Text to Table Input Types

Use this page to understand what Text to Table can convert and how to prepare common input formats.

Structured Text

Text with clear separators such as commas, tabs, semicolons, or pipes works well with local parsing.

First Name,Last Name,Department,E-Mail
Alice,Johnson,HR,alice.johnson@example.com
Bob,Smith,IT,bob.smith@example.com
Clara,Lee,FIN,clara.lee@example.com
David,Kim,MKT,david.kim@example.com

Text with Commas Inside One Cell

If one value contains commas, wrap that value in double quotes so it stays in one cell.

First Name,Last Name,Department,E-Mail
David,Kim,MKT,"david.kim@example.com, david.kim@sales.example.com"

Unstructured Text

Text copied from emails, notes, or AI output can still be converted even when it does not have clear separators.

Alice Johnson (HR) alice.johnson@example.com Bob Smith (IT), bob.smith@example.com, Clara Lee (FIN), clara.lee@example.com, David Kim (MKT), david.kim@example.com

Tip

For messy or inconsistent input, the add-on may use AI automatically to organize the content into rows and columns.

Markdown Tables

Markdown table syntax is supported.

| Customer    | Order      | Milk   |
|-------------|------------|--------|
| Alice       | Latte      | Oat    |
| Bob         | Americano  | None   |
| Charlie     | Cappuccino | Almond |

Markdown tables are a good fit when your source already has clear row and column structure but is still stored as text.

Mixed Markdown Content

Text to Table can also handle Markdown content that mixes tables with headings, lists, or paragraphs.

Examples:

• documentation snippets with a heading followed by a table
• notes copied from an AI tool
• project updates written in Markdown

If your selection mixes several Markdown blocks and you want more control over the result, use Open in Table Editor.

Header Behavior

Text to Table uses the first parsed row as headers. It does not infer headers automatically.

If you want specific column names, include them in the first row of the text you convert.

File-Based Starts

If you start Text to Table with no selected text, you can also import:

• .csv
• .tsv
• .txt
• .xlsx

Those files open through Table Editor first so you can review the result before you click Apply.

Related Links

Convert Text to Table Return to the main Text to Table guide.

Text to Table Workflows Choose the best workflow for fast insert, Table Editor review, or starting a new table.

Tips for Better Results Use practical preparation rules for headers, delimiters, Markdown input, and file imports.