You convert a PDF table to Excel and it almost works — except one column has drifted into the next, or two columns have merged into one. Looks fine on the PDF; broken in the sheet.
It's a fixable problem.
Why columns drift
Converters detect columns by spacing. If two columns are very close together in the PDF — only one or two characters of whitespace between them — the converter may join them. If a column has variable-width content (e.g. descriptions of different lengths), some rows look like they belong to the next column.
Borderless tables are the usual culprit. Ruled tables with visible vertical lines convert with near-perfect column alignment because there's no guesswork.
Flint's approach
Flint's PDF to Excel uses both visible ruling and inferred spacing to determine column boundaries. On clean tables it gets it right first time. On problem tables, it errs toward more columns rather than fewer — easier to merge in Excel than to split.
If you see two adjacent columns that should be one, select them, copy values, concatenate with `&" "&`. Twenty seconds.
The text-to-columns rescue
When one Excel column contains what should be two, Data > Text to Columns is your friend. Choose Delimited if there's a consistent separator (space, comma, tab); Fixed Width if you can see the break visually. Excel splits in place.
This fixes 90% of column-alignment issues in seconds without re-converting.
When the source PDF needs improving
If you control the upstream PDF, ask for it to be exported from the source app (Excel, Numbers) rather than printed-to-PDF from a designed template. Direct exports keep table structure. Print-to-PDF flattens everything to positioned text.
For consistent batches (monthly reports, regular vendor extracts), this one upstream change saves hours of column-fixing over a year.
FAQ
Can the converter ask me about column boundaries?
Not in the free browser flow. The conversion runs automatically. Manual cleanup in Excel is faster than configuring per-document settings.
Will text-to-columns work on all my rows?
Yes — it applies the split rule consistently. Preview the result before clicking Finish to make sure no edge cases get mangled.
Why is one column wider than the rest?
Long text wrapping. Click the column header divider to auto-fit, or wrap text within the cell (Format > Alignment > Wrap Text).
Should I switch to CSV instead?
If you're going to clean up anyway, CSV is fine and lighter. xlsx wins when you want the visual formatting preserved.
Drift happens. Excel fixes it in seconds. Convert your PDF to Excel and tidy any drift after.