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Web function

ENCODEURL

Returns a URL-encoded version of text.

Rarely usedDifficulty 1250 · ProficientUsage rank #281 of 520
Practice · 2 questions →

When to use it

Percent-encodes text so it is safe inside a URL query string.

The shape of it

Syntax
=ENCODEURL(text)

Worked examples

  • A space

    =ENCODEURL("Blake Ekelund") → Blake%20Ekelund

    The space becomes %20.

  • Special characters

    =ENCODEURL("a&b=c") → a%26b%3Dc

    Ampersands and equals signs are escaped.

  • Build a query

    ="https://maps.example.com/?q="&ENCODEURL(A2) → https://maps.example.com/?q=123%20Main%20St

    Building a link from an address cell.

Worth knowing

  • Encode each parameter value separately, not the whole URL.
  • Pairs with HYPERLINK for clickable searches.
  • Introduced in Excel 2013.

Where it goes wrong

  • Encoding an already-encoded string doubles the escapes.
  • Not available on Mac in older versions.

Related

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