How To Convert PDF to Google Sheets [Step-by-Step Guide]

Do you have crucial information trapped in a PDF file? Converting it into an editable Google Sheet simplifies analysis and sharing. PDFs have a fixed layout that prevents content modifications, while Google Sheets arranges data in tables. To move data from a PDF to Google Sheets, manual conversion is needed due to these layout disparities.

This post will show you how to easily convert PDFs to Sheets in just a few clicks.

(Please note that since you want to get Google Sheets, it is necessary to register a Google Drive account)

Convert PDF to Google Sheets with PDFgear Desktop

PDFgear Desktop provides you with mutual conversion between more than 15 different file formats. Although it is a piece of free software, PDFgear supports batch conversion, unlimited conversion, and lossless conversion.

Step 1. Open PDFgear Desktop

Download PDFgear Desktop and install it on your device > Open PDFgear Desktop > Click Convert from PDF.

Step 2. Convert PDF to Excel

Hit PDF to Excel > Add File > Choose the PDF file you want to convert > Set the Output Path > Click Convert.

(Although PDFgear online PDF to Excel converter supports the conversation, it limits the file size to under 20MB and doesn’t support batch process.)

Step 3. Copy Excel Sheets to Google Sheets

Copy the tables from the editable Excel sheet and paste them into Google Sheets. There you are done within two minutes.

Convert PDF to Google Sheets with Google Drive

Step 1. Log in and open your Google Drive > Click New > Select File Upload > Choose your target PDF file.

Step 2. Right-click the file > Choose Open with Google Docs.

Step 3. Double-check the information that was converted and copy-paste it into Google Sheets.

Convert PDF to Google Sheets Using CSV

Converting your PDF file to CSV format is recommended when it contains plain text to avoid potential issues.

Step 1. Follow the instructions in steps 1 and 2 of the “Convert PDF to Google Sheets with Google Docs” section to make the content editable in Google Docs.

Step 2. Open Find and Replace (Ctrl+H) > Replace space with a comma > Hit Replace all. 

This step is essential for separating the values to prevent all the data from being cramped into a single table cell when converting to a CSV file.

Step 3. Click File > Download > Plain Text > After downloading, change the file name from .txt to .csv.

Step 4. Open a Blank Google Sheets > Click File > Hover over Open > Choose the Upload tab > Select the CSV file to open it in Google Sheets.

Convert PDF to Google Sheets with Google Sheets Extensions

PDF Tables Extractor is an add-on plugin that offers online table extraction. During this extraction process, the PDF Tables Extractor effectively preserves the row and column structure of your data.

Step 1. Open your Google Drive > Click My Drive > More > Connect more apps > Install PDF Table Extractor.

Step 2. Find your target PDF file in the Google Drive file list and right-click to select Open with PDF Table Extractor.

Step 3. In the PDF Table Extractor window, open your file from Google Drive, drop a file from your hard drive storage, and click Start Extract Tables.

You will get the result of editable text and editable tables at the same time.

Step 4. Select the editable text or tables and copy-paste them to Google Sheets and there you are!

(Please note: This method is not suitable for large and complex PDF files)

Convert PDF to Google Sheets Online

If there was a tool that could convert PDF to Google Sheets with one click, it would definitely be a major breakthrough. Nanonets has been working on image recognition, data extraction, and document processing.

In Nanonets PDF to Google Sheets Converter, you can directly get a Google Sheets document online without any copy and paste, just as easy as converting PDF to Word.

Step 1. Upload a PDF to Nanonets PDF to Google Sheets Converter by dragging and dropping.

Step 2. Decide whether you want to include only tables or both text and tables in your Google Sheets document. Then Click CONVERT TO GOOGLE SHEETS.

Step 3. Click OPEN GOOGLE SHEET to complete the conversion work.

FAQs

How to Convert PDF to Sheets Free?

With the assistance of the PDFgear online converter, you can convert the PDF to an editable Excel for free. Then copy the content and paste it to Google Sheets.

Is There Any PFD to Sheets Converter?

Dedicated tools like PDFgear Desktop can convert PDFs to editable Excel. They offer batch conversion, OCR text extraction, and format retention. All the features in PDFgear are free.

How to Convert PDF to Sheets Online?

Many free online tools allow converting PDFs to Sheets without downloads or installation. PDFgear has web-based conversion delivering Sheets files. Just upload the PDF and operate, and then you will receive converted sheets.

What Metrics Should I Consider When Converting PDF to Google Sheets?

Several key metrics can help you better understand the strengths and weaknesses of your PDF conversion tools: Text Accuracy, Layout Fidelity, Image and object Quality, Metadata Retention, and File Size.

Conclusion

While PDF documents cannot be directly pasted into Google Sheets, there are some workarounds to get your data into a spreadsheet format. The best method is to first use an OCR tool to extract the text and images from the PDF. Then this information can be copied and pasted into Sheets for further editing and calculations.

Just keep in mind that any original formatting like columns or tables will not be retained through this conversion process. With some additional cleanup and reformatting, you can transform PDF data into editable Sheets to enable data analysis. Follow the tips outlined in this article to efficiently convert your PDF documents into Google’s spreadsheet program.