Convert Text to Table

With the Text To Table Converter Add-On, you can effortlessly transform plain text—whether it’s neatly structured like CSV data, basic Markdown tables, or less organized text—into a proper table directly within Google Docs™, Google Slides™, and Google Sheets™.

The primary function covered in this guide is 🔤 ➜ 🔡 Selected Text to Table, which intelligently analyzes selected text and converts it.

Here’s a quick visual overview of converting selected structured text using the Add-On:

Note

Looking to copy a table directly from a PDF? Check out our blog post: How to copy a table from PDF to Google Docs™.

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Convert Structured Text to a Table

Structured text typically uses consistent separators (like commas, tabs, or semicolons) for columns and new lines for rows. Our Add-On makes converting this easy using the Selected Text to Table feature.

1. Select your text Highlight the block of structured text within your Google Docs™, Google Slides™, or Google Sheets™ file that you wish to convert into a table.

   Example Text:

   First Name,Last Name,Department,E-Mail
   Alice,Johnson,HR,[email protected]
   Bob,Smith,IT,[email protected]
   Clara,Lee,FIN,[email protected]
   David,Kim,MKT,[email protected]

   Tip

   Don’t worry if your text isn’t perfectly delimited! The Add-On is designed to intelligently detect common separators and structure your text, even if spacing isn’t perfectly uniform.

   

2. Run the Converter Navigate through the menu: Extensions > Text To Table Converter > 🔤 ➜ 🔡 Selected Text to Table.

   

3. View the Result The Add-On will instantly create and insert a new table based on your selected text, usually placing it right below your original selection.

   

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Handling Commas Within Your Data

What if your data for a single cell needs to contain a comma? For example, you might list multiple email addresses in one field: [email protected], [email protected].

Solution: To prevent the comma from being treated as a column separator, simply enclose the entire cell’s content in double quotes ("). Our Selected Text to Table feature recognizes this standard convention (CSV standard RFC 4180) and will keep the quoted text together in a single cell.

Example:

First Name,Last Name,Department,E-Mail
Alice,Johnson,HR,[email protected]
Bob,Smith,IT,[email protected]
Clara,Lee,FIN,[email protected]
David,Kim,MKT,"[email protected], [email protected]"

Resulting Table Cell:

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Convert Unstructured Text to a Table

Dealing with unstructured text from emails or websites? The Selected Text to Table function uses AI to analyze and organize it into a table.

This capability also extends to converting text already formatted as JSON, YAML, HTML, or XML. Since the conversion relies on AI, always verify the resulting table carefully.

Example: Messy Flight Details

Consider this text copied from an email:

Alice Johnson (HR) [email protected] Bob Smith (IT), [email protected], Clara Lee (FIN), [email protected], David Kim (MKT), [email protected], Emma Davis (OPS), [email protected], Frank Miller (ENG), [email protected], Grace Chen (R&D), [email protected], Henry Walker (QA), [email protected], Irene Scott (SALES), [email protected], Jack Turner (CS), [email protected]

Steps to Convert:

1. Select the unstructured text you want to convert within your document.

   

2. Go to Extensions > Text To Table Converter > 🔤 ➜ 🔡 Selected Text to Table.

Result:

The Add-On analyzes the selected text and inserts a structured table below it, extracting the key information it identifies:

Tip

This feature is particularly useful for quickly organizing lists, contact details, meeting notes, or any text where information isn’t neatly delimited.

Define Column Headers

You can further instruct the Add-On to split the data into predefined column headers.

As an example we can split the employee name into ‘First Name’ and ‘Last Name’.

Result:

Convert Markdown Text to a Table

The versatile Selected Text to Table function also recognizes and converts basic Markdown table syntax.

1. Select Markdown Table Text Select the text formatted as a Markdown table in your document.

   Example Markdown:

   | Customer    | Order         | Milk           | Notes                      |
   |-------------|---------------|----------------|----------------------------|
   | Alice       | Latte         | Oat            | *Extra shot requested*     |
   | Bob         | Americano     | **None**       |                            |
   | Charlie     | Cappuccino    | ~~Soy~~ Almond | Use `promo_code_BOGO`      |
   | Diana       | Flat White    | Whole          | **Decaf**; *Handle w/ care* |

   

2. Run the Converter Navigate through the menu: Extensions > Text To Table Converter > 🔤 ➜ 🔡 Selected Text to Table.

3. View the Result The Add-On creates a table based on the Markdown structure, applying common formatting like bold, italics, strikethrough, and code styles found within the cells.

More on Markdown Table Conversion

For a more detailed look at converting Markdown tables, including comparisons with native features in Google Docs™ and specific considerations for each application, please see our dedicated blog posts:

• Markdown Tables in Google Docs™
• Markdown Tables in Google Slides™
• Markdown Tables in Google Sheets™

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