How to Copy a Table from a PDF to Excel

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Do you have a PDF table that you want to add to an Excel sheet? If you try copying the table from the PDF and then pasting it into Excel, you'll get jumbled and non-sensical text. Fortunately, it's easy to copy a table from a PDF to Excel if you have Microsoft 365 (Office 365) for Windows. If you're using a Mac or have an earlier version of Excel, you can still copy and paste the table by opening the PDF in Microsoft Word. This wikiHow article will teach you two simple ways to copy a table from a PDF to an Excel workbook.

Things You Should Know

With a Microsoft 365 subscription on Windows, you can use Power Query to import a table from any PDF.
You can also open a PDF in Word and enable editing to copy the table into an Excel worksheet.
When you paste a PDF table into Excel with either method, the data will be organized into columns and rows just as it was in the PDF. [1] X Research source

Method 1 of 2:

Using Excel 365 for Windows

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This method covers using the Power Query feature to import a table from a PDF into Excel. This feature is only available with a Microsoft 365 (Office 365) subscription on Windows. Unfortunately, this feature is not yet available on Excel for Mac. [2] X Research source

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Select a cell. Click the cell into which you want to begin pasting the table. For example, click A1 to begin pasting the table at the upper-left corner of the sheet.

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\n"> Click the Data tab. It's in the menu above the editing ribbon.

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\n"> Click Get Data . For Windows, it's the furthest icon on the left of the menu.

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Select From File and choose From PDF . [3] X Research source With each selection, the menu will continue expanding until you select From PDF, after which Excel will open your file manager (Finder for Mac and File Explorer for Windows).

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\n"> Select your PDF and click Open . Excel will connect to the PDF file and display a list of tables.

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Knowing the page number on which the table you want is located in the PDF will be helpful, as each table is labeled by page number.

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If you'd rather work with the table data in Power Query before copying it to your worksheet, click Transform Data instead. [4] X Trustworthy Source Microsoft Support Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Go to source

Advertisement Method 2 of 2:

Using Microsoft Word

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Open Microsoft Word.
Click the File menu and select Open. If you don't see a File menu, just click Open.
Select the PDF that contains the table and click Open. [5] X Research source
Click OK when prompted to convert the PDF into a Word document. It may take a few moments to display the file.

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Use your mouse or trackpad to highlight the table you want to copy. Now the PDF is in the Word format, it should be easier to copy while retaining the original table structure.

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If prompted, click OK again to make the file editable.

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Select the table you want to copy to Excel. If Word recognizes the table in the file, you'll see a crosshair icon at the table's top-left corner. In this case, just click that icon to select the entire table at once. If Word doesn't recognize the table, use your mouse or trackpad to select the table you want to copy.

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\n"> Press Ctrl + C (PC) or ⌘ Cmd + C (Mac) to copy. The table is now copied to your clipboard.

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Open your Excel sheet and click a cell. Click the cell into which you want to begin pasting the table. For example, click A1 to begin pasting the table at the upper-left corner of the sheet.

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If you'd rather keep the formatting of the original table, such as custom colors, fonts, and bold text, you can use Ctrl + V (PC) or Cmd + V (Mac) instead.

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