Get Data from Excel Table to New SharePoint List

A SharePoint Online tutorial by Peter Kalmström

When you create a new SharePoint list from the modern List command, you get the option to import from Excel. In the demo below Peter Kalmström, CEO and Systems Designer of kalmstrom.com Business Solutions, shows how this is done. He also gives a warning about the internal names.

This method is a convenient way to get data from an Excel table to a new SharePoint list, but note that it does not give a connection between Excel and SharePoint.

In the other Tips articles about Excel and SharePoint in this series there is such a connection, and if you want to use the list in an app or a flow, there are good internal names.

To get best control and synchronization both ways, use the Access method to import Excel data to SharePoint.

Excel icon

These are the steps to get Excel data into a new SharePoint
list with the modern List command in SharePoint Online:

Format the data as a table. Note that this is only possible if there are no blank rows or columns among the data.
In the SharePoint site, on the homepage or in the Site contents, click on +New and select List.
Click on the Excel button.
Upload the Excel file from your computer or select a file that is stored in the site.
Select which Excel table the data should be fetched from.
Check the column types and change them if necessary. You can also exclude a column from the import.
Enter a name for the new SharePoint list.
Click on Create to start the process. It takes a minute or two, and don't cancel it even if the dialog says 100% Complete.
The new list opens. By default, it will have a link in the Site navigation.

In the next demo, Peter describes how you can start from Excel and get a connection between SharePoint and Excel.

Learn more