How To Copy Tables from PDF to Excel Without Formatting Loss

We’ve all encountered PDF documents with tables that need to be used elsewhere. However, PDFs are designed to preserve information without easy editing. You can’t rely on regular office software to extract tables from a PDF.

In this post, we will introduce software that can help you copy tables from PDF to Excel easily and effectively, and some of these methods are even free. Check out the following three methods.

How to Copy Table from PDF to Excel by Converting PDF to Excel

Have lots of data on the PDF table? In order to copy a table from PDF to Excel without missing any information, the most direct way is turning to a reliable PDF to Excel converter. PDFgear Desktop is a preferred software for many. The reasons are as follows.

To begin with, PDFgear Desktop is a software that helps convert PDF to Excel with the AI-powered OCR feature. Even if you are having a PDF from a scanned document, PDFgear Desktop can make it editable without losing the original format. The Excel converted from the PDF will remain the same font, size, and order. Besides, PDFgear Desktop supports numerous languages. You will not likely see text encoding issues in the output Excel.

Here is how to use PDFgear Desktop to copy tables from PDF to Excel:

Step 1. Download PDFgear Desktop to your computer and launch it. PDFgear Desktop is a light PDF editor that won’t take too much storage space and CPU. Feel free to download it.

Step 2. Click on the Open File icon, and choose a PDF from any local folder. A few seconds later, your PDF will be opened in the PDF editor.

Step 3. Click on Tools > Convert > PDF to Excel on the top menubar. A new converter window would pop up.

Step 4. Set the conversion range, output path, and then click Convert. You will get an Excel in just a few seconds.

This method is completely free since PDFgear Desktop is free for all. Give it a try!

How to Copy Table from PDF to Excel by Copying Table to Word

If there are too many excessive texts on your PDF, a direct conversion may leave you with lots of Excel data to delete. Under this circumstance, a manual method can be a better option.

PDFgear Desktop enables everyone to edit a PDF just like a Word. You can use it to add highlights, create a table of contents, and delete pages. When it comes to tables on PDF, you can easily add, remove, edit information, and paste it anywhere you like.

As you might have noticed, the data copied from PDF are just plain text. Microsoft Word will take over from here. It has a feature that lets you create a table from copied data. The process is also extremely easy. Here’s how.

Step 1.  Open your PDF document using PDFgear. Place the cursor where you want to copy text, then drag to select all the text. Right-click the mouse and choose “Copy” in the toolbox.

Step 2. Open your Microsoft Word application and create a new document. Press Ctrl +V on the keyboard to paste the copied text into the document.

Step 3. Press Ctrl + A to select all table text. Go to Insert > Table on the top column, and select the Convert Text to Table option in the drop-down menu.

Step 4. In the pop-up window, enter the number of columns or rows in the Table Size section. Then, move to the Separate text section, check the “Other” button, and type a space in the adjacent box to remove any characters.

Step 5.  Click “OK” to confirm the settings. You will soon receive a table, and copy it to your Excel now.

This method may not be free because Microsoft offers Office 365 as a subscription-based service.

How to Copy Table from PDF to Excel by Opening PDF in Word

Microsoft Word allows you to process PDFs as a Word document. Open any PDF, you can copy the table, or make other edits to the PDF with Microsoft Word. This method doesn’t require any third-party software, and the editing process is quite streamlined and efficient.

This method sounds great, but there is one shortcoming. PDFs containing book chapters or PDFs from scanned documents may have some formatting inconsistencies.

If you insist on trying, follow the steps to copy tables from PDF to Excel with Microsoft Word.

Step 1.  Open Microsoft Word, click on “File” > “Open.” Choose the target PDF from any local folder and click “Open.”

Step 2. A window will pop up asking if you want to convert the PDF to Word. Click “OK” to proceed.

Step 3.  The PDF is now open in Microsoft Word. Select the table, either press Ctrl + C or right-click the mouse and choose “Copy.”

Step 4.  Open a new Excel file and press Ctrl + V to paste the table.

This method may not be free. You will need to purchase a standalone version of Microsoft Word as part of the Microsoft Office suite.

Conclusion

Now, you have 3 ways to extract tables from PDF. Microsoft Word offers a streamlined experience, but it is not free in some areas and messes up the PDF format sometimes. Try PDFgear Desktop for effective, smooth PDF to Excel conversion, or manually copy the data. You will not cost a penny!