Frequently Asked Questions

Data Bridge Pro is in early access. Self-service download, licensing and checkout aren't live yet, so early access customers get the installer and setup help from our team directly. Contact us or book a call from any Request Early Access button.

Not yet. We plan to offer a self-service trial when we release publicly. Until then, early access is how to try Data Bridge Pro on your own data.

The desktop version of Excel on Windows 10 or 11:

• Excel for Microsoft 365
• Excel 2021
• Excel 2019

Excel for Mac and Excel on the web are not supported.

It depends on your machine. Data Bridge Pro needs .NET Framework 4.8 and the Microsoft Visual Studio Tools for Office runtime. If either is missing, installing it can require admin rights. During early access setup we'll confirm what your environment needs, including anything your IT team should approve.

Data Bridge Pro supports 10 database platforms:

• SQL Server, including Azure SQL Database
• Azure Synapse Analytics
• PostgreSQL
• MySQL
• Oracle Database, including Autonomous Database
• Snowflake
• Databricks (needs the Databricks ODBC driver)
• Google BigQuery (needs the BigQuery ODBC driver)
• Amazon Redshift
• SingleStore, formerly MemSQL

Yes. Each worksheet can have its own connection, so one workbook can have a sheet on SQL Server, another on PostgreSQL and another on Snowflake.

Yes. With read-only access you can load tables, use the Visual Query Builder and the AI Query Assistant, and export data. You won't be able to save changes back, and Data Bridge Pro tells you clearly if you try.

Yes. Data Bridge Pro connects from your computer to the database server using the database's standard protocol. If other tools on your computer can reach the database, Data Bridge Pro can too. Make sure your VPN is connected and the database port is open.

Data Bridge Pro connects directly from Excel on your computer to your database. Your data, credentials, queries and audit log never pass through BridgeStack or Optalytic servers.

The one feature that calls an outside service is the optional AI Query Assistant. See the next question for exactly what it sends.

The assistant is off until you add an API key for your own Anthropic, OpenAI or Azure OpenAI account. When you use it, it sends your question, the database type and name, and the table and column names with their data types, key and nullable flags to that provider. Explain, optimize and filter requests also send the text of the current SQL query.

It does not send the rows in your tables. Requests go from your computer straight to the provider, not through us, and are covered by your agreement with that provider.

When you choose to save a connection, the password is encrypted with Windows DPAPI for your Windows account and stored in your user profile. Only your Windows account can decrypt it, and other users on the same computer can't read it. Your AI provider API key is stored the same way.

You can also choose not to save credentials and enter them each time you connect, or use Windows authentication for SQL Server.

No. Data Bridge Pro is desktop software that runs on your computer, and BridgeStack doesn't host or process your data. It includes controls your auditors may ask about: an audit log of every change, rollback snapshots, encrypted credential storage and Windows authentication. For specific compliance questions, contact us.

Licensing isn't live yet. During early access, terms are agreed with our team directly. We'll publish licensing details, including how licenses move between computers, with the public release.

Planned launch pricing starts at $49 a month. See the pricing page for the planned plans. These prices may change before launch.

AI Query Assistant: type what you want in plain English, for example "customers in Texas who ordered in the last 30 days", and review the SQL it drafts. Useful for quick, one-off questions.

Visual Query Builder: add tables to a canvas, tick columns and draw joins. No AI involved. Useful when you want to build a specific query step by step.

Both produce SQL you can edit, save and reuse.

Every time you save changes, Data Bridge Pro first takes a snapshot of the data as it was. If a change was wrong, click Rollback in the ribbon, pick the snapshot and confirm. Snapshots are stored on your computer. See Rollback and Recovery for details.

Yes, with some limits. A worksheet holds about one million rows, and Data Bridge Pro warns you before loading more than that. Tables over 100,000 rows take longer to load and edit. Filter with the Visual Query Builder or the AI Query Assistant first and load only the rows you need.