What You'll Learn 

In this training article, we'll show you how to:

• Understand why the Web Query report is useful. 
• Run a Web Query report on a Windows PC.
• Change the date range used in a Web Query report. 
  
  
   

What Is A Web Query Report?

As a busy marketer, you don't always have time to jump into the platform, open your reports and analyze the data.

That's why the Web Query feature of the Marin platform is so useful. With a few simple steps, you can turn any Recurring Report into a Web Query, drop it into a spreadsheet editor like Microsoft Excel, then use that spreadsheet as a source of live data. This way, there's no need to drop in and out of the Marin platform, but you still benefit from the in-depth metrics only available from Marin platform. 

See it in action

Join the Marin Software team as we explain how to link run a Web Query using the Windows operating system. 

Click the play button to get started. We recommend viewing the video in full-screen. 

A Note For Excel 2016 Users 

If you're using Microsoft Excel 2016 or higher, you may hit a login screen when attempting to source data from the web in the steps below, which will not allow you to complete the Web Query. To resolve this issue, you'll need to enable the legacy version of Excel's Get Data feature. To do so, simply follow the steps outlined by Microsoft in this article(external link). Once you've done this, you'll be able to use the From Web (Legacy) option to complete your Web Query as normal. 

How to

Follow these simple steps to set up your Web Query on a Microsoft Windows PC. Running a Web Query from a Mac is a slightly more tricky process; you can find out more about Mac Web Queries from our Support Center article.  

Note that you'll need to know how to create a Recurring Report in order to run a Web Query. 
 

1. Create a recurring report with the Marin platform, and select Web Query as the format.
    
2. Select Run Report After Saving on the Report Settings page, then click Save. You'll be taken to the Report Templates sub-tab.
    
3. Next, head to the Completed Reports sub-tab. On the grid, you'll see a list of your recent reports, including the recurring report you made in step 1. 
    
4. In the Format column, right-click on the URL for Excel link and select Copy link address (or your browser's equivalent).
    
5. Head over to Microsoft Excel or another spreadsheet editor and either create a new workbook or open the one where you want to import the data. 
    
6. From the Data menu, select From Web. Paste the link you copied in the previous step into the address bar. The report will be loaded into the window. In some cases, checkboxes may appear next to each table in the report. If so, you can use these to select the sections you'd like to import as part of your Web Query. 
    
    
7. Click Import and you'll be asked where you'd like your report to be displayed. Make your choice and voila! Your Web Query report is ready to roll.
    
8. You can choose to have the data in the report refresh automatically when the file is opened. To do this, look at the Data tab in Excel or your spreadsheet editor again, then click Properties (which is usually in the Connections section). In the box that pops up, select Refresh Data When Opening File.
    
9. You're all done! The data in your Web Query will now be updated every time you open this file. You can also click Refresh All from the Data menu at the top of the screen for a manual refresh.

Try it Yourself

How about a trial run of creating a Web Query before you do it for real? We've got just the thing! Use the interactive section below to learn how to do this first-hand. Don't worry, this isn't live data and what you do won't be recorded, it's purely for practice. Click below to get started..

Want To Know More?

If you still have questions about creating and managing Web Query reports, here are some options for you to consider...

• Read more detailed information about creating a Web Query report