Excel’s From PDF connector pulls tables out of a PDF into Power Query, where you can clean them and load them to sheets. Replace the PDF with a newer one and click Refresh to update.
The PDF
A 3-page PDF with text and three tables.
Step 1: Connect to the PDF
In a new workbook, go to Data → Get Data → From File → From PDF and choose the file.
Step 2: Pick the tables
The Navigator lists each detected Table and each Page. Click one to preview it. Tick Select multiple items to choose several.
If a table is split across pages or detected badly, pick the Page instead and clean it in Power Query.
Step 3: Clean and load
Click Transform Data to edit. Here the Year column is removed (right-click → Remove) and directors’ names are changed to capitals (Transform → Format → UPPERCASE). Then Home → Close & Load.
Step 4: Refresh with a new PDF
Replace the PDF with an updated one with the same name and folder, then click Data → Refresh All. The tables update.
If the new file has a different name or folder, change it in Data → Get Data → Data Source Settings → Change Source.
Things to know
- Scanned PDFs are images, so there’s no table to read. Use OCR first.
- Check numbers after import: values like 1,25,000 may need Data Type → Whole Number.
- No Power Query? The free PDF to Excel tool converts text PDFs in your browser.