Copying data from the Internet

    Hi,


    Can any one answer this problem. We used to use Excel 97 and have upgraded to 2003. We highlight data from the Internet and drop this data into Excel. The new version of Excel however is producing extra lines between each data line and producing characters that were not on the original Internet page. Is there a way to stop these problems.


    Many thanks


    Richard Wild

    Re: Copying data from the Internet


    Hi Richard,


    Instead of using the Paste command, try using PasteSpecial > Values (or Text). It works for me when I download large amounts of financial stats (S&P 500 cos) from various websites.


    HTH


    m

    Re: Copying data from the Internet


    You might also consider using the Data > Import External Data > New Web Query.

    Re: Copying data from the Internet


    Richard,


    Would it be possible for you to post the url you are trying to retrieve this data from? Are you experiencing the same behavior when using the "Import Web Query"?

    Re: Copying data from the Internet


    Richard


    When I look at the HTML source for that table there does appear to be a row between each entry.


    Can you not just goto Edit>Goto...Special... and select blanks then delete?

    Boo!:yikes:

    Re: Copying data from the Internet


    Also the machine we use to do this is a Home Edition of XP rather than Professional. Will this make a difference?


    Cheers


    Rick

    Re: Copying data from the Internet


    Norie's suggestion sounds pretty painless - deleting blanks should take < 30 secs.


    Quote


    Can you not just goto Edit>Goto...Special... and select blanks then delete?


    You could even set it up as a macro to further speed it up.


    BTW, how are you parsing the data after downloading?


    m

    Re: Copying data from the Internet


    Hi Richard,


    Data Parsing refers to converting running-text data into columns (or Text-to-Columns in Excel-Speak). If you're simply copy/pasting to Excel, then parsing is not an issue. However, using the PasteSpecial > Text command would pose a parsing problem.


    m

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