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Flow Table Extractor

For Chrome Users

This step-by-step guide shows you how to install and use the Flow Table Extractor extension.

📥 Installation (One-Time Setup)

Step 1: Download the Extension

  1. Download flow-table-extractor.zip
  2. Unzip the file to a folder on your computer
  3. Remember where you saved it!

Step 2: Install in Chrome

Open Chrome Extensions Page:

  1. Open Chrome browser
  2. Type in address bar: chrome://extensions/
  3. Press Enter

![Extensions Page](Or navigate: Menu (⋮) → Extensions → Manage Extensions)

Enable Developer Mode:

  1. Look at the top-right corner
  2. Find the toggle switch "Developer mode"
  3. Turn it ON (it should turn blue)

Load the Extension:

  1. Click "Load unpacked" button (top-left)
  2. Navigate to the flow-table-extractor folder you unzipped
  3. Click "Select Folder"

Success!

You should see the Flow Table Extractor card appear:

  • Green "FT" icon
  • Name: "Flow Table Extractor"
  • Status: ON (blue toggle)

Step 3: Pin the Extension (Recommended)

  1. Click the puzzle piece icon (🧩) in Chrome toolbar
  2. Find "Flow Table Extractor"
  3. Click the pin icon (📌) next to it
  4. The green "FT" icon will now appear in your toolbar

⚙️ Configuration (One-Time Setup)

Step 4: Configure Your Credentials

Open the Extension:

  1. Click the green "FT" icon in your Chrome toolbar
  2. The Flow Table Extractor popup opens

Configure Credentials:

  1. Click the button: "Configure Flow Credentials"
  2. A form appears with three fields

Fill in the Form:

┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Flow Username:                      │
│ [your-flow-username____________]    │
│                                     │
│ Flow Password:                      │
│ [••••••••••••••••••••••••••]       │
│                                     │
│ Claude API Key (optional):          │
│ [sk-ant-api-key-here__________]    │
│ For smart table parsing...          │
│                                     │
│ [Save All Credentials]              │
│ [Cancel]                            │
└─────────────────────────────────────┘

Field 1: Flow Username

  • Enter your Flow Immersive username
  • Use your USERNAME, not email
  • Example: john (not john@company.com)

Field 2: Flow Password

  • Enter your Flow Immersive password
  • This is the password you use to login at a.flow.gl

Field 3: Claude API Key (Optional)

  • Leave blank if you don't have one
  • Or enter your Claude API key for smart table parsing
  • Example: sk-ant-api03-abc123...
  • Get one at: https://console.anthropic.com/

Save:

  1. Click "Save All Credentials"
  2. You should see: "✓ All credentials saved securely!"
  3. Credentials are saved and you'll never need to enter them again!

What is Claude API Key?

Claude AI helps parse complex tables with:

  • Multi-row headers
  • Merged cells
  • Nested structures

Do you need it?

  • ❌ No - for simple tables (most tables)
  • ✓ Yes - for Wikipedia-style complex tables
  • ✓ Yes - for financial reports with grouped columns

Cost: ~$0.01-0.03 per table (1-3 cents)

How to get one:

  1. Go to https://console.anthropic.com/
  2. Sign up (free)
  3. Go to "API Keys"
  4. Click "Create Key"
  5. Copy the key (starts with sk-ant-)
  6. Paste into the extension

🚀 Using the Extension

Step 5: Navigate to a Page with Tables

Examples of good pages:

  • Wikipedia data tables
  • Financial reports
  • Product comparison pages
  • Any page with HTML tables

Example:

  1. Go to Wikipedia
  2. Search for "List of countries by population"
  3. You'll see tables with data

Step 6: Open the Extension

Click the green "FT" icon in your toolbar.

The popup shows:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ [FLOW] Table Extractor    [📖 Docs]    │
├─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                         │
│  Select Table: [Table 1: Country... ▼] │
│  3 table(s) found                       │
│                                         │
│  Dataset Title: [My Dataset_______]    │
│                                         │
│  ☐ Use Claude AI for smart parsing     │
│                                         │
│  [Extract & Upload to Flow]            │
│  [Configure Flow Credentials]          │
│                                         │
├─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│      Flow Immersive, Inc.               │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘

Step 7: Select a Table

Table Dropdown:

  • Shows all tables found on the page
  • Preview format: "Table 1: FirstColumn, SecondColumn... (X rows)"
  • Click dropdown to see all available tables
  • Select the table you want to extract

No tables found?

  • The page doesn't have HTML <table> elements
  • Try a different page

Step 8: Enter Dataset Title

In the "Dataset Title" field:

  • Enter a descriptive name for your data
  • Examples:
    • Country Population 2024
    • Q4 Sales Data
    • Product Comparison
  • Make it clear and memorable!

Version Control:

  • If you use the same title again, Flow creates a new version
  • Useful for tracking changes over time

Step 9: Choose Parsing Mode (Optional)

Checkbox: "Use Claude AI for smart table parsing"

When to check this box:

  • ☑️ Table has multi-row headers
  • ☑️ Table has merged cells
  • ☑️ Complex Wikipedia-style tables
  • ☑️ Financial reports with nested columns

When to leave unchecked:

  • ☐ Simple tables (one header row)
  • ☐ You don't have a Claude API key
  • ☐ You want fastest extraction

Example tables that need Claude:

Simple table (no Claude needed):
┌──────────┬──────────┬──────────┐
│ Country  │ Population│ Area    │
├──────────┼──────────┼──────────┤
│ USA      │ 331M     │ 9.8M    │
└──────────┴──────────┴──────────┘

Complex table (use Claude):
┌──────────┬──────────────────────┐
│ Country  │     Statistics       │
│          ├──────────┬───────────┤
│          │ 2023     │ 2024      │
│          ├────┬─────┼────┬──────┤
│          │Pop │Area │Pop │Area  │
├──────────┼────┼─────┼────┼──────┤
│ USA      │331M│9.8M │334M│9.8M  │
└──────────┴────┴─────┴────┴──────┘

Step 10: Extract!

Click the big green button: "Extract & Upload to Flow"

What happens:

Status message appears:

  • Without Claude: "Uploading to Flow..."
  • With Claude: "Analyzing table with Claude AI..."

Processing time:

  • Simple tables: 2-5 seconds
  • With Claude AI: 5-10 seconds

Success message:

✓ Success! Uploaded 150 rows to Flow 
dataset "Country Population 2024"

Error message (if something goes wrong):

🔐 Flow Authentication Failed

Details: Invalid username or password.

💡 Suggestion: Update your Flow credentials 
in "Configure Flow Credentials".

Step 11: View in Flow

  1. Go to Flow Immersive (a.flow.gl)
  2. Navigate to a Flow and your datasets via the Manage Datasets button
  3. Find the dataset by the title you entered

💡 Tips & Tricks

Tip 1: Test Your Credentials

If you're getting authentication errors:

Quick Test:

  1. Go to a.flow.gl
  2. Try logging in with your credentials
  3. If it works there but not in the extension:
    • Make sure you're using USERNAME (not email)
    • Re-enter credentials in the extension

Tip 2: Documentation Button

Click the blue "📖 Docs" button in the extension header to:

  • Read detailed documentation
  • See troubleshooting guides
  • Learn advanced features

Tip 3: Multiple Tables

If a page has many tables:

  1. Extract them one at a time
  2. Use different dataset titles
  3. Or use the same title for versions

Tip 4: Complex Tables

Wikipedia tables often have complex structures:

  1. Check "Use Claude AI"
  2. Takes a bit longer
  3. Much better results!

Example: "List of largest companies" on Wikipedia

🔧 Troubleshooting

Problem: "Cannot connect to backend server"

Solution: The backend server is hosted and should always be running. If you see this error:

  1. Wait a moment and try again
  2. Check your internet connection
  3. Contact Flow if problem persists

Problem: "Flow Authentication Failed"

Cause: Wrong username or password

Solution:

  1. Click "Configure Flow Credentials"
  2. Make sure you're using:
    • USERNAME (not email)
    • Correct password
  3. Test login at flowimmersive.com first
  4. Re-enter credentials and save

Problem: Claude AI checkbox is grayed out

Cause: No Claude API key configured

Solution:

  1. Click "Configure Flow Credentials"
  2. Add your Claude API key
  3. Save
  4. Checkbox will become available

Problem: Upload is slow

Normal speeds:

  • Simple tables: 2-5 seconds
  • Claude AI parsing: 5-10 seconds
  • Very large tables: up to 30 seconds

If slower:

  • Check your internet connection
  • Wait for timeout message
  • Try again

📖 Common Workflows

Workflow 1: Quick Wikipedia Data Extract

  1. Go to Wikipedia article with data
  2. Click "FT" icon
  3. Select table from dropdown
  4. Enter title: Wikipedia - [Topic Name]
  5. Leave Claude unchecked (try it first)
  6. Click "Extract & Upload to Flow"
  7. If table looks messy in Flow:
    • Try again with "Use Claude AI" checked

Workflow 2: Complex Financial Table

  1. Navigate to financial report website
  2. Find the data table
  3. Click "FT" icon
  4. Select table
  5. Enter title: Q4 2024 Financial Report
  6. ✓ Check "Use Claude AI" (complex table!)
  7. Click "Extract & Upload to Flow"
  8. Wait 5-10 seconds
  9. View perfectly formatted data in Flow!

Workflow 3: Regular Data Updates

Same dataset, multiple versions:

  1. Extract table from website
  2. Use same dataset title each time
  3. Example: Weekly Sales Report
  4. Flow creates new version automatically
  5. Track changes over time!

✅ Setup Checklist

Before using the extension:

  • Downloaded and unzipped extension
  • Installed in Chrome (chrome://extensions/)
  • Enabled Developer mode
  • Pinned extension to toolbar
  • Configured Flow credentials
  • (Optional) Added Claude API key
  • Tested on a simple table

You're ready to extract tables! 🎉

🎓 Pro User Tips

Dataset Organization

Use consistent naming:

  • Company - Data Type - Date
  • Example: Acme Corp - Sales - 2024-Q4

Claude AI Usage

Save money:

  1. Try without Claude first
  2. If table is messy → Use Claude
  3. Simple tables don't need it!

Version Control

Track data over time:

  1. Use same title weekly/monthly
  2. Flow creates versions automatically
  3. Compare changes in Flow

Happy Table Extracting! 📊✨

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