You can connect to Microsoft Excel data source by using Excel ODBC driver. Excel ODBC driver is normally pre-installed to every Windows operating system, so you do not normally need to install it separately.
The steps are the same as they would be for any ODBC data source:
1. Create a system DSN in the Windows ODBC Administrator. Note: The excel file must be local to the Cognos server.
2. Create a new data source in Cognos Connection, select ODBC (Windows only) option.
3. Enter the system DSN name you created in Step 1 under ODBC data source property.
