Importing a feed from a filefield? I'm ultimately needing a way to regularly upload and parse through a multi-page spreadsheet and then summarize some data from it. 

After trying Sheetnode (and disliking its Excel importing implementation, which creates a new node for each sheet in the spreadsheet), I'm thinking the Data module coupled with Feeds might be the best solution.

However, I'm needing some way to download the original spreadsheet after parsing. Ideally, this would mean the user adds a spreadsheet to a filefield and hits upload, after which the original is stored in that field and Feeds API is starts to do its magic.

To this end, is there any way of having Feeds import from a file uploaded via the Field API instead of through Feeds' import page?

(Or alternately, the user uploads via Feeds' Import page and the original spreadsheet is then stored in a fieldfield -- either works.)

Many thanks!
well bottomline is:

You want to import a spreadsheet (maybe with multiple sheets in it) on a regulary basis.

I'd suggest the module migrate, you find the possiblility to import csv-files (and also an example if i remember right).

Migrate has maybe a little more effort in the start, but it also has many nice features like a hightwatermark, means if there is a counter or a timestamp in your file (for each record), then migrate can skip easily over former imported items.

Also tranformation of data is (if neccessary) with migrate possible.

At least you should have a close look at the module migrate.