How to use Imports data at a given url in .csv (comma-separated value) or .tsv (tab-separated value) format. Learn more in Google Sheets - Guide (2024)

FAQs

How to use Imports data at a given url in .csv (comma-separated value) or .tsv (tab-separated value) format. Learn more in Google Sheets - Guide? ›

To use the IMPORTDATA function, simply enter the URL of the data you want to import, surrounded by quotation marks (when it is manually input instead of cell reference), in the formula bar of a cell in your worksheet. URL is an URL from which to fetch the . csv- or .

Open a Google Sheets document or create a new one. Select the cell where you want the imported data to appear. In that cell, enter the following formula: =IMPORTDATA(url), replacing "url" with the actual URL of the data source you want to import.

IMPORTRANGE is used to import data from one Google Sheets spreadsheet to another, while IMPORTDATA is used to import data from a given URL, such as a CSV or TSV file hosted on the web. IMPORTRANGE requires permission from the source spreadsheet, while IMPORTDATA does not.

Using Third-Party Add-ons

Third-party add-ons like ImportJSON offer a no-code solution to import JSON data into Google Sheets. Install the ImportJSON add-on from the Google Workspace Marketplace. After installation, use the =IMPORTJSON("URL") function directly in your Google Sheet, where "URL" is your JSON source.

IMPORTDATA Formula Syntax

delimiter is used to specify the delimiter to be used when parsing data. If left blank, the function will infer the delimiter from the file extension – “comma” for . csv, and “tab” for . tsv. locale is used to determine the language and region locale code that should be used.

How does importdata work in Google Sheets? ›

IMPORTDATA is a function in Google Sheets that pulls data from a CSV or TSV file, based on a given URL. You can extract data from files in TSV or CSV format published on the web, such as on a website.

TSV stands for Tab Separated Value. TSV file is a flat file, which uses the Tab character to delimit data and reports one time-series per line. CSV stands for Comma Separated Value. CSV file is a flat file, which uses the comma (,) character to delimit data and reports one observation per line.

IMPORTXML: This function grabs structured data from web pages. It's great for pulling specific details like prices or headlines from websites. It can be used to monitor changes in competitors' websites by tracking updates in their HTML or XML data. IMPORTHTML: This one is for fetching tables or lists from web pages.

The IMPORTXML function in Google Sheets is a powerful tool that allows you to import data from an XML or HTML source into your spreadsheet using a specified XPath query. The function takes two arguments: url: This is the URL of the webpage or XML file you want to extract data from.

The =IMPORTXML formula in Google Sheets provides a powerful way to extract H1 text from web pages, allowing you to analyze and refine these important content elements. For instance, the formula =IMPORTXML(A2, "//h1") will fetch the H1 text from the web page specified in cell A2 using the XPath expression "//h1".

You can scrape data into a Google Sheet by using one of the built-in functions such as IMPORTHTML, IMPORTXML, IMPORTDATA, or REGEXTRACT. These functions allow you to extract data from websites, CSV or TSV files, and match regular expression patterns.

Copy and paste the URL of the spreadsheet you want to import data from into the parenthesis. Make sure to put quotation marks around the URL. Add a comma and insert the range string for the data you want to import (e.g. B2:B13) in quotation marks. Add a closing parenthesis and hit Enter.