Documents conversion
Convert PDF to CSV
A PDF stores a table as text placed at fixed positions on a page, with no idea which words belong to which column. Converting PDF to CSV reads back where every word sits and rebuilds the rows and columns from that layout, so the result opens as a real spreadsheet. It works on PDFs whose text can be selected, and it runs entirely on your own computer.
All 2,748 conversions verified on macOS, Windows, and Linux against the shipping release, this one included. Every conversion runs entirely on your own computer.
- Extension
- Type
- Documents
- Typically
- The universal document format
- Metadata
- Carries EXIF
- Extension
- .csv
- Type
- Documents
- Typically
- Data, spreadsheets
Convert PDF to CSV on your own computer. Nothing uploads.
One-time purchase, no subscription. 14 days to change your mind.
How to convert PDF to CSV
- Open Morphjet and drag in the PDF that contains the table you need.
- Choose CSV as the output. Nothing is uploaded; the page is read on your own machine.
- Pick a destination for the CSV, then open it in whatever spreadsheet you use.
- Check the first few rows against the PDF before you rely on the numbers.
PDF vs CSV: what actually changes
| CSV | ||
|---|---|---|
| What it stores | A fixed page layout, text pinned to coordinates | Rows and columns of plain values |
| Column structure | Visual only, inferred from spacing | Explicit, one value per cell |
| Editing | Awkward, the layout resists change | Sort, filter and total it like any sheet |
| Formatting | Fonts, rules, shading, page breaks | None, values only |
| Good for | Handing someone a document that looks fixed | Getting the numbers back out and working with them |
When to convert, and when not to
Convert PDF to CSV when a report, statement or export arrived as a PDF and you need the figures in a spreadsheet. It is the fastest route out of bank statements, invoices, price lists and published data tables, and it saves retyping a page of numbers by hand and making a typo halfway down.
Do not use it on a scanned page or a photograph of a document. Those hold no text layer, only an image of one, so there is nothing to read positions from. Run text recognition over the file first, then convert. It is also the wrong tool for flowing prose, which has no columns to find.
Why not just use an online converter?
The PDFs people most want as spreadsheets are the private ones: bank statements, payslips, invoices, medical results, anything with an account number down the side. Uploading one of those to a web converter hands a stranger the whole document, not just the table. Reading the page on your own machine means the statement never leaves it.
Questions
Does this work on a scanned PDF?
No. A scan is a picture of a page, so there are no word positions to read. Run text recognition on it first to add a text layer, then convert that to CSV.
Will the columns always line up correctly?
Usually, because the columns are worked out from where words actually sit rather than from counting spaces. The hard case is a column that is blank on most rows, which can be absorbed into its neighbour. Check the first few rows against the PDF.
What happens to headers, footers and page numbers?
Lines that hold a single value in an otherwise multi-column table are treated as page furniture and dropped, so a title or a page number does not turn into a stray row.
Can it handle a table that runs over several pages?
Yes. The whole document is read, so a table continuing across pages comes through as one set of rows. A header repeated at the top of each page will repeat in the output too.
Does this need an internet connection?
No. The conversion runs locally, so it works offline and the document is never sent anywhere.
Morphjet runs this conversion and 2,747 others, all on your machine. Available now.
One-time purchase, no subscription. 14 days to change your mind.