Title: Can spreadsheet do calculations of a link? How to extract and compute data from URLs?
Hey folks!
So, I’ve been scratching my head over this—can spreadsheet do calculations of a link *directly*? Like, if I have a URL with some numbers or data in it, can I pull that into Excel/Sheets and crunch it automatically?
For example, say a link has "example.com/data?value=100&tax=20"—can I extract "100" and "20" and then calculate stuff (like 100+20)?
I’ve tried some formulas, but no luck yet. Maybe IMPORTXML or regex? Or is this just wishful thinking?
If anyone’s cracked this, pls share! Even a "nah, not possible" would save me time lol.
Thanks in advance!
(Ps. Using Google Sheets, but Excel tips welcome too!)
Yo! So, can spreadsheet do calculations of a link? Totally! In Google Sheets, you can use REGEXEXTRACT to pull numbers from URLs.
For your example:
`=REGEXEXTRACT(A1, "value=(\d+)")` grabs "100".
Then just add formulas to calculate. It’s a bit fiddly but works!
For Excel, Power Query can parse URLs too—just split by "&" and "=".
Hope that helps!
Nah, it’s not wishful thinking! You can extract data from URLs in spreadsheets.
Google Sheets has IMPORTXML, but it’s hit or miss with random URLs.
Better to use a custom script (Apps Script) to fetch and parse the URL.
Or try =SPLIT(SUBSTITUTE(A1,"?","&"),"&") to break it down.
Excel folks can use TEXTBEFORE/TEXTAFTER (new functions!).
Short answer: Yes, can spreadsheet do calculations of a link? Absolutely.
Long answer: It’s messy.
IMPORTXML might work if the URL returns structured data (like XML/HTML).
But for query params (like ?value=100), regex or SPLIT is cleaner.
Pro tip: If you’re doing this a lot, build a custom function in Apps Script.
Or just use a tool like Apify to scrape data first.
Kinda surprised no one mentioned this yet—but you can use =QUERY(IMPORTDATA(A1)) in Sheets if the URL spits out CSV/TSV.
For your example, tho, regex is the way.
Can spreadsheet do calculations of a link? Yeah, but it’s not always straightforward.
If you’re on Excel, Power Query’s "From Web" option might help.
Otherwise, Python + pandas is overkill but bulletproof lol.
Honestly? Can spreadsheet do calculations of a link? Technically yes, but it’s a pain.
Sheets’ regex functions are your best bet.
Or—hear me out—use a free API tool like Postman to extract the data first, then import it.
Way less headache than fighting with IMPORTXML errors.
Excel’s FILTERXML is another option, but good luck debugging it.
OP here—wow, thanks for all the replies!
Tried the REGEXEXTRACT trick and it worked for the numbers. Still struggling with IMPORTXML tho—keeps giving me errors.
Anyone got a dummy-proof example for that?
Also, the Power Query tip for Excel sounds promising—gonna test that next.
Y’all saved me hours of googling. Cheers!
