Are you struggling to transfer your Excel data into Google Sheets? Manually copying and pasting data is tiring and can lead to errors. Fortunately, there are in-built tools you can use to make this process easier.
In this article, we will walk you through three ways of importing Excel files into Google Sheets. By using these methods, you’ll save time, reduce errors, and make a seamless transition to Google Sheets. So, let’s begin.
How to import an Excel file into Google Sheets
Google Sheets has a built-in Import feature. Here are the steps to use it.
Step 1: Create a new or open an existing spreadsheet in Google Sheets.
Step 2: In the upper-left corner, click File and Import.
Step 3: Choose the Excel file in Google Drive or upload it from your computer.
Step 4: Now, you have three import options.
- Create new spreadsheet: Convert the Excel spreadsheet into a fresh Google Sheets spreadsheet.
- Insert new sheet(s): Add the Excel spreadsheet as a new sheet in the existing Google Sheets spreadsheet, consolidating the data from both.
- Replace spreadsheet: Replace the current Google Sheets spreadsheet with the Excel spreadsheet.
For this test, let’s go with Create new spreadsheet.
Step 5: Click Import data.
That’s it! Here’s the final result.
It’s possible that some of the features of your Excel spreadsheet may not be available in Google Sheets, but we’ll talk more about that later.
Enable the “Convert uploads” feature in Google Drive
You can also import Excel spreadsheets into Google Sheets using Google Drive. Here are the steps to do that.
Step 1: In Google Drive, click the New button and File upload in the drop-down menu. Upload the Excel file you want to convert and open it.
Step 2: In Google Sheets, click File and select Save as Google Sheets.
Do you want to import several Excel files at once? There’s a feature in Google Drive that can automate the conversion process. Here’s how to enable it.
Step 1: In Google Drive, click the Settings button (gear shaft) in the upper-right corner and click Settings.
Step 2: Scroll down and enable the Convert uploads option. This will convert the files you upload to Google Drive to Google Docs editor format.
Step 3: Exit the Settings menu.
Now, whenever you upload an Excel file to Google Drive, it’ll automatically convert it to Google Sheets.
Limitations of importing Excel into Google Sheets
As mentioned before, when you import Excel to Google Sheets, you risk losing some features due to compatibility issues.
Data capacity is the primary limitation, since Google Sheets can only store 10 million cells. Beyond that, workbook links may stop working, and data visualization and formatting features may also get lost in the conversion.
To avoid data loss, make sure you have a backup of your Excel spreadsheet before converting it into Google Sheets. In most cases, the conversion process will be seamless.
How to import Google Sheets into Excel
You can also download a Google Sheets spreadsheet as an Excel spreadsheet. Open the spreadsheet you want to convert and follow these steps.
Step 1: Click File.
Step 2: Click Download.
Step 3: Select Microsoft Excel.
Now, you’ll receive your Google Sheets spreadsheet as an Excel spreadsheet. You can also download it in .csv and .tsv formats if you want.
Scrape web data into Google Sheets
The biggest reason for switching to Google Sheets is that it operates in the cloud, which lets you connect it with other apps and streamline your workflow. But, did you know that you can also scrape web data into Google Sheets?
Although there are many apps that let you do this, Bardeen is one of the most user-friendly ones. It’s an AI-powered workflow automation extension. Here are some sites you can scrape using Bardeen’s instant data scraper.
- Social media: Facebook, TikTok, and Twitter.
- Marketplace: Amazon, Craigslist, and eBay.
- Sales: HubSpot, Affinity, and Clearbit.
- Real estate: Redfin, Realtor.com, and Zillow.
- Jobs: Upwork, Monster, and Google Jobs.
In addition to Google Sheets, there are over seventy apps and websites integrated with Bardeen! To proceed, download the extension in Chrome now. It’s free to get started.
Now, let’s go through some ready-made automations that scrape website data, modify it using AI, and save the results to Google Sheets.
Once you search for LinkedIn companies, use this automation to qualify them based on your criteria and save the data to a Google Sheets spreadsheet. This can be great for streamlining your B2B prospecting process.
When hunting for real estate information, this automation can be your time-saving companion. Instead of copy-pasting data, use this automation to save agent details (like company and license) in a Google Sheets spreadsheet.
This automation saves a list of products from Amazon’s best sellers page to a Google Sheets spreadsheet every week, providing you with valuable market insights and product tracking. Check this page for more autobooks.
This automation lets you leverage AI to automatically generate a summary of a Reddit post and save it to Google Sheets for reference and analysis. Check this article for more AI automations to summarize web content.
We keep adding new automations regularly, but if you have one in mind that isn’t yet available, feel free to create your own using Magic Box. Since it is powered by AI, you can create automations via text prompts, just like texting!
Endnotes
Based on what tasks you want to perform, knowing how to import your Excel spreadsheet into Google Sheets and vice versa can be massively helpful. To develop practice, test the above methods with a sample file.
When using Google Sheets, it’s wise to leverage the web capabilities of the platform to increase productivity, and the best way to do that is to add AI to the mix. Next, read this article to learn how to add ChatGPT to Google Sheets.
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