How to Copy a Table from a PDF to Excel

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Easily import tables from a PDF into your Excel worksheet

Written by Nicole Levine, MFA

Last Updated: January 5, 2024 Fact Checked

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Using Excel 365 for Windows

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Using Microsoft Word

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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]
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Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Using Excel 365 for Windows

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Open Excel on your Windows PC. You can open a new project or continue a saved project in Excel.
- 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]
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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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It's in the menu above the editing ribbon.
For Windows, it's the furthest icon on the left of the menu.
^{[3]
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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).
Excel will connect to the PDF file and display a list of tables.
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Select a table to copy. In the left panel, click the table you want to import. You can click through each table to see a preview in the right panel. To copy multiple tables into your Excel workbook, check the box next to "Select multiple items" at the top.
- 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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Click Load . It's in the bottom right corner. This copies the table from the PDF to the current worksheet in Excel.
- If you'd rather work with the table data in Power Query before copying it to your worksheet, click Transform Data instead. ^{[4]
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Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Using Microsoft Word

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Open the PDF in Microsoft Word. If you're not using Microsoft Office 365 on a Windows PC, the easiest way to copy a table from a PDF into Excel is to first open the PDF in Word . This method will work in any version of Excel beginning with Office 2013 on a PC or Mac. To open the PDF in Word:
- 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]
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- Click OK when prompted to convert the PDF into a Word document. It may take a few moments to display the file.
Now the PDF is in the Word format, it should be easier to copy while retaining the original table structure.
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Click the Enable Editing button. You'll see this in the alert bar at the top of the file. This allows you to edit the document.
- If prompted, click OK again to make the file editable.
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.
The table is now copied to your clipboard.
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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Press Ctrl + ⇧ Shift + V (PC) or ⌘ Cmd + ⇧ Shift + V (Mac) to paste. This copies the table data into the sheet without pasting any special colors or formatting from the PDF. This is a great way to paste if you want the data from the table to be plain text or automatically inherit the formatting of your Excel sheet.
- 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.