The most compelling reason to convert a PDF to an Apple Numbers file is so that you can edit your data. While PDFs preserve information in a fixed structure, Numbers offers the flexibility to manipulate, visualise and analyse data effectively.
The good news is that various free and paid PDF-to-Numbers conversion tools can quickly read and transfer PDF data into a Numbers spreadsheet.
Numbers is a program and a file type (Numbers files will end in .numbers). You can open a variety of file types in Numbers, including:
Note: You can open a PDF in Numbers for viewing, but the data will not automatically be ‘unlocked’ for editing. Therefore, if you can convert a PDF into any of these formats, you should be able to open it in Numbers.
Most PDF software, e.g. Acrobat or Preview, will not allow you to export a PDF as a Numbers file. The reason? It’s challenging for the software to identify how the PDF data should be structured in the generated Numbers file. Exporting the PDF into a Numbers file directly risks baking structural errors into the outputted document.
Luckily, various online tools will convert the tabular data from a PDF to a structured Numbers file. Such tools are usually simple to use – let’s break it down.
If uploading sensitive financial data, check that the tool is ISO27001 or SOC2 certified. This information should be easily accessible if you search ‘[the name of the tool] + security certifications’. Once you’ve confirmed it’s a trustworthy PDF-to-Numbers converter, click ‘Upload’ and wait for the document to upload and process.
Some tools will display a preview of the output (e.g. how the tool extracted the data from the uploaded PDF and restructured it into a Numbers spreadsheet). If so, check that the data appears accurate and well-formatted. Some tools may offer an option to correct the Numbers data before downloading if something is amiss.
Once you’ve confirmed the data is in the correct format, hit the ‘Download’ button. Depending on the tool, this may appear as ‘Export’. The tool will send the Numbers file instantly to your computer.
If you’re a company that regularly receives high volumes of PDFs that need to be converted into Numbers for analysis or storage, consider using an automated data extraction solution.
Successful automation means manual intervention is unnecessary while converting a PDF to Numbers. The file moves through a workflow when a trigger is activated (i.e. a PDF is uploaded to a particular repository). The PDF data should be extracted and restructured into the Numbers format.
The Numbers file will then be automatically deposited into the desired repository. In turn, the file’s presence might trigger a further stage in the workflow, such as an analysis of the data in the file.
Of course, the workflow details may change, but the fundamental idea is that the PDF should be converted into Numbers with no manual touchpoints.
Consider automation if you need to manually enter data from a Numbers file into your internal database. Automating data entry into an internal database means accurately extracting the PDF data before cleaning and validating it and then importing it into your internal database.
There are several ways to import clean, captured data, including Extract, Transform and Load (ETL) tools, Structured Query Language (SQL) scripts and database management tools.
Ultimately, converting PDF data into a database requires careful consideration and likely some technical expertise.
Firstly, check the PDF – it’s likely the file is at fault. Then, consider whether the following apply:
If the PDF isn’t locked, corrupted or too long, you could try refreshing or restarting the technology and trying again. If that fails, try using an alternate PDF-to-Numbers tool.
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You can – with a caveat. If you upload a PDF, ChatGPT will extract the data and output it in the CSV format (use a prompt like ‘Extract the data and format as a CSV’). You can open a CSV in Numbers, but there may be issues with the formatting.
It will be more straightforward to complete the same process in reverse. Simply open the Numbers application and go to File < Export To < PDF. The PDF will be automatically downloaded to your computer. To convert Excel to PDF in bulk, you could use a PDF -> Excel tool like Zamzar to automate the process.
Converting PDFs into Numbers is a simple process that can vary depending on your needs. For users, transforming a PDF into Numbers might be as simple as clicking ‘Export’. On the other hand, for enterprises, setting up a conversion pipeline will reduce manual friction, potentially saving costs.
If you have a high volume of financial documents that you would like converted into Numbers, contact our financial data project team at hello@evolution.ai or book a demo.
