Resolved Converting Word > Excel

Hi. I'm converting a Word table with (as of now) about 350 entries into an Excel worksheet. This is quite easy using cut and paste, except for one tiny glitch:

In one of the Word columns there are two items of data, separated by a hard return (Shift-Return). This was stupid of me setting it up this way, I realise now. For the record, they are Title - [hard return] - URL. Before copying and pasting this table into Excel I guess I'll need to separate these two bits of data into two columns, leaving the Title where it is and shifting the URL into a new, blank column which I'll have to add into the table in advance.

If the worst comes to the worst I could cut&paste the URLs individually in each line and move them into the new, blank column, but I'm sure there must be a more elegant way to do this. Plus, the longer I play around and try to solve it, the more new entries are piling up at the foot of the Word table.

Grateful for any advice - thanks in advance.

 

Hi, g.watson

You don't have to add a new column in Word.... You can add it later in Excel. To Copy and Paste the table..... Do the following:
1. Select the entire table in Word
2. Copy the table
3. Switch to Excel and click where you want the top-left corner of the table
4. Right-click and select PASTE SPECIAL (not Paste)
5. Select to Paste as Text, and OK

Please post a screenshot of the column with the Title and URL, so I can see if there is a way to move it in Excel.

 

Hi, Ann, and thanks for swift reply. Your advice for converting a Word table into Excel is perfectly correct, concise and helpful but - as I wrote - that's not where my problem lies. That's my fault: I should have titled my post Amending a Word table, as that's the problem part - separating the two bits of data from one column into two columns before the conversion. But I find you can't edit a post's title.

(In my defence I should say that I was trying to keep the page-width of the Word table short, and there was no discussion of later conversion to Excel when this project started out.)

My brain must have worked on this while I was asleep, because this morning I woke up with a (fairly clumsy) idea. But if anyone has a more elegant one, I'd still be grateful.

1. In the Word table, insert new, blank column for URL data
2. Set insert point in first offending table cell with two items of data
3. Record macro:

- find [hard return]
- extend selection to end of cell
- cut
- move to next cell right
- paste
- delete first character (the [hard return])
- move one cell left, one down
- stop​

4. If it looks good, repeat the macro 350 times.
5. Then convert the whole table to Excel as Ann instructed.