Step 1: Provide your PDF files using the button above or by toss and let go.
Step 2: Click the 'Convert' button to start the conversion.
Step 3: Fetch your converted XLS files.
PDF to XLS Conversion FAQ
Is this a document converter or a table extractor?
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A table extractor. The converter reads your PDF, finds the tables inside it, and writes those out as XLS. Everything that is not a table - body text, headings, images - does not come across, because there is no sensible way to lay prose out in spreadsheet cells.
Why did my PDF to XLS conversion return an error?
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The most common reason is that the PDF contains no tables. Because this conversion works by extracting tables, a file with none has nothing to put in the XLS. Rather than return an empty spreadsheet, the converter refuses and tells you to use a file with at least one table.
Where did the body text of my PDF go?
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It was never part of this conversion. Only the tables are extracted into the XLS. To keep the writing, run the PDF through a document conversion - DOCX, ODT or TXT - rather than a spreadsheet target.
How does the converter find the tables in my PDF?
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It depends on the source. A DOCX or DOC stores its tables as real table objects, so they are read directly and exactly. A PDF stores no such structure, so the tables are detected from ruled lines and column-aligned text on every page.
Can it handle PDF files with many tables?
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Yes. Each table found anywhere in the PDF is collected into the XLS. There is no limit on the number of tables, only on the size of the resulting spreadsheet.
My PDF is a scan - why does it produce nothing?
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Because a scanned page is an image. The extractor works from actual text and its coordinates, and an image contains neither. OCR the PDF into a searchable file first; that version converts to XLS normally.
Will my XLS look like the table in the PDF?
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It will hold the same values in the same rows and columns, but not the same styling. Colours, fonts and borders are dropped and merged cells are flattened out; the point of the XLS is the data, which you can then format however you like.
Are there limits on how big the XLS can get?
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The target format sets them. The legacy .xls format tops out at 256 columns and 65,536 rows and the converter tells you when a table exceeds either - convert to .xlsx instead. XLSX itself allows about a million rows; CSV is a flat text grid with no ceiling.
Is XLS the right target for my PDF?
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It is if the PDF is mostly tables and you intend to work with the values. It is not if you want to read or edit the document, in which case DOCX, ODT, RTF or TXT is the conversion you are looking for.
Is the PDF to XLS table extraction free?
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Yes - extracting tables from your PDF into XLS is free with no account. A paid plan lifts the per-file size limit, runs more conversions in parallel and removes ads.
Can I extract tables from several PDF files at once?
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Yes - drop them all into the upload area and each one produces its own XLS. Files with no tables are reported individually, so a bad file in the batch does not disguise itself as a good one.
Is the data in my tables kept anywhere?
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No. The PDF is processed in an isolated worker and erased within minutes of the XLS being delivered, and the spreadsheet goes the same way. We do not read, store or share what is in your tables - see /privacy/.
