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Google Sheets Formulas

IMPORTHTML Function in Google Sheets: Explained

In this article, you will learn how to use the IMPORTHTML formula in Google Sheets. 

How does the IMPORTHTML formula in Google Sheets?

The IMPORTHTML function in Google Sheets allows users to import data from a table or list within an HTML page into a Google Sheets spreadsheet.

This can be useful for quickly importing structured data from a website or other online source into a spreadsheet for further analysis or processing.

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How to use the IMPORTHTML function in Google Sheets

To use the IMPORTHTML function, you need to specify the URL of the HTML page that contains the data you want to import, the table or list that you want to import (identified by its index on the page), and the type of data you want to import (either a "table" or a "list").

These parameters are entered into the formula bar of a cell in your Google Sheets spreadsheet, surrounded by quotation marks (when you manually input these parameters, not by cell reference), in the following format:

=IMPORTHTML(url, query, index)

“url” is an URL of the page, including protocol (e.g., http://), from which you want to pull out a table or list.

“query” is either "list" or "table", depending on which type of structure the desired data has.

“index” is an index, starting at 1, which identifies which table or list in the web page should be returned.

For example, assume you want to import the first table on a page in Wikipedia, located at "https://example.com/page.html", into your Google Sheets worksheet. 

How to import a table from a specific webpage in Google Sheets with an example

You would enter the following formula:

=IMPORTHTML("https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spreadsheet", "table", 1)

Once you have entered the formula, the data from the specified table on the page will be imported into the cell and any cells below it automatically.

You can then use the data in this table for further analysis or processing, just like any other data in your spreadsheet.

How the IMPORTHTML function works in Google Sheets

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It's important to note that the IMPORTHTML function can only import data from HTML pages that are publicly accessible, so you cannot use it to import data from a password-protected website or a website that requires a login.

Additionally, the IMPORTHTML function can only import data from tables or lists within an HTML page, so it may not be suitable for importing data from other sources.

Learn how to do this step-by-step in the video below 👇

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