Get Data From PDF

For all the perennial whingeing we do about changes to Excel, Office and Windows, sometimes it’s just great to see new stuff emanate.

Here is one such example. Without doubt, one of the most common questions we ever get at SumProduct is, “how do I extract data from a PDF file? Do you have any good software recommendations?”.

Well – look at this:

The latest release of The Artist Formerly Known as Office 365 Excel Insider (Fast) – and now Microsoft 365 Excel Beta Channel – has now gone out and beta’d itself. Power Query / Get & Transform has a new buddy, Get Data From PDF. There will be cheering from the rooftops for this one.

Only in the 365 Beta version presently, you may access this feature by going to Data -> Get Data -> From File -> From PDF (ALT + A + PN + F + P). We don’t know how well it works yet – hey, this is hot off the press, but it’s a start!