Do you regularly have to import data from PDF into Excel in your day-to-day work? We will show you a number of methods with which you can optimize or even completely automate the whole process.
5 Methods at a glance
To extract data from PDFs and insert it into Excel, there are initially the following 4 simple options - but beware, for more sophisticated documents we have another solution at the end of the text!
- Copy and paste
- Power Query
- PDF Converter
- Direct import into Excel
- PDF table extraction tools
1. import PDF into Excel with copy + paste
This classic method is often the starting point: you select the text in the open file, copy it and paste it into the Excel spreadsheet.
This works well if you are only copying a few texts from PDF to Excel files. However, the more processes you have to carry out, the more error-prone and inefficient the process becomes and another method is more suitable for you.
Copy + Paste with Microsoft Word
If you want to copy a table from PDF to Excel, it is not possible to transfer the structure with a simple copy & paste process. In such a case, you must first open the PDF file in Word and then copy/paste it into Excel.
To use this method, you need to use Microsoft Word 2013 or a newer version. Then you need to perform the following steps:
- Open the PDF file with Microsoft Word
- Copy and paste the contents from the Microsoft Word file into an Excel spreadsheet.
This method provides reasonable results, but it cannot handle complex elements, such as complicated tables with row spacing. Also, it is not possible to extract data in large quantities, since you need to open each PDF file individually.
Import PDF into Excel with PowerQuery
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Import PDF into Excel with PDF converter
PDF converters are especially suitable for you if you regularly need to paste data into Excel from about 5 PDF files. This method is more efficient than the simple copy & paste, but is not suitable for large amounts of data.
The process is quite simple: you select the PDF document from which you want to extract the information, upload it to a PDF converter site and convert it to an Excel file or any other desired format.
Depending on the converter, you can even edit text and images in the PDF file and then export them to Excel.
Good converters are for example Adobe Acrobat, PDFelement or Cometdocs.
Disadvantage: A PDF converter works only with correct PDF documents. Therefore, you cannot convert a scanned handwritten text saved as PDF, for example.
3. tools for extracting PDF tables
If you mainly need to extract data from PDF tables, extraction tools such as Quick-Extract or extensive IDP-Software more suitable for companies. If pure text recognition is sufficient, tools such as JPGtotext.com helpful.
In addition to this offer from external providers, we as a German company offer tools such as Quick-Extract or Konfuzio Tools.
You simply drag a box around the desired table and then you can convert its contents to an Excel or other file.
However, these tools also work only with "original PDFs" and not with scanned handwritten texts.
In addition, in some cases you will need internal knowledge to tune a table extraction tool so that it works for your particular use case.
In other words, using a tool to extract PDF tables is still labor intensive and therefore not the ideal solution.
4. direct import into Excel
You can also import a PDF file directly into Excel. Here's how it works:
- Open the Excel spreadsheet
- Select the "Data" > "Retrieve data" > "From file" > "From PDF" tab
- Select the PDF file and choose "Import".
- This will display a Navigator panel with the tables and pages in your PDF and a preview.
- Select the table and click "Load". The table will be imported into the Excel sheet.
For simple data sets, this method is simple and effective. However, if your data is complex, you need to use software that can automatically extract and insert this data.
5. automatically extract and import data from PDF files with AI
The simplest solution is to use a software solution to automate the extraction of data from PDF files. Automated data extraction solutions use text recognition technology, which is known as Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is known to accurately extract data from documents.
An example of such an automated solution is Konfuzio, which can process large volumes of native and non-native PDFs within seconds. By using the Document AI of Konfuzio, the solution can also be easily integrated into existing software.
Advantages and disadvantages of the methods
The various methods of importing data from a PDF into Excel have advantages and disadvantages.
| Method | Benefits | Disadvantages |
| Copy & Paste | Simplest method for a small number of PDF files | Elaborate with a large number of files |
| No extra software or equipment needed | Error-prone | |
| Very tedious process | ||
| PDF Converter | Simple handling | Limited function selection |
| Wide range of online tools | No possibility to extract data in large quantities | |
| Cost-effective | Works only with original PDFs | |
| PDF table extraction tools | Extracts data from a table quickly and accurately | Works only with native PDF files |
| Extracts the data also to other formats | Requires internal experts | |
| Not a completely automated process | ||
| Direct import into Excel | Simple method | Impossible to extract data in large quantities |
| No additional software or equipment required | Requires some Excel knowledge | |
| Common formatting errors | ||
| Konfuzio | Suitable for large amounts of data | Must be inserted into the software landscape |
| Works automated | If necessary, training phase | |
| Individually trainable | ||
| offers many more integrations than just Excel |
Conclusion
If you want to import data from PDF to Excel quickly and easily, you should adapt the method to the number of documents to be processed. Especially if you regularly need to extract data from many PDFs, you should consider using software that automates this process.
A good solution is Konfuzio, for example. The use of the software not only frees up human resources, but can also be customized through individual AI training with feedback options (human-in-the-loop). This allows you to use Konfuzio for precisely those use cases that are part of your daily business.
Do you have any further questions or need individual advice? Our team of experts will be happy to help you. Contact You can contact us now.
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