As software has grown more sophisticated, there is more opportunity for users to mash up content between different programs. The Excel spreadsheet program, for example, used to handle only text and numbers, but can now display graphs, photos, videos and other types of content.

Oct 12, 2016  I oftentimes copy and paste tabular data and/or charts from Excel to other programs that accept PDF objects. When I upgraded from Excel 2011 to 2016 I noticed that my pastes were no longer retaining the proper formatting. Here's an example of the differences in copy/paste between 2011 and 2016. [Link has been removed.

You may want to import a PDF into Excel, but the process is not always straightforward. Here are some strategies for moving content from a PDF file into an Excel spreadsheet. Copying PDF as an Image You cannot copy a PDF to Excel directly, as Excel does not have built-in support for the PDF file format. However, you can display PDF content as an image in Excel. To do so, navigate within your PDF file until the content you want to copy into Excel appears on your computer screen. Press the Print Screen key on your PC keyboard to copy the image into your clipboard.

If you're using a Mac, the same screen image can be captured if you press Command+Ctrl+Shift+3. Switch to Excel, click in a cell where you want the content to appear, and paste the image into your spreadsheet. (Use Ctrl+V to paste the image; you can undo the paste with Ctrl+Z). If you want to edit the image beforehand, the easiest option is to paste the image into an image-editing program like Irfanview or Paint to crop the borders of the image or alter it in other ways.

You can also use the Screenshot option in Word, which is available on the Insert toolbar. When you're done, simply copy the edited image and paste it into Excel. Copying PDF Text Not all PDF files allow the copying of text, but many do. The best way to find out is to simply try to copy the text you want and see if it works. Rather than pasting the desired text directly into Excel, you're better off pasting it into an editing program like Notepad or Word. Use these programs to adjust the formatting and appearance of the text, or to clean up any errant characters. When you have the text the way you want it, copy and paste into your spreadsheet.

If the PDF text cannot be copied, keep in mind that you can treat it like an image and paste it into Excel that way. The text will not be editable, however. Copying a Table from a PDF Transferring tabular data from a PDF to a spreadsheet is the trickiest process of all because there are so many variables involved in how the table and text are formatted in the PDF and how the final information might appear in Excel. Try these approaches to see which one works the best: • Start with a direct attempt to copy and paste, just as you would with text.

With luck, the data will arrange itself in Excel into neat columns and rows, just the way you hoped it would. A small pull-down menu with Paste Options may open in Excel as you paste your content. Use it to try different options for achieving the results you want. Quickbooks 3 for mac.

• Alternatively, copy and paste the data table into Word, or another word processing program. Then copy/paste the table from Word into Excel. Try several variations of this approach. Word's Paste Special command allows you to paste data in several different formats, such as Unformatted Text or HTML Format. Each option will display differently in Word and in Excel, so use the one that gives the best result.

About the Author David Sarokin is a well-known Internet specialist with publications in a wide variety of topics for small businesses, from the best uses of information technology to the steps for incorporating your business. As a small business owner himself, he brings an experienced perspective to all his work. He is the author of Missed Information (MIT Press, 2016), detailing how our social systems like health care, finance and government can be improved with better quality information, and is working on a new book on the future of corporations.