Extract with Regex from Excel Files Online
Extract text matching a regular expression from Excel files directly in your browser. Pull out emails, URLs, phone numbers, or any pattern into a new column — no upload required.
How to extract with Regex from Excel files
- Drop your file onto the upload area. The first 200 rows are shown, and the first text column is selected for you.
- Pick the text column to search. Only text (VARCHAR) columns are listed, so a column the reader loaded as numbers or dates will not appear.
- Type a regular expression, such as [A-Z]+-\d+, and name the new column. The default name is extracted.
- Choose First match, or All matches to join every match in a cell with a comma and a space. Click Extract.
- Check the new column at the end of the preview, then download the result in the same format you uploaded.
Your file is processed locally in your browser and is never uploaded. The free limit is 50 MB per file; larger files work if your device has the memory for them.
Worked example
A release manager exports the commit log for a sprint and wants a list of the Jira issue keys each commit mentions, so the release notes can link to the tickets.
Input (Excel)
Excel workbook, first sheet (Sheet1)
| commit | author | message |
|---|---|---|
| a41f9c2 | priya | PAY-212 fix rounding in invoice totals |
| 7be03d1 | tom | Merge PAY-215 and WEB-88 hotfixes |
| c9d2e47 | priya | Bump lodash to 4.17.21 |
| e18a6b0 | sam | web-91: tidy header spacing |
Settings
- Text column: message
- Regex pattern: [A-Z]+-\d+
- Output column name: issue_keys
- Match mode: All matches (comma-separated)
Result
| commit | author | message | issue_keys |
|---|---|---|---|
| a41f9c2 | priya | PAY-212 fix rounding in invoice totals | PAY-212 |
| 7be03d1 | tom | Merge PAY-215 and WEB-88 hotfixes | PAY-215, WEB-88 |
| c9d2e47 | priya | Bump lodash to 4.17.21 | NULL |
| e18a6b0 | sam | web-91: tidy header spacing | NULL |
All original columns are kept and issue_keys is added at the end. The merge commit mentions two tickets, so both are joined with a comma and a space. The lodash bump has no match and gets NULL. So does web-91, because matching is case-sensitive and the pattern only allows capital letters. Start the pattern with (?i) to ignore case.
Working with Excel files
Only the first sheet is read. The loader takes the text each cell displays and then works out column types from that text. This affects which columns you can search. A price formatted as currency, shown as $1,200.00, arrives as text and can be searched with a pattern such as [\d,]+\.\d{2}. An order number stored as a plain number arrives as a number and is not offered in the list at all.
Formula cells are read as their last calculated result, so the pattern runs against what the cell shows, not the formula text. Long numbers in General format, such as 16-digit tracking numbers, are displayed in scientific notation and are loaded that way, so their digits cannot be matched. Format those cells as Text in Excel before saving. The result is a new workbook with one sheet named Sheet1, holding the original columns plus the extracted one.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I extract from a sheet other than the first one?
No. The tool always reads the first sheet. Pull the sheet you need into its own file with the Excel Sheet Extractor, then run the extraction on that file.
Are my Excel formatting and other sheets kept?
No. The download is a new .xlsx with a single sheet of values. Fonts, colours, column widths, formulas and other sheets are not carried over.
What happens when a cell has no match?
The new column holds NULL, in both First match and All matches mode. Cells that were already NULL stay NULL.
Can I extract only a capture group?
Yes. If the pattern has a capture group, the text inside the first group is returned. SKU-(\d+) returns 4471 from SKU-4471. Without parentheses the whole match is returned. Use (?:...) for grouping that should not capture.
Which regex syntax is supported?
RE2 syntax. Character classes, quantifiers, alternation, anchors and inline flags such as (?i) all work. Lookaheads, lookbehinds and backreferences are not supported and return an error. Matching is case-sensitive unless you add (?i).
Related Tools
Split Column in Excel Files Online
Split a column into multiple columns by delimiter in Excel files directly in your browser. Turn "First Last" into separate first and last name columns — no upload required.
Count Values in Excel Files Online
Group and count rows by any column in Excel files directly in your browser. Sort by frequency or value to find the most common entries — no upload required.
Filter Excel Files Online
Filter rows in Excel files by column value, directly in your browser. Your data stays on your device.
Extract with Regex from CSV Files Online
Extract text matching a regular expression from CSV files directly in your browser. Pull out emails, URLs, phone numbers, or any pattern into a new column — no upload required.
Extract with Regex from Parquet Files Online
Extract text matching a regular expression from Parquet files directly in your browser. Pull out emails, URLs, phone numbers, or any pattern into a new column — no upload required.
Extract with Regex from JSON Files Online
Extract text matching a regular expression from JSON files directly in your browser. Pull out emails, URLs, phone numbers, or any pattern into a new column — no upload required.
Excel Viewer Online
View and inspect Excel files directly in your browser. Browse rows, check column names and data types — no upload required, your data stays on your device.
Convert Excel to Parquet Online
Convert Excel files to Parquet format directly in your browser. No upload required — your data never leaves your device.