How to Convert a Table Back to Text in Google Docs™

Google Docs™ has no 'Convert table to text' command (Microsoft Word does). The two practical routes: the Text To Table Converter Add-On's 'Selected Table to Text' action, or a copy-and-paste-without-formatting workaround.

Sometimes a table is the wrong container: you want the content as flowing text, a list, or lines you can paste into another tool. Deleting a table in Google Docs™ deletes its content too, so you need to extract the text first.

Method 1: Text To Table Converter Add-On (in place)

The free Text To Table Converter Add-On does the conversion directly, without touching your clipboard:

1. Click into the table (or select it).
2. Go to Extensions > Text To Table Converter > 🔡 ➜ 🔤 Selected Table to Text.
3. The table is replaced by its content as plain text lines.

The same menu also offers 🔤 ➜ *️⃣ Selected Text to List if what you actually want is a bulleted list.

Method 2: Copy, then paste without formatting

The native workaround uses the clipboard:

1. Select the entire table and copy it (Ctrl+C / Cmd+C).
2. Click below the table (or anywhere you want the text) and paste without formatting: Ctrl+Shift+V / Cmd+Shift+V.
3. Docs™ pastes the cell contents as plain text lines, with cell values separated on each row.
4. Delete the original table: right-click inside it and choose Delete table.

You may need to tidy up spacing between former cell values, but for simple tables this takes under a minute.

Tip: Keep a copy before flattening

Table structure is hard to rebuild once discarded. If you might need the table again, duplicate it first (copy and paste it once), or rely on File > Version history to restore an earlier revision.

Get the Add-On

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Text To Table Converter

Convert both directions for free: The free Text To Table Converter add-on turns text into tables *and* tables back into text, in Docs™, Slides™, and Sheets™.

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Next Step: The Opposite Direction

• Google Docs™ Has No 'Convert Text to Table' — Here Are 3 Ways to Do It - Three ways to go from plain text to a real table.