Extracting Table Data

When you need to extract data from tables on web pages, the Web Recorder guides you with visual steps.

Many websites have data organized in HTML tables. Extract Table makes it easy to save tabular data in a CSV (comma-delimited) file that you can open in most spreadsheet and database applications, including Excel and Access.

  1. Launch the Web Recorder:
  2. Enter the website address (URL) on which you want to extract data, and click Start.

    The program displays the 'Web Recorder Tip' window:

    Optionally, select Don't show this message again to not have the program display the tip.

    The Web Recorder Toolbar opens, and Internet Explorer is launched in a new window with the specified website.

  3. You can now perform any actions you like, including mouse clicks and text entry. When you need to extract or copy table data from the website, click the Extract Table button on the Web Recorder toolbar.
  4. Move the yellow prompt bar to the table you want to extract and click it. The yellow prompt bar.
    Note: If the content you select is not a table, the yellow prompt bar changes to red.

    The Extracted Table window opens and shows a preview of the data within the table.

  5. If the table spans multiple web pages, click the check box The table spans across multiple pages.

    Use the Capture button to capture the control name for moving to the next page.

  6. Click Next when done to preview and save the extracted table.
  7. Save the table as a CSV (comma-separated) file into a location of your choice.

    Optionally, use the Append to an existing CSV file check box to append the extracted data to an existing CSV file.

  8. Click Finish.
  9. Click the Stop Recording button on the Web Recorder toolbar.
  10. In the Save Task window, specify a task name, optionally select a folder in which to save the task, and click Save. You can also optionally specify a password to prevent the task from being run by unauthorized users.
Note: The trial version supports extracting 5 pages of data for viewing only. No such limitation exists in the purchased version.