Consuming an Machine Learning Studio (classic) Web Service from Excel

  • Article

APPLIES TO: Applies to.Machine Learning Studio (classic) Does not apply to.Azure Machine Learning

Important

Support for Machine Learning Studio (classic) will end on 31 August 2024. We recommend you transition to Azure Machine Learning by that date.

Beginning 1 December 2021, you will not be able to create new Machine Learning Studio (classic) resources. Through 31 August 2024, you can continue to use the existing Machine Learning Studio (classic) resources.

ML Studio (classic) documentation is being retired and may not be updated in the future.

Machine Learning Studio (classic) makes it easy to call web services directly from Excel without the need to write any code.

If you are using Excel 2013 (or later) or Excel Online, then we recommend that you use the Excel Excel add-in.

Steps

Publish a web service. Tutorial 3: Deploy credit risk model explains how to do it. Currently the Excel workbook feature is only supported for Request/Response services that have a single output (that is, a single scoring label).

Once you have a web service, click on the WEB SERVICES section on the left of the studio, and then select the web service to consume from Excel.

Classic Web Service

  1. On the DASHBOARD tab for the web service is a row for the REQUEST/RESPONSE service. If this service had a single output, you should see the Download Excel Workbook link in that row.

    Download Excel Workbook using the Studio (classic) Web Service portal

  2. Click on Download Excel Workbook.

New Web Service

  1. In the Machine Learning Web Service portal, select Consume.
  2. On the Consume page, in the Web service consumption options section, click the Excel icon.

Using the workbook

  1. Open the workbook.

  2. A Security Warning appears; click on the Enable Editing button.

    Enable editing to remove the protected view security warning

  3. A Security Warning appears. Click on the Enable Content button to run macros on your spreadsheet.

    Enable Content to dismiss the Security Warning disabling macros

  4. Once macros are enabled, a table is generated. Columns in blue are required as input into the RRS web service, or PARAMETERS. Note the output of the RRS service, PREDICTED VALUES in green. When all columns for a given row are filled, the workbook automatically calls the scoring API, and displays the scored results.

    Table for parameter inputs and the resulting predicted values

  5. To score more than one row, fill the second row with data and the predicted values are produced. You can even paste several rows at once.

You can use any of the Excel features (graphs, power map, conditional formatting, etc.) with the predicted values to help visualize the data.

Sharing your workbook

For the macros to work, your API Key must be part of the spreadsheet. That means that you should share the workbook only with entities/individuals you trust.

Automatic updates

An RRS call is made in these two situations:

  1. The first time a row has content in all of its PARAMETERS
  2. Any time any of the PARAMETERS changes in a row that had all of its PARAMETERS entered.