I have Visual Basic code in the Page_Load event that makes a
connection to an Excel 11.0 file.  Is it possible to do the equivalent
using a data source so it existed on the form?  If so, how?  A data
source would be handy since I need to retrieve the Excel data from
many procedures/functions in my VB code.

Dim appExcel As New Excel.Application
Dim wkbExcel As Excel.Workbook

appExcel = CreateObject("Excel.Application")
appExcel.Visible = False
wkbExcel = appExcel.Workbooks.Add("c:\support\Span Tables.xls")