How to Convert a Table from an Image or PDF to Excel

The Problem

A bank statement, a price list, or an invoice arrives as a PDF or a photo, and you need the numbers in Excel to sort, total, or compare them. Retyping is slow and introduces mistakes. Excel in Microsoft 365 can read tables from both PDFs and pictures.

The method depends on the source:

PDF with real text (you can select the numbers in Edge): use Step 1.
Screenshot or photo: use Step 2.
Scanned PDF (nothing selects): use Step 3.

Step 1: Import a Table from a PDF

In Excel, choose Data → Get Data → From File → From PDF.
Select the PDF and choose Import.
The Navigator lists the tables and pages Excel found. Click each one to preview it.
Select the table you want and choose Load. To clean it first (remove columns, fix headers), choose Transform Data instead.

The import stays linked to the PDF. If you only want the values, select the table, copy, and Paste Special → Values into a new sheet.

Step 2: Insert a Table from a Picture

Take a screenshot of the table (Windows + Shift + S), or have the image file ready.
In Excel, choose Data → From Picture → Picture From Clipboard or Picture From File.
Excel analyzes the image and shows a preview. Cells it is unsure of are highlighted: click each one and correct it.
Choose Insert Data.

Crop the image to just the table, and capture it straight on. Angled photos and tables with merged cells cause the most errors. Data From Picture needs Excel for Microsoft 365, and it is an online feature, so the picture is processed by a Microsoft service.

Step 3: Handle Scanned PDFs

A scan has no text inside it, so From PDF finds nothing useful. Either:

Capture each page as a screenshot and use From Picture (Step 2), which is fine for a page or two.
Use an OCR tool that reads tables from scanned PDFs and writes them to an Excel file.

Scanned statements and receipts, kept offline? Quick File Converter reads tables from images and scanned PDFs with OCR and saves them as Excel files, on the PC. It is useful for documents you would rather not send to an online service. Check the figures afterwards, as with any OCR.

Step 4: Clean Up the Data

Tables rarely arrive perfectly. The common fixes:

Numbers stored as text (green triangles in the corner): select the column, click the warning icon, and choose Convert to Number.
Currency symbols and thousands separators: use Find and Replace (Ctrl + H) to remove $ or , before converting.
Dates in the wrong format: select the column → Data → Text to Columns → Next → Next → choose Date and the source order (for example DMY).
Headers repeated on every page: filter the column and delete the repeated header rows.

Step 5: Check the Totals

Add a SUM at the bottom of each money column and compare it with the total printed on the original. A match is the quickest proof that no digit was misread.

FAQ

How do I convert a PDF table to Excel for free?

If you have Excel for Microsoft 365, Get Data From PDF is included. It works with PDFs that contain real text.

Can Excel read a table from a photo?

Yes. Data → From Picture in Excel for Microsoft 365 turns a photo or screenshot of a table into cells, and lets you review uncertain cells first.

Why does Excel find no tables in my PDF?

The PDF is a scan, so the table is an image. Use From Picture on a screenshot of it, or run OCR first.

Is OCR accurate enough for financial data?

On clean prints it is usually very accurate, but always check totals against the original before relying on the figures.