oc("Web lookup using Excel","Saurabh: There is a simpler way as well. Use Data->Import External Data->New Web Query. While this is not as powerful as the user defined function that you have created, but definitely a good starting point for lesser geeks :)   I use this, for example, to have a dashboard kind of view for the status of the multiple projects that I handle at my work. We rely heavily on Microsoft Sharepoint at work, and using the Web Query option, I can easily get a snapshot of the status of various projects. Same can also fetch shareprices from various websites.","saurabh76@gmail.com","2007-05-03 07:38:56");
oc("Web lookup using Excel","S Anand: Good point, Saurabh! Web Query does make getting stuff out of HTML very easy. My function operates in a different domain, though. It can access XML, which Web Query won't, but can't access HTML, which Web Query does. I'm planning a few more posts on how to extend this concept... that will explain what I mean.","http://www.s-anand.net/","2007-05-03 08:16:20");
oc("Web lookup using Excel","rick sherrin: Hi,  I work at a public library, in the acquisitions department. The majority of the work is manually keying in order information (that is available electronically elsewhere).     I read your article about using Excel to retrieve amazon information. This is something that would be very useful to our library and would make my job easier.         I have a little excel knowledge, but I have no experience with visual basic or xml, etc. So although it looks straightforward, it is still out of my reach.        I would like to be able to enter a column of ISBN numbers in one column, and retrieve title, author, publisher, price, reviews, synopsis, cover image, in adjacent columns.         I would appreciate your help if you would give me an example of how I could easily do this.    Thanks    Rick    ");