Microsoft Excel
Send live web data to an Excel workbook in OneDrive or SharePoint, one row per result, each with the pages it came from. Or bring a workbook in as a list, and SpecStream looks for new and changed rows every day.
SpecStream for Microsoft ExcelSheets, docs & databases
The Excel add-in isn't on Microsoft AppSource yet. Sending results to a workbook and importing one both work today, and the steps and sections below cover them.
What you need
- A SpecStream account. Starting is free.
- A Microsoft account with OneDrive or SharePoint, and an .xlsx workbook you can edit.
- Results from a finished request, such as HVAC contractors in Phoenix with a published phone number. A list you imported needs its matches found first.
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1. Add the headings
SpecStream learns the columns from row 1 of the sheet. Type a heading there for each detail you want, such as Name, Website, and Phone. It reads the first 100 columns and adds none of its own.
Add one more heading,
specstream_export_id, for the export reference. SpecStream puts a reference in it for every row it writes. A heading that matches a field's name is picked for that field automatically. - 2
2. Connect Microsoft Excel
Open Connections in the workspace and click Sign in to Microsoft Excel. Microsoft asks you to let SpecStream edit workbooks in OneDrive and SharePoint.
You return to the Account step, signed in. Nothing goes into a workbook until you review an export.
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3. Choose the workbook and sheet
Pick the Excel workbook from the .xlsx files your account can open, then the Sheet inside it. Row 1 of that sheet names the columns.
Under Records from, choose the collection with your results, then tick the records to send. Only matches from a finished run can go.
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4. Match the columns
Choose a column for each field, by the heading you typed. The fields are Name, each detail on the list, Record ID, Why it matches, with sources, and Export reference. A field set to Don't send stays in SpecStream, and two fields can't share a column.
Export reference has to go to a column. SpecStream reads that column to find a row again when Excel doesn't confirm a write. Why it matches, with sources fills its cell with one line per reason and the page it was read from.
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5. Review and send
Review shows how the first record will look, column by column. Click the button that reads Send and your record count. SpecStream formats the row as text, then writes each record on the first row below the last one that holds a value.
Turn on Keep sending and later matches, including ones a monitor finds, follow the same mapping into this sheet.
To start from a collection instead, select records, open Export, and choose Microsoft Excel under Send to.
Sending the same record again
A record you send again updates the row SpecStream wrote, at the position where it wrote it. Leave those rows in place. Sorting the sheet or inserting rows above them points the update at whatever row sits there now, so sort a copy if you need another order.
If Excel never confirms a write, the send stops at that record and Check delivery appears. It reads the sheet for the record's export reference, and nothing is written again until you've run it. The Export history tab on Connections keeps every send and how it ended.
Bring a workbook in
Open Import a list from Collections, choose Microsoft Excel under From, and sign in if you haven't. Paste the workbook's OneDrive or SharePoint link into Workbook link, name the collection, and click Read the list.
SpecStream reads the first sheet. Row 1 holds the headings, and the sheet can have up to 100 distinct ones with none blank. Rows that can't load are listed with their row number and a reason, and the rest load.
Match the name column, plus website, city, country, latitude, and longitude if you have them. Extra columns come along. Review the first rows and click the Import button. A list holds up to 20,000 rows and 20 MB.
Leave Keep this list up to date with Microsoft Excel on and SpecStream looks for new and changed rows every day. Your notes, views, and results stay as they are.
The Excel add-in
Once it is listed, the add-in puts SpecStream in a pane beside your sheet. Click Your lists in the SpecStream group on the Home tab, then paste an API key from Agents & API. The pane needs Excel with ExcelApi 1.16 or later and says so when yours is older.
Pick one of your lists and click Add to sheet. The records land on a new sheet whose name starts with SS_, with a bold, frozen heading row and filters. Your other sheets don't change, and adding the same list again points you to the sheet it already made.
For a new list, click New find, describe what you want, and click Get price. The pane shows the most it can cost. Type that amount to approve it, click Approve and find, and click Refresh until the list is ready.
Send from an assistant
Once Excel is connected here, an assistant on SpecStream's MCP server can send results to the same sheet. It reads the sheet's columns (Read a destination's fields), saves a mapping (Save a field mapping), and sends (Send records to a tool). It can only use a connection you made yourself, because signing in to Microsoft takes you.
Add https://api.specstream.ai/mcp to your assistant, or follow the setup guides for Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, and more. Create its key under Agents & API with Read results and their sources, Prepare work and follow-ups, and Read account and balance. A key that can also authorize paid work can carry a total spending limit.
Cost
Sending to a workbook is free, and so is importing one. A new find shows its maximum price before it starts, and you pay for the matches only, from 10¢ each. Adding details to an imported list costs 5¢ for each row SpecStream resolves, and a row that matches pays its own rate instead.
New accounts start with $10 of work for 30 days, once, with no card.
Disconnect
Open the Configured tab on Connections and choose Disconnect from the connection's menu. That deletes SpecStream's stored sign-in. To withdraw the permission at Microsoft as well, remove SpecStream from the apps allowed to use your Microsoft account. Rows already in the workbook stay.
In the add-in, open Account and choose Disconnect. Revoke the key under Agents & API to stop it everywhere.
More
SpecStream for Microsoft Excel covers what it does in Microsoft Excel on one page. Every other tool has its guide in Connect your tools. You see the most a request can cost before it starts, and only the matches come out of your balance. Billing has the details. For help, email [email protected].