PDF to Excel
Put the text of a PDF into an Excel (XLSX) file: a sheet for each page, tables in their columns with or without ruled lines, figures as numbers you can add up. Arabic is written as it is read. Runs in your browser.
About This Tool
PDF to Excel reads the text of a PDF and writes it to an Excel (XLSX) file. Each page that has text becomes a sheet, and each line of the page becomes a row. Lines that keep to the same columns are taken for a table and their cells are set out in those columns, whether the table is drawn with ruled lines or laid out with spacing alone. Any other line is written as it stands, and a part of it that stands well apart, such as a total at the far end of its line, gets a cell of its own.
A figure is written as a number, so a column of figures can be added up, and it is shown as the page shows it: 1,300.50 keeps its comma and both decimals, (250) is minus 250 shown in brackets, 45% is a percentage, and an amount with its currency beside it, such as $12.00 or 250 SAR, is a number shown with that currency. Figures in Arabic digits (٤٤٧١) become numbers too. What only looks like a number stays text: one that begins with a zero, such as a phone number, a row of twelve or more digits, such as an account number, a date, and a figure written 1.300,50, which cannot be told from one and three tenths.
Arabic is written in reading order, and a sheet whose lines read from the right starts at the right. This is a reading of the page, so check the result against the PDF: a cell whose text runs over two lines becomes two rows, a table of long sentences can be taken for columns of text, and colours, fonts, borders, merged cells and pictures are not kept. A scanned page has no text and gets no sheet; run OCR PDF on the file first. The conversion runs in your browser and the file is not uploaded.
How to Use
Upload Your PDF
Drag and drop your PDF file or click to select.
Convert
Under "Pages", type the pages you want, such as 1-3, 5, or leave it empty for all. Choose "A sheet for each page" or "Every page on one sheet", which keeps a table that goes on over several pages in one piece. Then click "Convert to Excel".
Download Excel
The page says how many sheets and rows were written, how many tables were found and how many cells are numbers, and shows the first rows of each sheet. Click "Download" to save the XLSX file. Change an option and convert again whenever you like.
Use Cases
Financial Analysis
Copy the tables of statements or invoices into Excel. Amounts arrive as numbers, ready to be added up.
Data Extraction
Pull data tables from research papers or reports.
Inventory Management
Convert inventory lists from PDF to spreadsheet.
Frequently Asked Questions
How are tables handled?
Lines that keep to the same columns are taken for a table, with or without ruled lines, and each table is written in its columns on the sheet of its page. The page tells you how many tables were found. Text outside the tables is written too, a line to a row. A cell whose text runs over two lines on the page becomes two rows.
What if there are no tables?
The text is converted all the same: every line becomes a row, and the page says that no table was found. A file with no text at all, such as a scan, is refused with a message, and when only some of the pages are scans the page names them and converts the rest. Run OCR PDF on a scan first.
Is formatting preserved?
The look of a figure is: its commas, decimals, brackets, percent sign and currency are kept, while the cell holds a real number. Colours, fonts, borders, merged cells and pictures are not kept. Arabic is written in reading order and its sheet starts at the right. A number written in groups inside an Arabic sentence, such as a phone number with spaces, can come out with its groups in the opposite order, so check such numbers.