Table recognition
Convert tables in screenshots or image pins into editable cells, check and sort rows, copy all or selected cells, and save XLSX or CSV files.
Use table recognition to turn quotations, statistical tables, or item lists in images into editable cells. Check them against the original image, then copy to a spreadsheet app or save a spreadsheet file.
Start recognizing a table
Press Ctrl+1⌃ Control+1 to take a screenshot and select the entire table.
Expand the screenshot toolbar's more menu and click Table recognition. It is in the secondary area by default; you can also press Shift+Q⇧ Shift+Q directly.
Wait for the recognition window to show the result: the original image on the left and an editable table on the right.
For an existing image pin, right-click and choose Recognition → Table recognition, or focus the pin and press Shift+Q⇧ Shift+Q.
Compare with the image and correct cells
Double-click a cell on the right to edit its content. The cell content bar above shows the current cell's text and is read-only. Changes apply to subsequent copying and exporting; the original image on the left stays unchanged.
Drag to select an area, or click a row number or column heading to select a whole row or column. For more editing space, turn off Show original image at the top. Use the bottom zoom buttons if details are hard to see. Double-click a column heading separator to fit the column width if content is cut off.
After selecting cells, use the context menu or Edit menu to organize the table:
| Action | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Clear contents | Removes content from selected cells while keeping the cells |
| Rows, Columns | Inserts rows or columns, or deletes selected rows or columns |
| Merge cells | Combines a contiguous rectangular selection into one cell |
| Split cells | Removes an existing merge |
Use Undo and Redo at the top for text changes, clearing, deleting rows or columns, and sorting. When the table has focus and you are not editing inside a cell, you can also press Ctrl+Z⌘ Command+Z to undo or Ctrl+Shift+Z⌘ Command+⇧ Shift+Z to redo.
Merging keeps only the top-left cell's content. Inserting rows or columns, merging, or splitting clears the existing undo history. Save a copy of the table first if you have important changes.
Sort by a column
Click a cell in the column to sort by, open Sort in the context menu, and choose Ascending or Descending. Sorting moves whole rows, keeping each record's columns together.
If the first row contains headings, enable Data contains headers in Table settings at the top right before sorting. It is off by default; enabling it preserves the current first row. If the headings have already been sorted into the middle, choose Sort → None to restore the original order, then enable the option and sort again.
None restores the row order from this load while retaining edits, additions, and deletions. Changing the current column or editing numbers does not sort automatically; choose a direction again. The sorting preference is remembered and applied to the first column the next time a table is loaded.
Ascending and descending sorting are unavailable when cells are merged across rows. Split those merged cells first.
Set borders and display options
The gear at the top right opens Table settings. Choose No borders, Outer border, or All cell borders, and automatic, left, center, or right alignment.
No borders is the default: the editing area still shows gridlines, but copying and exporting do not include them. Choose the appropriate border setting first if you need lines in the output.
Text size and the bottom zoom controls affect only the window display, not the exported font size. Close source pin after recognition is off by default. When enabled, a new successful recognition closes the source pin.
Copy or save the result
| Desired result | Action |
|---|---|
| Copy the entire table | Click the main Copy table button; it copies the whole table even when cells are selected |
| Copy only part | Select an area and choose Copy selection from the copy button's dropdown, or press Ctrl+C⌘ Command+C in the table |
| Save a file | Click Save for the whole table, or choose Save selection from the dropdown; select XLSX or CSV |
| Continue editing in a spreadsheet app | Click Open in…; the button name depends on the system's associated spreadsheet app |
Pasting into an app that supports table formatting can preserve rows, columns, and borders. Pasting as plain text keeps only the text. To print, choose the entire table or selection under More.
Choose XLSX to keep merges and formatting. CSV does not retain them. For merged cells, you can keep only the top-left content, fill every cell in the former merged area, or save as XLSX instead.
Before copying or saving, check numbers, headings, and how rows and columns correspond. Purely numeric columns are treated as numbers: for example, 00123 becomes 123. Pay particular attention to leading zeros in identifiers.
When recognition does not finish
Table recognition requires an internet connection. Failure or cancellation keeps the original image, and you can retry in the window. Images wider than 8,000 pixels or taller than 30,000 pixels cannot be recognized. Select a smaller area and try again.
Related articles
Text recognition
Extract text from screenshots or image pins, check and edit OCR results, copy all or selected text, and adjust layout, language, and window behavior.
Formula recognition
Recognize formulas in screenshots or image pins as LaTeX, correct their source, choose delimiters and copy formats, or export documents and images.