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I want to copy the following table http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/classic/awards/01/36/25/40/ballondor_award_men_player_finalx.pdf into excel but when I do it doesn't format it as a table as the source isn't a proper table.

Is there any way to copy it without having to do it manually?

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2 Answers

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You can use your PDF reader's column selection feature to copy each column of the table individually. Each column can then be pasted one-by-one into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.

For example, useAlt+Drag with Adobe Reader's Select Tool.

screenshot

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Excellent! Didn't know about this feature! Will come in handy for lots of other things :) – Aasim Azam Dec 26 '12 at 2:02
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How about converting the PDF file to a text file and then you should be able to import the data. There are many utility programs around to do this, some not so free.

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Can you expand on what you mean by "converting the PDF file to a text file"? In the example given, you are able to convert the PDF to text by simply selecting and copying the text, as the text data is already present. The issue here is that the text uses a space character as the table's column delimiter when space characters are used in the cells. – iglvzx Dec 26 '12 at 2:10

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