Home/ Questions/Q 584659
In Process

The Archive Base Latest Questions

Editorial Team
  • 0
Asked: 2026-05-13T14:55:17+00:00

I’m trying to implement a page that allows Excel users to use the data

  • 0

I’m trying to implement a page that allows Excel users to use the data it provides via the Web Query feature provided by Excel.

It’s all working out pretty nicely, as long as I use HTTP (even BASIC user authentication works).

As soon as I switch that over to HTTPS Excel won’t download the data anymore (it’s even a fully official SSL certificate, so it’s not a problem with a self-signed one).

This Microsoft knowledge base article pretty much describes the problem.

Now the part that makes me wonder is this:

This issue occurs when Excel cannot initiate a connection because of the settings on the secure Web server.

This seems to imply that there is some way to get this working, but there’s not even a hint at the direction I need to look at.

Should the “because of the settings on the secure Web server” be taken at face value, or is it just a Microsoft way of saying “this won’t work unless you buy the right software from us”?

Share

Leave an answer

You must login to add an answer.

Need An Account,

1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    It seems I’ve found the problem:

    MS Excel seems to be unable to use the data on the page if the HTTP headers of the page specify that it should not be cache and it is transfered via HTTPS (the same headers sent via HTTP seem to get ignored).

    So by not sending these headers, Excel was suddenly able to access the data:

    Pragma: no-cache
Cache-Control: no-cache
    • 0