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PDF to Excel (XLSX / CSV)

Extract tables from a PDF into Excel or CSV. Text is clustered into rows and columns from its position, with an adjustable column gap, a live grid preview, and one sheet per page.

Overview

Extracts tables from a PDF into an Excel workbook or CSV file. It reads the position of every piece of text, groups it into rows by vertical position and into columns by horizontal gaps, and shows the rebuilt grid before you download. Each page can be its own sheet, or all pages can be stacked into one. Your PDF is read locally and never uploaded.

How It Works

Drop a PDF, optionally enter a page range, choose one sheet per page or all in one, and click Extract tables. A grid preview with spreadsheet-style column letters appears. The column split sensitivity slider changes how wide a gap must be before text is split into a new column, and the preview updates instantly without reading the PDF again. Download XLSX saves every sheet; CSV saves the sheet you are previewing, with a UTF-8 byte order mark so Excel opens accented characters correctly.

Step-by-Step Usage Guide

  1. Drop the PDF that contains the table.
  2. Enter the pages that hold the table and choose the sheet layout.
  3. Click Extract tables and inspect the grid preview.
  4. Move the column split slider until columns line up correctly.
  5. Download the XLSX workbook or the CSV of the current sheet.

Technical Specifications & Standards

PDFs do not store tables, only text placed at coordinates, so the extractor rebuilds structure from geometry. Text runs on the same baseline form a row. Inside a row, a horizontal gap wider than the sensitivity setting, measured in multiples of the font size, starts a new cell. Column boundaries are then found across the whole page: every x position covered by cells in at least a quarter of the multi-cell rows counts as part of a column, so a single wide title row does not merge two real columns. Each cell is assigned to the column it overlaps most, and empty rows and columns are dropped. With number conversion on, values such as 1,234.50 and -7 become numeric cells, while codes with leading zeros such as 007 stay text. Ruling lines, merged cells and multi-line cells are not detected, and scanned pages need OCR before any text can be found.

Targeted Use Cases

  • Getting bank or card statement transactions into a spreadsheet for budgeting.
  • Reusing figures from a PDF annual report in Excel charts.
  • Pulling line items out of supplier invoices exported as PDF.
  • Converting a printed price list or timetable into CSV for import.

Notes & Gotchas

  • Limit the page range to the pages with tables, so headers and footers on other pages do not add stray rows.
  • Lower the sensitivity when two columns are merged, and raise it when one column is split.
  • Check totals in the spreadsheet against the PDF before relying on the numbers.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I convert a PDF table to Excel?

Drop the PDF, click Extract tables, adjust the column split slider until the preview lines up, then click Download XLSX. Each page becomes a sheet unless you choose All in one.

Why are two columns merged into one?

The gap between those columns is smaller than the current setting. Move the column split sensitivity slider to the left so narrower gaps start a new column.

Does it work with scanned PDFs?

No. Scans contain pictures of text with no text layer, so there is nothing to place into cells. Run OCR on the PDF first, then extract the table.

Are numbers stored as numbers in Excel?

Yes, when Convert numbers is on. Values like 1,234.50 or -7 become numeric cells you can sum, while codes with leading zeros stay as text so they are not altered.

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