Hello,

I would like to import data from an .xls file into a Mysql DB so I can query the information from a webpage. Please provide me with step by step instructions. I have already created a DB and table with the field names exactly the same as the .xls column titles (with the exception of the DB having an extra field - ID - to be used as the primary key).

Any assistance with this is greatly appriciated.

Very Best Regards,
Richard

Save as a CSV file then import it with;

LOAD DATA INFILE 'csv_file' REPLACE INTO TABLE table_name FIELDS TERMINATED BY ',' OPTIONALLY ENCLOSED BY '\"' LINES TERMINATED BY '\r\n' IGNORE 1 LINES ;

http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.1/en/load-data.html

MAKE SURE the fields are in the same order in the DB as they are in the .xls

Thanks for your help.

How do I import it's data into mysql!??

You can't xls is a proprietary format and MySql cannot read it.

AS ABOVE you will have to EXPORT the data first.

There are software packages available to do this but I've never tried any (and you'd have to pay for it). The reason you wouldn't knock up a quick script is the amount of proprietary crap Microsoft adds: just compare the size of any MS file with the amount of actual data -- megabytes of what many suspect is obfuscatory rubbish.

megabytes of what many suspect is obfuscatory rubbish.

Actually the "growth" of most M$ file formats is because they keep an audit trail/undo history that the "auto recovery" can use when sorry, if the application crashes.

A File -> Save As... will clear the garbage and reduce the file size.

Try the SQL Data Examiner: the tool can import data from xls to MySQL. The free trial is available, so you don't need to purchase the tool to do the import