How to import HTML tables or tab separated files into a spreadsheet?

Sometimes one wants to import an HTML table, a csv file, or a tab separated text file into a spreadsheet, e.g. for ordering the data, or for selecting just one column. Below two ways are described to get the data into a spreadsheet.

The quick and dirty way

(works with Excell and Open Office, not with Numbers)

All data gathering tools display the data parsed in a table. To input it into a spreadsheet, select the complete table (first cell top left, to last cell bottom right) and copy it. Open your favorite spreadsheet, right-click the first cell, click paste special, select 'unformatted text', specify the data as tab delimited (sometimes referred to as '\t').

The elaborate but always successful way:

Most tools will output the results both to a table as well as to a text file. In the text file, the columns will be separated by a tab (sometimes referred to as '\t') or by a comma. When a tools has finished it will display a link to the text file at the bottom of the page. You will have to save the text file to your computer: right-click the link and then click save as.

To import this text file, have a look at the following guides. Please remember that the data is tab ('\t') or comma (,) separated.

• Microsoft Excell: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel-help/import-or-export-text-files-HP010099725.aspx
• Numbers: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Numbers/1.0/en/c2la3.html
• Open Office: http://www.openofficetips.com/2004/10/12/importing-tabular-data-csv-files/