How To Import Xml Into Google Sheets

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XML files are intricate structured data files utilized significantly in web services and storing data. Google Sheets, on the other hand, is a powerful online tool that can be used for data analysis and manipulation. Combining these two can result in an incredibly powerful data analysis tool. This post will guide you on how to import XML data into Google Sheets.

Using Google Sheets’ ImportXML function

One of the quickest ways to import XML data into Google Sheets is by using the ImportXML function. This function fetches data from a given URL in an XML format, parses the XML data, and imports it into your Google Sheet.

The syntax for the ImportXML function is as below:

=IMPORTXML("url", "query")

Where:

  • “url” is the URL from which we want to import the XML data. It must be enclosed within quotation marks.
  • “query” is the XPath query (a language used for selecting nodes from an XML document) that specifies what data we want to import from the XML data. It must also be enclosed within quotation marks.

Example

For instance, let’s say we want to import the title of the web page at a specific URL. Here is how we would do that:

=IMPORTXML("http://example.com", "//title")

Using Google Apps Script

If you need more flexibility and control over your XML data, you might want to use Google Apps Script to import your data into Google Sheets. Google Apps Script is a cloud-based scripting language for light-weight application development in the G Suite platform.

Below is an example of how you can use Google Apps Script to import XML data into your Google Sheet:

function importXML() {
  var url = 'http://example.com/data.xml';
  var response = UrlFetchApp.fetch(url);
  var doc = XmlService.parse(response);
  var root = doc.getRootElement();
  var sheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet().getActiveSheet();

  //Insert data into sheet
  var elements = root.getChildren();
  for (var i = 0; i < elements.length; i++) {
    sheet.appendRow([elements[i].getValue()]);
  }
}

Note that you must replace ‘http://example.com/data.xml’ with your XML file’s URL. This script fetches XML file from the URL, parses it and imports it into your current active Google Sheets document.

Conclusion

Importing XML data into Google Sheets can significantly aid your data analysis and manipulation capabilities. Whether you use the IMPORTXML function or Google Apps Script greatly depends on your specific needs and familiarity with XPath and JavaScript-like languages.