How do I convert a PDF to Excel in Windows 10?

To convert a PDF to Excel, open the PDF file in Word.
Save the PDF in Word as a webpage, then open that webpage file in Excel.
You can also export a PDF to Excel using Adobe Acrobat if you have a paid version of the service.

PDF files are great for delivering documents in a standard format that's exactly the same no matter what device or software you use to view it — but they are difficult to edit. If you have a spreadsheet in PDF format, often the easiest way to manipulate the data is to convert the PDF to Excel and edit it there.

Table of Contents Show

How to convert a PDF to Excel with Microsoft Office
How to convert a PDF to Excel using Adobe Acrobat
Connect a PDF File to Excel
Adjust the Load Settings
Transform the Data with Power Query
Adjust the Connected Data
How do I convert a PDF to Excel in Windows?
How can I convert PDF to Excel for free?
How can I transfer data from PDF to Excel?
How do I convert a PDF to a spreadsheet?

There's no one-click way to convert a PDF to Excel format within Excel itself, but if you have both Word and Excel, it's fairly easy to do. In addition, there's a simple way to convert PDF to Excel if you own a copy of Adobe Acrobat.

How to convert a PDF to Excel with Microsoft Office

To convert a PDF using Office, you'll need both Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel.

1. Find the PDF on your computer. Open the folder that contains the file, but don't open the PDF.

2. Right-click the PDF and, in the pop-up menu, click Open with.

Open the PDF in Word using the "Open with" menu command. Dave Johnson

3. Click Word. If you don't see Word, click Choose another app and then, in the pop-up window, click More apps and scroll until you see Word and then click OK.

4. Word should start automatically, but you'll see a dialog box asking permission to convert the PDF to Word. Click OK. It might take a few minutes for this process to complete, depending upon how large and complex the PDF file is.

5. In Word, click File, then Save As.

6. Use the Save As window to save the file as a Web Page (*.htm, *.html). Note where you save the file, because you'll need to find it again in a moment.

Save the PDF as a webpage in Word. Dave Johnson

7. Start Excel.

8. Click File, then Open, and choose the webpage version of the document you just saved.

Open the webpage you created with Word in Excel. Dave Johnson

The PDF should now open in Excel, ready to edit. You can save the file in Excel as an Excel file for future use.

How to convert a PDF to Excel using Adobe Acrobat

There's another way to convert a PDF to Excel format: You can use Adobe Acrobat Pro or Adobe Acrobat Pro DC (assuming you have purchased or own a subscription to these programs).

1. Start Adobe Acrobat and open the PDF you want to convert. To do this, click File, then Open, and navigate to the PDF file on your computer — or you can drag the file into your Acrobat window.

2. In the Tools pane on the right side of the screen, click Export PDF.

Open the PDF in Adobe Acrobat and choose Export PDF. Dave Johnson

3. In the Export PDF window, choose Microsoft Excel Document (*.xlsx) from the Convert To drop-down menu.

4. Click Export to Excel.

5. When the export is complete, click the Exported Files icon at the top of the page and click the file you just created. In the Save As dialog box, choose a location and save the new spreadsheet to your computer.

Save the file as an Excel spreadsheet. Dave Johnson

Dave Johnson

Freelance Writer

Dave Johnson is a technology journalist who writes about consumer tech and how the industry is transforming the speculative world of science fiction into modern-day real life. Dave grew up in New Jersey before entering the Air Force to operate satellites, teach space operations, and do space launch planning. He then spent eight years as a content lead on the Windows team at Microsoft. As a photographer, Dave has photographed wolves in their natural environment; he's also a scuba instructor and co-host of several podcasts. Dave is the author of more than two dozen books and has contributed to many sites and publications including CNET, Forbes, PC World, How To Geek, and Insider.

Connect a PDF File to Excel

To get started, select the sheet you want to work with in Excel and go to the Data tab. Click the Get Data drop-down arrow on the left side of the ribbon. Move your cursor to From File and pick “From PDF.”

Locate your file in the browse window, select it, and click “Import.”

Next, you’ll see the Navigator pane. On the left are the tables and pages in your PDF file. You can search for one at the top or simply select an element and see a preview on the right side.

When you see the item you want to import, click “Load” at the bottom of the window.

Once your data is imported from the PDF, you should see it in your sheet along with the Queries & Connections sidebar. This handy spot lets you adjust the connected data if you wish, and we’ll explain these options below.

Adjust the Load Settings

If you prefer to load the data in a specific format such as a pivot table or to a new worksheet, select the Load drop-down arrow and pick “Load to” instead.

Then choose your options in the Import Data window and click “OK.”

RELATED: How to Use Pivot Tables to Analyze Excel Data

Transform the Data with Power Query

Another option for importing data from your PDF is to transform it using the Power Query Editor. In the Navigator window where you select the element to import, click “Transform Data” at the bottom instead of “Load.”

This will open the Power Query window where you can do things like choosing or adding more columns, transposing rows and columns, managing parameters, and formatting the data.

Adjust the Connected Data

If you want to adjust the data you imported, you can do so by opening the data from the Queries & Connections sidebar. You can then take actions such as editing it using the Power Query Editor, duplicating, merging, adding a reference, or deleting the connected data.

RELATED: How to Create Your Own Data Type in Microsoft Excel

As mentioned, you’ll see the Queries & Connections sidebar open when you import your PDF file. If you happen to close it, you can reopen it by going to the Data tab and clicking “Queries & Connections” in the ribbon.

Place your cursor over the connected data and you’ll see a window appear. At the bottom, you have actions for View in Worksheet, Edit, and Delete. If you click the three dots, you’ll see options like Duplicate, Reference, and Merge.

You can also manipulate the data within your sheet as you normally would. If you’re using a table, you can filter and sort. You can also select a different style, update the font, and apply additional formatting.

RELATED: How to Create and Use a Table in Microsoft Excel

For those times when the data you need to work with or analyze comes in the form of a PDF, remember that you can pull that PDF file right into Microsoft Excel.

If you’re looking to do the reverse, learn how easy it is to save an Excel sheet as a PDF file.

How do I convert a PDF to Excel in Windows?

Follow these easy steps to turn a PDF document into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet: Click the Select a file button above, or drag and drop a PDF into the drop zone. Select the PDF you want to convert to the XLSX file format. Watch Acrobat automatically convert your PDF to Excel.