Microsoft Excel Tips
and Tricks
Web Queries Keep Excel Worksheets Up to Date
Web pages often contain information that is perfect for
analysis in Excel. For example, you can use Excel to analyze
stock prices copied directly from a Web page. But what if
you need to replace the information often to keep it
current? The refreshable Web queries now available in Excel
version 2002 make that task easy.
To create a new, refreshable Web query:
1.
In your browser, browse to the Web page from which you want
to query data (such as stock quotes on MSN MoneyCentral).
2.
Copy the data and paste it into an Excel worksheet. A
Paste Options smart tag will appear just below your
pasted data.
3.
Click the arrow on the right side of the Paste Options
smart tag, and click Create Refreshable Web Query.
4.
In the New Web Query dialog box, click the yellow
arrow next to table of data you want in your Web query.
5.
Click Import.
Refreshing this data can be done manually or automatically
in Excel. To do a manual refresh:
1.
On the View menu, point to Toolbars and click
External Data.
2.
Then click the Refresh button on the External Data
toolbar.
To have your data refreshed automatically when the file is
opened, at timed intervals, or in the background:
1.
Click Data Range Properties on the External Data
toolbar.
2.
Then select the check boxes for the options you want under
Refresh control.
Editor's Note:
When you retrieve data from a Web site, you might lose some
formatting or content, such as scripts, .gif images, or
lists of data in a single cell.
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