Automated Export to any API

You can combine Lido's CALLURL function and automations to export data to any API.

CALLURL Function

Syntax:

CALLURL(url, method, [body], [headers], [output_cell])

Description:

Executes an HTTP request from within Excel to a specified URL using the given method (e.g., GET, POST). Optionally includes a request body, custom headers, and designates an output cell to receive the response.

Parameters

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
`url`	Yes	String	Target endpoint URL. Must include the protocol (`http://` or `https://`).
`method`	Yes	String	HTTP method for the request (e.g., `GET`, `POST`, `PUT`, `DELETE`).
`body`	No	String	Raw text request payload. Used primarily with methods such as `POST` and `PUT`. Supports JSON, XML, or form-encoded data.
`headers`	No	String	Raw text of HTTP headers in the format `"Header-Name: value"`. Multiple headers can be separated by line breaks (``).
`output_cell`	No	Cell reference	The cell where the response will be written. If omitted, the response is returned to the calling cell.

Return Value

Returns the HTTP response body as a string.
May return an error if:
The URL is invalid.
The request fails (network error, timeout, or non-2xx HTTP status without proper handling).
The request body or headers are improperly formatted.

Example Usage

=CALLURL(
  "https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts",
  "POST",
  "{""title"":""ab84"",""body"":""rg87"",""userId"":1}",
  "Content-Type: application/json"
)

Explanation:

Sends a POST request to https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts.
The JSON body contains title, body, and userId.
Sets the Content-Type header to application/json.
Returns the JSON response from the API.

Notes & Best Practices

Escaping quotes:

Double quotes inside strings must be escaped by doubling them (""key"":""value"").

Line breaks in headers:

When specifying multiple headers, separate them with CHAR(10) or \n.

Output targeting:

Use the output_cell parameter if the HTTP response is large or if you want to avoid overwriting the formula cell.

Security:

Avoid placing sensitive API keys or tokens directly in cells without adequate workbook protection.

Updated on: 15/08/2025

Was this article helpful?

Thank you!