XL97: How to Import Web Page Tables into Microsoft Excel

You can import tables from Web pages into Microsoft Excel 97. This article discusses two methods you can use to accomplish this task.

Microsoft Excel 97 can interpret tables from Web Pages because it can detect and recognize HTML tags. However, some HTML tags will be ignored by Microsoft Excel 97. The tags that will be ignored by Microsoft Excel 97 are the tags that involve graphics, animation, forms/controls, and so on.

Use one of the following methods to import a table from a Web page into Microsoft Excel 97.

Method 1

You can copy and paste tables from Web Pages to Microsoft Excel 97. Microsoft Excel 97 will correctly interpret HTML code from the Clipboard and create the table in your worksheet. To do this, use the following procedure:

1. Locate the Web Page containing the table that you want to copy.
2. View the source (the HTML code) for the Web Page in a text editor.
   
   NOTE: the procedure to view the source will be different for each Browser.
   
   For example, to view the source using Microsoft Internet Explorer version 3.0 (IE3), click Source on the View menu. This will open Notepad, displaying the HTML code.
3. Select the code that creates the table. The <TABLE> tag identifies the beginning of the table and the </TABLE> tag identifies the end of the table.
4. Copy the selection you made in Step 3. (In Notepad, click Copy on the Edit menu.)
5. Start Microsoft Excel 97 and open a new workbook (or an existing workbook) to paste the table into.
6. On the Edit menu, click Paste.

Method 2

You can open a Web page that contains tables in Microsoft Excel 97. Microsoft Excel 97 will recognize the Web page and correctly display the table(s). To do this, use the following procedure:

1. On the File menu, click Open.
2. In the File Name edit box, type the complete HTTP address of the Web Page containing the table(s) you want to import.
   
   For example, you might type something like the following:
   http://example.microsoft.com/example.htm
   NOTE: This is a fictitious Web site. It is provided for illustration only.
3. Click OK.

For more information about returning data from HTML tables, click the Index tab in Microsoft Excel 97 Help, type the following text and then double-click the selected text to go to the "Return only the data in an HTML table or all of the information on a Web page" topic.