Step 1: Upload your PDF files using the button above or by drag and drop.
Step 2: Click the 'Convert' button to start the conversion.
Step 3: Download your converted XLS files.
PDF to XLS Conversion FAQ
What does the PDF to XLS converter actually do?
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It pulls the tables out of your PDF and writes them out as XLS. This is a table extractor, not a document converter: headings, paragraphs and images in the PDF are left behind, because running prose has no meaningful form as spreadsheet cells.
My PDF has no tables - will this still work?
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No, and that is deliberate. Converting a document to a spreadsheet extracts its tables, so PDF files without a single table have nothing to extract. The conversion stops with an explicit message rather than handing you an empty XLS and reporting success.
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.
What happens if my PDF contains several tables?
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All of them are extracted. The converter walks the whole PDF rather than stopping at the first table, so a report with a dozen tables produces XLS output carrying all twelve.
Does the PDF to XLS converter run OCR?
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Not on this path. It reads the text layer of the PDF; if that layer is missing - as in a photographed or scanned page - there is nothing to extract. Convert the scan to a searchable document first, then come back for the XLS.
Is the formatting of the original table preserved?
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The structure is - rows, columns and the values in them. The decoration is not: fills, fonts and borders are not carried into the XLS, and merged cells are resolved into ordinary ones so the data stays machine-readable.
My tables are huge - which target should I pick?
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XLSX, unless you specifically need the legacy format. A .xls file cannot hold more than 256 columns or 65,536 rows, and you will get an explicit message when a table is too wide or too tall for it. XLSX carries roughly a million rows, and CSV has no structural limit at all.
When should I use PDF to XLS rather than another conversion?
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Use it when the numbers in the PDF are what you need - a price list, a results table, a financial statement - and you want to sort or calculate on them. If you want the document itself, convert it to DOCX, ODT or TXT.
Do I need an account to convert PDF to XLS?
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No. The conversion runs without registration and the XLS downloads as soon as it is ready. Upgrading raises the file-size ceiling and the number of files you can push through at once.
How do I convert a folder of PDF files to XLS?
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Select them all at once in the upload area. Each PDF is processed separately and comes back as its own XLS, with a clear per-file message for any that had no tables to extract.
Are my PDF files private during table extraction?
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Yes. Uploaded PDF files are processed in isolated workers and deleted within minutes. Nobody reads the tables, and nothing is retained or shared. The retention window is documented at /privacy/.
