How do I convert a PDF directly to Excel?
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PDFs are notoriously difficult to edit, so if you’re ever handed tables or lists in this format, it will be worth knowing how to convert a PDF to Excel. That’s exactly what this guide will show you how to do, and without the need to buy or install any additional software. Show As with just about any file conversion process, the results won’t always perfectly replicate the formatting of the original document — but with a fully editable Excel file, it will be much easier to make any necessary amendments.
As in our guide on how to convert a PDF to Word, we’ll turn to ILovePDF (opens in new tab) to handle conversion duties. This web-based tool is free to use and produces relatively good results. Manually converting a PDF to Excel is necessary because you can’t simply force Windows to open PDFs to open in the Excel app. Well, you can, but the resulting spreadsheet will be unrecognizable from the original document, with random-looking code all over the place. At least forcibly opening a PDF with Word produces something that vaguely resembles the original. How to convert a PDF to Excel1. Navigate to ILovePDF (opens in new tab) in your browser and click the “PDF to Excel” section.  2. Click “Select PDF file” and select the PDF you want to convert, or drag and drop the file onto this page. (Image credit: Future)3. Leave the “No OCR” option selected (it should be by default) and click “Convert to Excel.” (Image credit: Future)4. After a few seconds, the conversion process should be complete. Click “Download Excel” to download your converted file. (Image credit: Future)Now that you have the converted Excel file, you can open it and start editing; you may need to click “Enable Editing” when prompted, but only the first time you open the file. Be sure to check for any formatting irregularities, because while ILovePDF does a great job of converting text and data without mistakes, things like text wrapping and table borders might need to be tweaked to your liking. For more easy help around using Microsoft Office software, you can read our guides on how to save a Word document as a PDF and how to sign a Word document. Just because your coworker sent you a PDF file instead of the Excel document you wanted, that doesn't mean you're actually stuck with it. In this guide, we'll teach you how to convert a PDF into an Excel document using a few quick and easy steps. We'll even teach you a few different ways to do it. If you don't want to go to the trouble of converting the PDF (whether password-protected or not) and would rather just edit it as is, we have a guide to the best PDF editors, too. Contents
DifficultyEasy Duration5 minutes What You Need
Using Adobe Acrobat Pro DCAs one of the world's premier PDF reading and editing applications, Adobe Acrobat Pro DC is one of the more popular methods for converting a PDF into an Excel file. As fully featured as it is, though, it is a paid-for, premium application. Fortunately, there is a free trial, so if you're just looking to do a one-off conversion, this method works great. Step 1: Download Adobe Acrobat Pro DC's seven-day trial and install it. Step 2: Open the software, and select the Tools tab. Related
Step 3: Select the Export PDF icon. (You can also select the Export PDF icon in the pane on the right side without having to go through the Tools tab.) Step 4: Select Select a file and choose the PDF you want to convert from the resulting window. Then, select Spreadsheet from the list of export options and decide whether you want a Microsoft Excel Workbook (.xlsx) or XML Spreadsheet 2003 (.xml) format. Step 5: If you want to adjust your eventual Excel document's settings, click the Gear icon on the righthand side of your selection. You can choose how many worksheets are created, as well as what symbols are used as data separators. Step 6: When happy with your settings, select the blue Export button. Step 7: Decide where you want to save your new Excel document. Either pick one of the Recent folders on show or select the blue Choose a different folder button. In the resulting pop-up file browser, select Save. Depending on the complexity of your data set and the speed of your computer, you may have a short wait while the conversion takes place. Once completed, the new Excel document will automatically open. You have now officially converted your PDF to an Excel document. Using a free web applicationWe get it, these programs don’t work for everyone. There are many reasons that you can’t install these applications on your system, or maybe you would simply prefer that a remote server handle the brunt of the work for you. That’s OK — there are other methods you can use to convert those files. You always have the option to convert a PDF to an Excel document online instead. Although there are a number of online converters to choose from, we have a favorite. We strongly recommend PDFtoExcel.com because it’s free, has a clean, user-friendly interface, and does an excellent job quickly. We recommend caution if you use PDFtoExcel.com. While the company has confirmed they promptly delete all data received within six hours after upload and don’t view your files, it’s better to exert some concern where your privacy rights are concerned. If you are converting essential or private data, it’s best to use a local conversion, as this is the safest protocol. Local conversion methods are best for converting personal, sensitive, or otherwise private information, as they ensure the most protection. With PDFtoExcel.com, you are in good hands because their efficient conversion method is an easy three-step process that we have laid out below. Step 1: Open a browser window and go to PDFtoExcel.com. Step 2: Click the Upload button and select the PDF you want to convert. Alternatively, you can drag and drop it onto the designated area. Step 3: If you are working with an extensive PDF and/or data set, uploading the file and converting it may take a little while, but overall, the process should be swift. Once complete, click the Free download button. After the final step, your PDF file will be in an Excel format that you can download or edit. This document may require tweaking or formatting. We recommend checking out our helpful guide on how to operate Excel through the Microsoft Office app, where we outline handy Excel tips and tricks. How do I convert a PDF to Excel without Adobe?Another method to copy data from a PDF to Excel is to copy the information from the file to a Word document. After you paste the data into a document, copy and paste it again into your Excel spreadsheet. To help make the data in the Word document readable, apply the "Convert Text to Table" option.
Is there a program that converts PDF to Excel?2. PDF to Excel Converter for Android. This app can convert PDF to XLS/XLSX on Android. You can use it to easily extract PDF tables and turn scanned PDF into editable spreadsheets.
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