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If you are dealing with scanned PDFs converted to Word, or highly complex tables, the manual methods above might result in "garbled" data. In these cases, consider using:

| Method | Best For | Pros | Cons | |--------|----------|------|------| | | Simple tables, small data | Quick, no extra tools | Loses formatting, merged cells break | | Save as Plain Text (.txt) → Import to Excel | Clean, structured data (e.g., CSV-style) | Good control over delimiters | Extra steps, no formatting preserved | | Word "Save As" → Web Page → Open in Excel | Tables with some formatting | Preserves table structure | Can create messy results | | Power Query (Excel) | Repeated conversions, messy data | Powerful cleanup | Learning curve | | Third-party tools / PDF bridge | Complex layouts | Handles merged cells better | Cost, privacy concerns |

If you have a massive document or the copy-paste method is creating formatting nightmares, use Excel's built-in import tool. This "strips" the Word layout, leaving only the raw data for Excel to organize.

You upload your .docx file, the tool converts it (often by turning it into a PDF first to maintain structure), and you download a ready-to-go .xlsx file.

After pasting, you might notice that Excel won't sum your numbers because it thinks they are text.