Feature Request – Native XLSX Importer Tool (Excel File Support)

[adrian_star]

Hello,
I would like to propose a new feature for PL/SQL Developer: a dedicated XLSX Importer tool for importing data directly from Microsoft Excel files.

Current situation​

The existing Text Importer works well for CSV and other delimited text formats. However, in real-world environments, data is very often delivered in native Excel format (.xlsx), not as CSV.

Before importing into the database, users must:

• Open the Excel file
• Convert it manually to CSV
• Ensure correct encoding and delimiter settings
• Verify that formatting (dates, numbers, decimals) was not altered during conversion

This process introduces unnecessary steps and potential data inconsistencies.

Proposed enhancement​

Introduce a new tool:

XLSX Importer
This would:

• Allow direct import of .xlsx files
• Automatically detect worksheet structure
• Let the user choose the sheet to import
• Map columns to table columns
• Support preview before import
• Respect data types (DATE, NUMBER, VARCHAR2, etc.)

I assume that extending the current Text Importer to support XLSX may not be ideal due to the structural differences between plain text files and Excel’s OpenXML format. Therefore, a separate, dedicated tool would likely be cleaner architecturally.

Optional considerations​

• Support for modern .xlsx format (primary requirement)
• Legacy .xls support could be optional
• Header row detection
• Ability to skip rows
• Error log preview
• Null handling configuration

Business and technical justification​

In enterprise environments:

• Business users frequently provide data in Excel format
• Analysts export reports as .xlsx
• Test data is often prepared in spreadsheets
• CSV conversion introduces formatting risks (especially with dates and large numbers)

Common issues with CSV conversion include:

• Incorrect decimal separators
• Date format corruption
• Scientific notation applied to large numeric identifiers
• Encoding problems (UTF-8 vs ANSI)

Native XLSX support would:

• Reduce preprocessing steps
• Minimize data corruption risk
• Improve productivity
• Make PL/SQL Developer more competitive with modern database IDEs

This feature would significantly streamline data import workflows and better reflect how data is actually exchanged in business environments today.

Thank you for considering this enhancement.


Best regards,
Adrian

 

[Marco Kalter]

I have added this to the list of enhancement requests.