How to Extract Data from Smart Chips in Google Sheets

Adam Steinfurth

Google Sheets users can access additional information from spreadsheet cells by converting them to Smart Chips. For example, a File Chip holds extra data about a specific file in Google Drive.

A Google Sheets File Chip with the hover window showing
Place Chip Example

There are several types of Smart Chips. The following table summarizes the options.

Available Smart Chip Extractions

This list shows the different types of Chips and the additional data they can store. Some extractions are limited to Google Workspace accounts.

  • Event Chip
    • Summary, URL, Description, Start date, End date, Organizer, Attendees, Location
  • File Chip
    • File Name, MIME Type, URL, Creation Time, Last Modified By, Last Modified Time, Owner
  • Finance Chip
    • Extractions are not available. Use the GOOGLEFINANCE function instead.
  • People Chip
    • Name, Email, Phone, Title, Location
  • Place Chip
    • Location URL
  • YouTube Chip
    • Video URL

Any of the items in the this list can be extracted into your spreadsheet. Let’s review the different methods available.

Data Extraction Methods

You can extract data from Smart Chips in two ways:

  • Using the Data Extraction sidebar: This is the most straightforward method. To use it, select a cell with a Smart Chip, click the Data menu option, and choose Data extraction. This will open a sidebar on the right where you can select the data you want to extract.
A File Chip in cell A1 and the Data Extraction sidebar on the right
Data Extraction Sidebar
  • Using a formula: You can also extract data from Smart Chips using a formula. To do this, start typing an equal sign (=) in the cell where you want the data to be extracted. Then, select the cell that contains the smart chips. Finally, add a period (.) and the data type you want to extract. For example, to extract the URL from a File Chip in cell A1, you would type =A1.url.
A File Chip in one cell and a data extraction formula in a cell next to it
Data Extraction Formula

Additional Tips for Extracting Data from Smart Chips

  • You can extract multiple pieces of data from a single Smart Chip using an array. For example, you could extract a person’s name and email into separate cells with one formula as such: ={A1.url,A1.[file name]}. Note the []s are needed due to the space in the file name argument.
  • If you are extracting data from many Smart Chips, you can automate the process using the Data Extraction sidebar.

I hope this article has helped you to learn how to extract data from Smart Chips in your Google Sheet.

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