Forum Discussion
Formatting Issue (Getting data from 1 column into 7 columns)
Subodh (and Sergei)...thank you very much for responding. I've tried both of your Power Querys and get the same message:
Expression.Error: We couldn't find an Excel table named 'WebData".
Details:
WebData
What am I doing wrong?
- Jeff
Hi Jeff,
If you look at the points#1 and 2 in my proposed solution, you are supposed to convert your data into an Excel Table and then rename the Excel Table as 'WebData" and then the query will work for you as desired as this query assumes that in your file there is an Excel Table called "WebData" which must be missing at present in your actual file.
To convert your data into an Excel Table, select all your data and then press Ctrl+T and it will convert your data into an Excel Table. Once your data is converted into an Excel Table, a Table Design Tab will appear in the Ribbon and if you click that and look at top right of the ribbon, you will have a TextBox to have Table Name and you can type the WebData in there and hit Enter, that will rename your Table as WebData.
Subodh/Sergei,
Your suggestions have been most helpful. I was finally able to get the data into the right format but it is a tremendous amount of work. I'm working off of a prospect list web site where I have to input the specific parameters for the companies I want to discover (for example, location, industry, yearly revenue, etc.). For large listings, I'm able to see only 25 companies at a time. It looks like this:
I have to copy and paste each grouping of 25 into Excel and all of this info. goes into just one column. When I've finally created a large enough list, I then run the Power Query that you've designed. This is a lot of work because if each company doesn't have the exact same number of data points (in this case 7) the report is all jumbled and I have to go back and find where the missing data should go.
Do you think I'm doing this in the most efficient way or is there a more economical way to go about this task. I don't see how I can pull the info. right off the web site as I work because the web address just shows something like: https://app.uplead.com/#. I'm unsure if Excel can pull the exact info. that I've specifically collated on the site.
You gentlemen have been so very kind in your guidance and I sincerely appreciate it.
Regards,
Jeff
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Jeff, that's not a free resource and it's hard to say what and how could be automated without playing with web site. It depends on many things, for example how the pagination is organised, by URL parameter or Java script changes pages without changing the URL. It could be some protection against connecting to their data. Etc., etc.
But in general yes, it could be possible to automate data pick-up from web site using Power Query. The evil is in the detail.
