To copy a table from a PDF to Google Sheets, you can use Lido's PDF Table Extractor. Select the table in your PDF, and Lido extracts it with every row and column in place, ready to export and open in Google Sheets.
In this tutorial, we will walk you through how to copy a table from a PDF to Google Sheets using Lido. Simply follow the steps below.
Lido's PDF Table Extractor is the best way to copy a table from a PDF to Google Sheets because it keeps every row and column in place, even in scanned and multi-page PDFs.
Before you start, make sure you have your PDF saved on your computer. Digital PDFs, scanned PDFs, and photos of paper documents all work.
If you don't have a Lido account yet, you can create one for free here.
Once you're logged in, create a New File.
Click on Tools in the top menu and select the PDF Table Extractor. This tool is designed to read tables from your PDF and keep their structure intact.
Drag and drop your file into Lido, or click to upload.
For the purpose of this tutorial, we are using a sample bank statement. Drag the selection box over the table you want to copy. If your PDF has several tables, you can select just the ones you need.
Once you have your selection, click Extract Data.
Review the extracted table to make sure it includes everything you need. You can go back to adjust your selection. When you're satisfied, click Insert at Active Cell to add the table to your spreadsheet.
You can edit and format the cells however you need. Adjust column widths, format numbers and dates, or reorganize the data to suit your workflow.
Click Export to Excel at the top to download your table as a spreadsheet file.
Open Google Sheets and go to File, then Import. Upload the file you just downloaded, choose whether to create a new spreadsheet or insert the data into your current sheet, and click Import Data.
Your PDF table is now in Google Sheets, with every value in the right row and column. From there, you can start matching document data against spreadsheet records you already keep.
These free methods can work for simple tables, but each has limits:
Copy and paste: Select the table in your PDF reader, copy it, and paste it into Google Sheets. This only works for small, simple tables in digital PDFs, and it fails on scanned PDFs because they have no selectable text.
Convert to Excel, then import: Use a PDF to Excel converter, then import the file into Google Sheets with File, then Import. Tables without borders or that span multiple pages often come out with blank rows and misaligned columns.
Open with Google Docs: Upload the PDF to Google Drive and open it with Google Docs, which uses built-in OCR to make the text editable. Then copy the table into Google Sheets. Complex tables often turn into plain text and paste out of alignment. If your table started in a Word file, tools that convert Word tables to spreadsheets skip the PDF step.
Python scripts: Developers can use Tabula-py or Camelot to save PDF tables as CSV files and import them into Google Sheets. This requires coding skills and doesn't work on scanned PDFs.
For tables you need to copy regularly, Lido can also watch a Google Drive folder or email inbox and process every new PDF automatically.
Now that you know how to copy a table from a PDF to Google Sheets, you can skip the manual cleanup and get clean, organized data every time.
Open Lido's PDF Table Extractor, upload your PDF, and drag the selection box over the table. Lido extracts it with the rows and columns intact. Export it to Excel, then import it into Google Sheets with File, then Import.
PDFs don't store tables as rows and columns. When you paste, Google Sheets guesses the layout from tabs and line breaks, which rarely match the original table. This causes merged columns, shifted values, and split rows.
Yes, but you need a tool with OCR to read the text from the image first. Lido includes built-in OCR and keeps the table structure, so scanned tables come out just as organized as digital ones.
Yes. You can copy and paste, convert the PDF to Excel with a free converter and import it, or open the PDF with Google Docs. These work for simple tables but usually need manual cleanup. Lido offers 50 free pages to try it on your own PDFs.
No. Google Sheets can't open or import PDF files directly. You need to extract the table first, then import the resulting Excel or CSV file into Google Sheets.
Yes. Lido can watch a Google Drive folder or email inbox and extract data from every new PDF automatically. It can also upload a daily Excel or CSV file to a Google Drive folder, which you can open in Google Sheets.
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