network — remote workers, office-based analysts — can't use it without VPN. Excel for the Web workbooks aren't supported.
Query IndustrialSQL via Excel's ODBC connection
Use Excel's built-in data connection tools to query Wonderware's IndustrialSQL interface through an ODBC driver. Gives you more flexibility than the add-in and doesn't require the full Historian Client — just the AVEVA ODBC driver.
The catch: Still requires the AVEVA ODBC driver on every machine, OT network access, and a working knowledge of IndustrialSQL retrieval modes. Each refresh is a live query — slow networks or historian load can make workbooks painful to use.
Export from Wonderware's reporting tools
Use Wonderware's built-in Query or Web application to run a data export, then paste or import the results into Excel. No special software or network access needed beyond what the reporting tool already provides.
The catch: Every report is a manual process. Someone has to remember to run it, and any time range or tag change means starting over. This doesn't scale, and it's not a workbook — it's a snapshot.
How TrendOps connects Wonderware to Excel
TrendOps moves the connectivity off the user's machine entirely. The historian stays on the OT network. The user gets a web add-in that works wherever Excel works.
The TrendOps Connector runs on-premise, inside the plant network, querying the historian directly via its native interface.
Data moves from the historian to the cloud over an outbound connection. No firewall rules pointing inward. No VPN required for end users.
As a Microsoft 365 web add-in, TrendOps Link runs wherever Excel runs — including browser-based Excel and SharePoint-linked workbooks.
Users install TrendOps Link from the Microsoft 365 add-in store. No Historian Client, no ODBC drivers, no IT deployment required per machine.
TrendOps Link uses a consistent query model regardless of which historian the data came from. No IndustrialSQL syntax required.
Aggregation and interpolation are configured in TrendOps Platform. Users choose a time resolution and aggregation type — the historian-specific complexity stays hidden.
Averages, min/max, and time-weighted values are computed before data reaches the workbook. Your formulas work on clean, pre-aggregated numbers.
If you also have AVEVA PI, DeltaV, or SQL-based data, it all comes through TrendOps Link with the same query interface — no separate add-in per system.
What you end up with
Desktop, browser, or SharePoint — TrendOps Link works in all of them, without a client installation.
Users pull from TrendOps Platform in the cloud — not from the historian directly. No VPN required.
Zero AVEVA software required on user machines. No IT deployment. No per-machine licensing.
Wonderware, PI, DeltaV — one add-in, one query model, one workbook that spans your whole data landscape.
Your team shouldn't need AVEVA software to work with Wonderware data in Excel
TrendOps handles the historian connection on-premise. Your team gets a web add-in that works wherever Excel does.
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