OmniDocHow to translate tables in PDF and put them into Excel
This article introduces the complete process of translating a PDF containing tables and exporting it to Excel, including determining the original file type, selecting the translation output method, check points before and after exporting, and better practices when the original Excel is available.
Key points of this article
- When you have the original Excel file on hand, give priority to directly translating xlsx, with little loss of format and cell structure.
- When there is only PDF, translate the PDF first, and then use the desktop client's PDF editor to export to Excel. The table structure will be basically retained.
- The scanned PDF can be directly uploaded for translation. If the table text cannot be selected before exporting, OCR must be performed first.
- After exporting, check the row and column alignment, numerical units and merged cells item by item. Formulas usually need to be rewritten in Excel.
Many people get a foreign language PDF report, product parameter table or experimental data. What they need is not the translation of the entire text, but the table itself: each cell should be translated into Chinese, and then put into Excel to continue filtering, calculation and graphing. Most people who search for "excel table translation" have encountered this situation. If you copy and paste directly, tables are often misaligned, and numbers and units are easily lost.
This article talks about a specific process: first translate the PDF containing the table into Chinese, and then export it to Excel. The article will explain when to take this route, when it is easier to translate the Excel file directly, and what to check after exporting. After reading, you can follow the steps to complete the translation and export of a form, and you can also judge which method is suitable for the file you have.
How to translate PDF tables and put them into Excel? One sentence conclusion
If you have the original Excel file, translate it directly; if you only have PDF, translate the PDF first and then export to Excel. The table below lists common situations.
| your situation | Recommended practices | reason |
|---|---|---|
| Have the original xlsx file | Translate Excel files directly | The cell structure and worksheet are saved in the original file without PDF transfer. |
| Only digital version of PDF, table text can be selected | Translate PDF and export to Excel | Table text can be directly recognized, and the exported row and column structure is usually relatively complete. |
| Scanned PDF only | After uploading the translation, do OCR first and then export it. | The scanned form is an image, and OCR can convert the text into editable content. |
| The table is large and spans multiple pages | Check export results in pages | Cross-page tables are easily broken at the edge of the page and need to be checked page by page. |
| Only the data in the table is needed, no translation typesetting is required | Select translation output only | Bilingual comparison will increase cell content, which is not conducive to subsequent processing. |
Before you start: Confirm these points first
Taking two minutes to make a judgment before taking action can save you a lot of detours.
- Confirm whether the PDF is digital or scanned. Use the mouse to drag and select text in a certain cell of the table: if it can be selected, it is the digital version; if it cannot be selected, it is the scanned copy or picture. This determines whether OCR is required and also affects how accurate the exported text will be.
- Confirm whether there are merged cells and cross-page tables in the table. Table headers that appear to be connected together in the PDF may be separated after exporting. Note these locations in advance and check them after exporting.
- Determine the output method. Bilingual comparison allows you to check against the original text, but it will make the content of each cell longer, and the column width will be out of balance after exporting to Excel. If the purpose is to put it into Excel for calculation, only the translation output will be cleaner.
- Choose the right text style. Terminology for financial, legal, technical, and academic forms varies widely. Choosing a style that matches the content will keep the same term consistent throughout the table.
- Confirm whether there are formulas and values that need to be retained in the table. The table in the PDF only retains the calculation results, not the formulas. If you want to calculate it later, you need to re-establish the calculation relationship in Excel.
Steps to translate PDF tables in OmniDoc and export them to Excel
- Prepare the PDF you want to process and confirm whether it is a digital version or a scan. Scans can be uploaded directly for translation without prior conversion.
- Open omnidoc.top and upload the PDF file.
- Choose a text style that matches the content before submitting, such as technical or business.
- Select the output method: select translation only when you only need tabular data, select bilingual comparison when you need to compare the original text.
- Wait for the processing to be completed, download the translated PDF, and open it in the reader first to confirm whether the entire form is complete.
- If you need more editing or exporting, open the desktop client (download address: download.omnidoc.top) and use the PDF editor to open the translated PDF.
- If the table text cannot be selected, it means that the translated PDF is still in image form. Use the OCR function to recognize the text before proceeding to the next step.
- Use the export function, select Excel format and save. After exporting, open the file in Excel and proceed to the next section to check item by item.
Check each item after completion
The exported Excel table may not be exactly the same as the original table, especially complex tables. It is recommended to go through all the following check items.
| Check items | How to see | What to do if there is a problem |
|---|---|---|
| Are the rows and columns aligned? | Compare the original PDF line by line to see if the table header and data are misaligned | Return to the translated PDF to confirm whether it is caused by spanning pages or merging cells, and manually adjust the rows and columns |
| Numbers and units | Randomly check a dozen numbers and check the decimal point, thousandth place and unit symbol | Numerical errors can be corrected directly back to the original PDF, do not rely on inference from the translation. |
| Merge cells | Check whether the original merged headers have been split | Re-merge in Excel and adjust header text |
| Formulas and calculations | Click on the result cell to see if it is still a formula | Usually it is a static value, and the formula needs to be rewritten according to the original table logic. |
| Missing or duplicate rows | Compare original table and exported table by number of rows | Find the missing location in the translated PDF and fill in the data |
| Terminology unification | Is the same term translated consistently throughout the table? | Use Excel’s search and replace method to write uniformly |
Both machine translation and OCR may make mistakes, so when it comes to key content such as amounts, parameters, and dates, be sure to check it against the original text and do not use it directly for decision-making.
📝 Summary
After translating the PDF table and putting it into Excel, the key is to first determine the original file type: if you have the original xlsx file, translate it directly; if you only have PDF, go through the three steps of "translate, export, and verify." The scanned document is first subjected to OCR, and then the rows, columns, numbers and merged cells are checked one by one after exporting. If done in this order, the results of excel table translation will be more reliable and save time on rework.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
1. Can the tables in the scanned PDF be translated directly?
Translations can be uploaded directly. If you need to edit table text before exporting to Excel, you should first use OCR to recognize the text in the image before exporting.
2. Can the formulas in the exported Excel still be used?
Usually cannot be used directly. Tables exported from PDF are mostly numerical values and text of calculation results. The original formulas will not be retained and need to be rewritten in Excel based on the original table logic.
3. How to choose an excel table translation tool?
Three points should be considered first: file size limit, whether to include a watermark after export, how to handle privacy after uploading the file, and whether the rows, columns and merged cells of the table are retained. Don’t just look at the simplicity of the interface.
4. Which one is better, directly translating xlsx or translating PDF and then exporting it?
When there is an original xlsx file, priority is given to directly translating xlsx, so that the cell structure and formulas are better preserved. If only PDF is available, then take the route of PDF translation and export.
5. How to translate pdf so that the table is not messy?
Before translation, confirm whether the table spans two pages and whether there are merged cells. After exporting, check item by row and column. When the table is complex, you can cut it into a separate PDF page and process it. The result is usually easier to check.
