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6 views2 pages

Import Excel Scrub

Uploaded by

sunny4364
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
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E xcel is a superb data-analysis tool — if

you know how to extract the information


you really need. In this part, you’ll
learn how to obtain, clean up, and analyze
data in Excel. As you’ll see, many of the
data-analysis capabilities in Excel are both
surprisingly powerful and easy to use.

Before you can do anything with data, you must get it into a worksheet. Excel is able to
import most common text file formats and can also retrieve data from websites.
Importing from a file
This section describes file types that Excel can open directly, using the File ➪ Open command.
Figure 32.1 shows the list of file filter options you can specify in the Open dialog box.
FIGURE 32.1
Filtering by file extension in the Open dialog box.
Spreadsheet file formats
In addition to the current file formats (XLSX, XLSM, XLSB, XLTX, XLTM, and XLAM),
Excel 2013 can open workbook files from all previous versions of Excel:
• XLS: Binary files created by Excel 4, Excel 95, Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002,
and Excel 2003
• XLM: Binary files that contain Excel 4 macros (no data)
• XLT: Binary files for an Excel template
• XLA: Binary files for an Excel add-in
Excel can also open one file format created by other spreadsheet products: ODS, the
OpenDocument spreadsheet format. ODS files are produced by a variety of “open” software,
including Google Drive, OpenOffice, LibreOffice, StarOffice, and several others.
Note
Excel does not support Lotus 1-2-3 files, Quattro Pro files, or Microsoft Works files.

Database file formats


Excel 2013 can open the following database file formats:
• Access files: These files have various extensions, including MDB and ACCDB.
• dBase files: Produced by dBase III and dBase IV. Excel does not support dBase II
files.
In addition, Excel supports various types of database connections that enable you to
access data selectively. For example, you can perform a query on a large database to
retrieve only the records you need (rather than the entire database).
Text file formats
A text file contains raw characters, with no formatting. Excel can open most types of
text files:
• CSV: Comma separated values. Columns are delimited with a comma, and rows
are delimited with a carriage return.
• TXT: Columns are delimited with a tab, and rows are delimited with a carriage
return.
• PRN: Columns are delimited with multiple space characters, and rows are delimited
with a carriage return. Excel imports this type of file into a single column.
• DIF: The file format originally used by the VisiCalc spreadsheet. Rarely used.
• SYLK: The file format originally used by Multiplan. Rarely used.
Most of these text file types have variants. For example, text files produced on a Mac have
different end-of-row characters. Excel can usually handle the variants without a problem.
When you attempt to open a text file in Excel, the Text Import Wizard might kick in to
help you specify how you want the data to be retrieved.
Tip
To bypass the Text Import Wizard, press Shift while you click the Open button in the Open dialog box.
When Excel Can’t Open a File
If Excel doesn’t support a particular file format, don’t be too quick to give up. It’s likely that others have
had the same problem as you. Try searching the web for the file extension, plus the word Excel. It’s possible
that a file converter is available, or maybe someone has figured out how to use an intermediary
program to open the file and export it into a format that Excel recognizes.

Importing HTML files


Excel can open most HTML files, which can be stored on your local drive or on a web
server. Choose File ➪ Open and locate the HTML file. If the file is on a web server, you’ll
need to copy the URL and paste it into the File Name field in the Open dialog box.
How the HTML code renders in Excel varies considerably. Sometimes, the HTML file may
look exactly as it does in a browser. Other times, it may bear little resemblance, especially
if the HTML file uses Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) for layout.
In some cases, you can access data on the web by using a Web Query. I discuss this topic in Chapter 29.
Importing XML files
XML (Extensible Markup Language) is a text file format suitable for structured data. Data
is enclosed in tags, which also serve to describe the data.
Excel can open XML files, and simple files will display with little or no effort. Complex
XML files will require some work, however. A discussion of this topic is beyond the scope
of this book. You’ll find information about getting data from XML files in Excel’s Help system
and online.
Importing a text file into a specified range
If you need to insert a text file into a specific range in a worksheet, you might think that
your only choice is to import the text into a new workbook and then to copy the data and
paste it into the range where you want it to appear. However, you can do it in a more
direct way.
Figure 32.2 shows a small CSV file. The following instructions describe how to import this
file, named monthly.csv, beginning at cell C3.
FIGURE 32.2

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