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How to Export PDF Tables from Adobe Acrobat to Excel (PC & Mac)

By Erin Wright

This tutorial shows how to export PDF tables from Adobe Acrobat to Excel. We will also look at how to copy and paste tables from Acrobat to Excel.

The export method is best if you want to save the table as a standalone Excel file. The copy and paste method is best if you want to insert the table into an existing Excel file.

Table of Contents

  • How to Export PDF Tables from Adobe Acrobat to Excel (PC & Mac)
  • How to Copy and Paste PDF Tables from Adobe Acrobat to Excel (PC Only)

Important Note: Adobe Acrobat doesn’t currently provide a direct way to create tables in PDFs. Instead, you can create tables in another program, such as Microsoft Word, and then convert that file to the PDF format.

Therefore, these steps assume that you are working with a PDF that already has a table created elsewhere.

Watch all the steps shown here in real time!

Explore more than 200 writing-related software tutorials on my YouTube channel.

The images below are from Adobe Acrobat Pro. These steps also apply to Adobe Acrobat 2020 and Adobe Acrobat 2017. These steps don’t apply to Adobe’s free PDF display software, Acrobat Reader.

How to Export PDF Tables from Adobe Acrobat to Excel (PC & Mac)

  1. Select the Selection tool.
Selection tool in Adobe Acrobat
Figure 1. Selection tool
  1. Click and drag the Selection pointer from one corner of the table to the opposite corner.
Dragging Selection pointer over table in Adobe Acrobat
Figure 2. Dragging Selection pointer over table
  1. Release the pointer when a blue rectangle appears over the entire table.
  2. Right-click (PC) or Control-click (Mac) the table, and then select Export Selection As from the shortcut menu.
Export Selection As option in Adobe Acrobat
Figure 3. Export Selection As option
  1. Select the location to save the file in the Save As dialog box.
Location menus in the Save As Dialog box in Adobe Acrobat
Figure 4. Location menus
  1. Enter a name into the File name text box.
File Name text box in the Save As dialog box in Adobe Acrobat
Figure 5. File Name text box
  1. Select Excel Workbook (*.xlsx) from the Save as type menu. (This menu is called Format on Mac.)
Save As Type menu in the Save As dialog box in Adobe Acrobat
Figure 6. Save as type menu
  1. Ensure that View Result is selected if you want the table to open in Excel after you complete the export process.
View Result option in the Save As dialog box in Adobe Acrobat
Figure 7. View Result option
  1. Select the Save button.
Save button in the Save As dialog box in Adobe Acrobat
Figure 8. Save button

A series of information boxes will appear in the bottom, right corner showing the export progress.

Export progress notification in Adobe Acrobat
Figure 9. Export progress notification
  1. If you selected View Results, select the Yes button in the dialog box asking if you want to launch (open) the .xlsx file. (The file will only open if you have Excel installed on your computer.)
Launch file dialog box in Adobe Acrobat
Figure 10. Yes button

The table should open in Excel.

PDF table exported to Excel
Figure 11. PDF table exported to Excel

You can now edit the table data in the Excel file as you normally would.

How to Copy and Paste PDF Tables from Adobe Acrobat to Excel (PC Only)

  1. Select the Selection tool (see figure 1).
  2. Click and drag the Selection pointer from one corner of the table to the opposite corner (see figure 2).
  3. Release the pointer when a blue rectangle appears over the entire table.
  4. Right-click the table, and then select Copy With Formatting from the shortcut menu.
Selection tool shortcut menu Copy With Formatting option in Adobe Acrobat
Figure 12. Copy With Formatting option
  1. Open the Excel file, place your cursor in the spreadsheet cell where you want the table to begin, and then select the Paste button or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + V.
Excel Paste button
Figure 13. Excel Paste button with cursor inserted in spreadsheet cell

The table should be pasted into the Excel file.

PDF table pasted into existing Excel file
Figure14. PDF table pasted into Excel file

Related Resources

How to Convert PDFs to Microsoft Word Files in Adobe Acrobat

How to Convert Web Pages and Websites to PDFs in Adobe Acrobat (PC & Mac)

Filed Under: Adobe Acrobat Tagged With: Adobe Acrobat DC, figures and tables

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Hello! My name is Erin. I am a technical writer and editor who shares writing-related software tutorials on this website and on YouTube.

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