Why does my converted Excel file have formatting issues after using VeryPDF

Posted on Author VeryPDFOnline

Title:

Why Does My Converted Excel File Look Messy After Using VeryPDF?

Meta Description:

Discover why your PDF to Excel conversions aren’t formatting rightand how to fix them fast with VeryPDF.

Why does my converted Excel file have formatting issues after using VeryPDF

Every time I converted a client’s PDF report into Excel, I braced myself for the chaos.

Merged cells everywhere. Fonts weirdly stretched. Columns that just didn’t make sense.

If you’ve ever tried to extract tables from a PDF into Excel and ended up spending more time fixing the file than analysing the data, I feel your pain.

You’re not alone. This happens all the timeespecially with scanned PDFs or PDFs that were never structured properly in the first place.

So when I started using VeryPDF to convert client invoices, scanned financial statements, and year-end reports, I wanted answers:

Why does my converted Excel file have formatting issues after using VeryPDF?

And better yethow do I fix it?

How I Found VeryPDFand Why I Stuck With It

I first stumbled on VeryPDF after a frustrating week battling with a bunch of PDF bank statements I needed to convert into Excel for a tax consultant.

Most converters I tried either crashed on scanned files, scrambled the formatting, or dumped everything into a single column.

VeryPDF stood out because:

  • It specifically supports scanned PDFs using OCR

  • It gives you detailed control over layout retention and table extraction

  • It’s not flashybut it’s built for people who need results fast

I’ve used it ever sincefor accountants, legal teams, researchers, even content editors who work with form-based PDFs.

Who Needs This?

If you deal with complex or scanned PDFs and live in Excel, you’re going to want this tool in your corner.

  • Accountants pulling numbers from vendor invoices

  • Lawyers processing long contracts with embedded tables

  • Finance analysts working with PDF reports

  • Admin staff sorting through scanned receipts or forms

Basically, if you’re tired of fixing broken spreadsheets after a conversionyou’re in the right place.

Why Does the Formatting Break Sometimes?

Let’s break this down like you would on a client call:

1. Your PDF isn’t “real” text

If you’re working with a scanned file (aka an image-based PDF), the converter has to “guess” what’s what.

Without OCR (Optical Character Recognition), it’s going to miss structure, rows, and even words.

2. The table structure in your PDF isn’t standard

Some PDFs don’t use real tablesthey fake it with lines and spacing. That’s fine for visual reading, terrible for conversion.

3. You didn’t tweak the settings

VeryPDF has layout optionsif you’re using the default “auto” mode on a weird document, you’re going to get weird results.

How to Fix It (My Real Workflow)

Here’s what I do nowevery single time:

Step 1: Turn on OCR if it’s a scan

Under OCR settings, I set language to English and check “retain layout”.

This makes a massive difference in accuracy.

Step 2: Choose “column detection by table structure”

VeryPDF has multiple table detection modes.

This one works best when you’ve got borders or consistent column widths.

Step 3: Preview before converting

Always preview. You’ll catch issues before they hit Excel.

Bonus tip:

For multi-page PDFs, I convert one page first, fix settings, then batch the rest. Saved me hours.

What Makes VeryPDF Better Than Others I Tried?

Let me put it this way:

Feature VeryPDF Others
OCR Support Reliable Hit or miss
Table Detection Modes Multiple One-size-fits-all
Layout Control Flexible Often locked
Works Offline Secure Cloud-only

Other tools looked good, but didn’t go deep on functionality.

VeryPDF gave me full controland that’s what I needed.

Suggested Visuals

  • Screenshot of OCR setting page with “Retain Layout” checked

  • Comparison: PDF with table vs. converted Excel output

  • Interface showing table detection mode selection

Each image should have captions like:

“Table detection options in VeryPDF give you more control over the final Excel layout.”

FAQs

Q: Can VeryPDF handle large PDFs with many tables?

Yesbatch processing is solid. I’ve converted 100+ page reports without issues.

Q: What if the table has merged cells?

Use the “reconstruct table” optionit handles merges better than default mode.

Q: My Excel output still needs tweaksany fix?

Try adjusting the scaling or font options before export. That alone fixed alignment issues for me.

Final Thoughts: Worth It?

Absolutely.

VeryPDF didn’t magically fix every formatting issue, but it gave me the power to do something about it.

I stopped wasting time fixing broken Excel sheets, and started focusing on actual data analysis.

I’d highly recommend this to anyone who deals with complex or scanned PDF files on a daily basis.

Whether you’re in accounting, law, or adminit’s worth trying.

Start your free trial now and take control of your PDF conversions: https://www.verypdf.com/

Still wondering why does my converted Excel file have formatting issues after using VeryPDF?

It’s usually about OCR, layout settings, and the structure of your original PDF.

Fix thoseand VeryPDF can deliver clean, reliable spreadsheets every time.