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# How to copy a table from a website into Excel or Google Sheets properly

By Dehumanize14 November 20262 min read

## In short

- Browsers put several versions on the clipboard and spreadsheets guess.
- Plain text paste, web import or a converted TSV all work.
- Fix decimal separators so numbers stay numbers.

You select a table on a web page, paste it into Excel, and get one column of text, odd formatting, or numbers that will not add up. This is common, and there are a few reliable ways around it.

## Why it goes wrong

A browser puts several versions of what you selected on the clipboard. A spreadsheet picks one of them, and which one depends on the program. Layout tables, merged cells and hidden elements make the result worse.

## Three ways that work

1. **Paste as plain text first.** In Excel use Paste Special, then Text. If the table is simple, you get one value per cell and you can format afterwards.
2. **Use the spreadsheet's own web import.** Excel and Google Sheets can import a table from an address. This works for public pages and refreshes on request. It does not work for pages behind a login.
3. **Convert the table before it reaches the spreadsheet.** Copy it as TSV or export it as an Excel file. Because the conversion looks at the table structure and not at the visual layout, you get one value per cell every time.

[Tables for AI](https://dehumanize.eu/tables-for-ai/) offers the third way: pick the table on the page, copy it as TSV and paste, or use the Pro export to an Excel file.

## Fixing numbers that stay text

- Check the decimal separator. A Dutch spreadsheet expects a comma, an English one expects a point.
- Remove currency signs and thousand separators with Find and Replace, then convert the column to a number.
- Dates may need the same treatment, because day and month order differs between locales.

### Copy tables without the mess

Tables for AI copies any web table as Markdown for AI chats, or as CSV, TSV, JSON and Excel. Merged cells, footnotes and hidden rows are handled for you. Free, no account.

[See Tables for AI](https://dehumanize.eu/tables-for-ai/)

[Read nextConvert an HTML table to Markdown, CSV or JSON without writing code](https://dehumanize.eu/guides/html-table-to-markdown-csv-json/) [Read nextHow to copy a table from a website into ChatGPT, Claude or Excel without it falling apart](https://dehumanize.eu/guides/copy-table-from-website-to-chatgpt-or-excel/)

More: [all guides](https://dehumanize.eu/guides/) · [Scrub for AI](https://dehumanize.eu/scrub-for-ai/) · [Copy for AI](https://dehumanize.eu/copy-for-ai/) · [Tables for AI](https://dehumanize.eu/tables-for-ai/)

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Source: https://dehumanize.eu/guides/copy-table-from-website-to-excel/
Summary: Why pasting a web table into a spreadsheet goes wrong, and three reliable ways to get a clean table with real numbers and one value per cell.
Publisher: Dehumanize, support@dehumanize.eu