Scraping data automatically into Google Sheets ​

You can automatically save your scrape results to Google Sheets, making it possible to work with the data the instant that it's scraped. Here's how.

Privacy first: Simplescraper requests the least amount of permissions necessary which means that it cannot view, know about or access any existing files on your Google Drive. It can only access files that have been created with Simplescraper.

Connecting to Google Sheets ​

To connect Simplescraper to Google Sheets click on any of your recipes and then click the 'Integrations' tab. Click the 'connect' button and follow the instructions.

A new tab will open asking you to confirm Simplescraper's access. Once you confirm you will be redirected to a page asking you to re-login to Simplescraper. Once completed you can close the tab. Simplescraper is now connected to Google Drive.

Now when you run a scrape job your scrape results will automatically be saved to a sheet on your Google drive with the same name as your recipe.

Choosing to replace or append data ​

The first time that Simplescraper runs with the 'save to Google sheets' option selected it will create a new sheet with the same name as the recipe. When you run the recipe again, the new result data can either replace any existing data in that Google Sheet or else be appended to any data that is already there.

If you choose to append the scrape result data you can choose to identify a unique field so that Simplescraper can avoid duplicates. The unique field will depend on the data that you are scraping - a URL, title or any static value are perfect options.

Customizing or adding formulas to your data in Google Sheets ​

When Simplescraper updates your Google Sheet with new data, it may overwrite the entire sheet (tab).

This means that formatting and formulas applied to the sheet will be lost. The solution is to create a second sheet (tab) that references the data created by Simplescraper and apply formulas and formatting there.

The solution:

  1. Create a second sheet:

    • Sheet1: Data from Simplescraper
    • Sheet2: Your newly created sheet for analysis and formatting

  2. Reference Data: in Sheet2, cell A1, enter this formula:

    =Sheet1!A:Z

    This copies all data from Sheet1. Adjust 'Z' to the last column with data.

  3. Add your formulas and formatting to Sheet2.

  4. Keeping Rows in Sync: If Sheet1 has more rows than Sheet2, extend your formulas and formatting:

    • Select the last row in Sheet2 with formatting and formulas.

    • Drag the small blue square in the bottom-right corner down to match Sheet1's row count. This copies your formulas and formatting to new rows while maintaining Sheet1 references.

This approach preserves your raw data in Sheet1 while allowing you to freely analyze and format in Sheet2. When new data is added to Sheet1, your formulas in Sheet2 will automatically update.