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Unable to read certain web pages to import into Power Query

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(@kelwyn)
Posts: 2
New Member
Topic starter
 

Hi. I've been finding that that the Power Query Web Import (Data->From Web) doesn't work very well for a lot of web pages.

For example, I'm trying to create a dynamic list of fixtures for my kids games which I will then transform to a format to allow me to import into my Outlook Calendar. 

Any solution? Example data for Transforming

Brentwood Booragoon JFC Year 5 U11 Mixed Fixture for Brentwood Booragoon JFC (Metro South - WA) 2025 EF Year 5 WHITE 2025 | PlayHQ

Or trying to import ALL rounds isn't possible from here: 

Fixtures & Results | WAFL

image

Hoping to learn what options to try when running into problematic web pages especially when it looks like an easy table but then just doesn't make it easy to import into Power Query.

Thanks

Kel

 
Posted : 29/06/2025 1:59 pm
Alan Sidman
(@alansidman)
Posts: 233
Member Moderator
 

Here are some potential reasons you may be having difficulties.  This listing is not exclusive as there may be more issues.

1. Dynamic Content & JavaScript:
  • Reliance on JavaScript: Many modern websites use JavaScript to load and display data dynamically. If a web page relies on JavaScript to render content or tables after the initial page load, Power Query might struggle to capture this information because it primarily relies on parsing the static HTML structure.
  • Dynamic updates: Pages that load their content dynamically can sometimes be inconsistent because the content can change after the browser considers loading complete. 
2. Website Structure & Table Definition:
  • Non-standard table formats: Power Query in Excel primarily focuses on identifying tables defined by <table> tags. If a website uses alternative methods like <div> tags or other non-standard approaches to structure tabular data, Power Query might not recognize it as a table, making it difficult to extract the data.
  • Website structure changes: Even minor changes to the website's layout, design, or underlying HTML structure can disrupt the data extraction process if the scraper was designed for the previous structure. 

 

This post was modified 5 hours ago by Alan Sidman
 
Posted : 30/06/2025 6:05 am
(@kelwyn)
Posts: 2
New Member
Topic starter
 

Thanks for your reply. I have worked around this by using AI. However AI can't generate it correctly either from the website addresses so to work around that I had to copy and paste the fixtures for it to generate it correctly. OK for a manual work around. Not ideal for other situations where I would require it to dynamically refresh the data when 3rd party users need to access that info.

This post was modified 18 minutes ago 2 times by Kelwyn Yeo
 
Posted : 30/06/2025 10:23 am
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