Can I Convert a Microsoft Word Table to Excel?

Yes. To convert a Word table to Excel, select the table in Word and press Ctrl+C, then click the top-left cell where you want it in Excel and press Ctrl+V. Each Word table cell goes into its own Excel cell. On a Mac, use Command+C and Command+V.

This guide covers the copy-and-paste method, choosing paste formatting, cleaning up the data so formulas work, keeping multi-line cells intact, and a text-import option for big tables. It follows Microsoft’s Copy a Word table into Excel article.

How to Copy a Word Table Into Excel

1. In Word, select the rows and columns of the table you want. Microsoft suggests removing extra carriage returns in the cells first, because they can create extra rows in Excel.
2. Press Ctrl+C to copy.
3. In Excel, click the cell where the top-left corner of the table should go. Make sure the area is empty, because pasted data replaces what is there.
4. Press Ctrl+V.

Result: Microsoft says the data in each Word table cell is pasted into an individual cell on the worksheet.

Choose How the Table Looks

Right after pasting, click the Paste Options button next to the data:

• Match Destination Formatting: uses the formatting already applied to the worksheet cells.
• Keep Source Formatting: keeps the look of the Word table.

Result: the table either blends in with your sheet or keeps its Word colors and fonts. You can turn it into an Excel table afterward with Insert > Table.

Clean Up the Data So Formulas Work

Microsoft warns you may need to tidy the data before using Excel’s calculation features:

• Extra spacing: remove unwanted spaces in cells.
• Numbers pasted as text: convert them to numbers so sums and formulas work.
• Dates displayed wrong: apply a date format to those cells.
• Two values in one cell: use Data > Text to Columns to split them, such as first and last names.

Keep Multi-Line Cells in One Excel Cell

If a Word cell has several lines, Excel can split it across rows. There is a workaround:

1. In Word, select the table and open Find and Replace (Ctrl+H).
2. Replace ^p (paragraph marks) with ^v (the ¶ symbol), then click Replace All.
3. Copy the table and paste it into Excel.
4. In Excel, open Find and Replace. In Find what, hold Alt and type 0182 on the number pad. In Replace with, hold Alt and type 0010 (a line break). Click Replace All.

Result: each Word cell stays in one Excel cell with its line breaks. Turn on Wrap Text to see all the lines.

Import a Large Table as Text

For a very large table, save the Word document as text and import it:

1. In Word, click File > Save As and choose a plain text format.
2. In Excel, click Data > Get Data > From File > From Text/CSV.
3. Select the file, check the preview, and click Load.

Result: the text lands in a new sheet. How cleanly the columns separate depends on how the table text was saved, so check the preview before loading.

Troubleshooting

• Data overwrote existing cells: press Ctrl+Z and paste into an empty area.
• Extra blank rows: remove line breaks in the Word cells and copy again.
• Formulas show 0 or errors: some numbers are probably text. Convert them, then recheck.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a converter tool?

Usually not. Copy and paste works for most tables. If the table is in a PDF rather than Word, you can convert the PDF to Excel with Acrobat. Adobe and Smallpdf offer online converters that go through a PDF, but you’ll still want to check the result.

Can I go the other way?

Yes. Copy cells in Excel and paste them into Word to create a Word table.

More Excel guides: How to combine three columns into one in Excel, How to AutoFit columns and rows in Excel and How to calculate a percentage in Excel.