Documents in Google Sheets

Use Documents mode in Google Sheets™ when the goal is not just to rebuild a visible table, but to turn a structured document into rows in a sheet.

This workflow is designed for repeated OCR jobs such as invoices, receipts, bank statements, bills of lading, transcripts, forms, and similar documents.

What You Can Do#

• Choose a document type: Let the tool auto-detect the document, use a preset, or describe a custom document.
• Control the output columns: Start from suggested headers, your existing sheet headers, or a preset header set.
• Choose the row shape: Insert one row per document or expand repeated items into multiple rows.
• Control insertion behavior: Append to the current sheet or overwrite the sheet with the extracted result.

Quick Start#

1. Open Selected Image to Table in Google Sheets™.
2. Add an image or PDF page, then choose Documents.
3. Pick the document type or use auto-detect.
4. Choose your column header source.
5. Choose single-row or multi-row output.
6. Insert the extracted rows into the active sheet.

Pick the Document Type#

• Auto-detect: Use this when you want Image to Table to infer the document category.
• Preset category: Use this when you already know the document family.
• Custom: Use this when the document is specialized and you want to describe the fields to extract.

Common preset categories include:

• invoices
• receipts
• bank statements
• tax forms
• checks
• bills of lading
• packing slips
• customs declarations
• inventory logs
• transcripts
• application forms
• exam papers

Choose the Column Headers#

• From First Scan (AI): Start from headers suggested during the first analysis.
• Use Existing Sheet Headers: Map the extraction into the schema already used in your current sheet.
• From Category Preset: Start from headers that match the selected document category.

Choose the Output Shape#

Single row per document#

Use this when each document should become one summary row, such as an expense log or invoice register.

Multiple rows per document#

Use this when repeated items should expand into separate rows, such as invoice line items, statement entries, or transcript courses.

Choose How to Insert#

• Append rows: Best for ongoing logs and recurring imports.
• Overwrite sheet: Best when the current sheet should be replaced with the new extraction result.

Related Links#

• Queue and PDF Pages - Add multiple images or selected PDF pages before running Documents mode.

• Table and Full Modes - Use these modes when the goal is a regular extracted table or broader page content.

• Image to Table - Return to the main Image to Table overview.