In Excel: copy the table in Word (Ctrl+C), click a cell in Excel and paste (Ctrl+V) — each Word cell lands in its own Excel cell; for text that isn't a table, save the document as Plain Text (.txt) and import it via Data ▸ Get Data ▸ From Text/CSV.
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In Word, click inside the table and select it (Layout ▸ Select ▸ Select Table), then press Ctrl+C.
In Excel, click the top-left destination cell and press Ctrl+V.
Open the paste options button and pick Match Destination Formatting so the data adopts the sheet's styles.
If one Word cell turned into several Excel rows, the Word cell contained line breaks — remove them in Word first (Ctrl+H, replace ^l with a space) and paste again.
For non-table text, save the document as Plain Text (.txt) in Word, then use Data ▸ Get Data ▸ From Text/CSV in Excel.
Clean up with =TRIM(A1) for stray spaces and Data ▸ Text to Columns for text that should split into fields.
What this does
Excel has no "open .docx" option, so converting means moving the content across yourself. A Word table pastes cleanly: rows become rows, cells become cells, and the paste options button lets you choose Keep Source Formatting (Word's look) or Match Destination Formatting (the sheet's look). Plain paragraphs paste into a single column, so structured non-table text is better saved as .txt and imported, then split with Text to Columns. Before you run it on a workbook other people depend on, try it on a copy or a few rows first. Undo only reaches back through the current session, so a quick trial run is the cheapest way to see exactly what will change before the file is saved and shared. The difference between a quick fix and a sheet you can trust is the extra minute you spend validating “word doc in excel”. Start on a copy or a tiny sample, keep the affected cells visible, and compare the result with the tool above before you touch the real workbook. When this is a ribbon command, the selection matters more than the button: confirm the range, apply the command, then spot-check the output before saving. The point is a text operation that turns messy entries into clean, usable data, but the practical win is that someone else can open the file and understand what happened without asking you.
A worked example
A Word invoice table has columns Item, Qty, Price with rows Bolt M8 / 42 / 0.15 and Nut M8 / 120 / 0.08. Select the table, press Ctrl+C, click A1 in Excel, press Ctrl+V and choose Match Destination Formatting: the data lands in A1:C3 as ordinary cells you can sum with =SUM(C2:C3), giving 0.23. Reports and invoices often arrive as Word documents while the analysis happens in a spreadsheet; converting properly avoids retyping and the errors that come with it. When the result is not what you expected, undo straight away rather than repairing it by hand — undo restores the sheet exactly, while manual fixes tend to leave small inconsistencies behind that surface later.
In Google Sheets
This is a command rather than a formula, so there is no syntax to carry over. Google Sheets arranges its commands in menus across the top instead of a ribbon, names some of them differently and does not have every Excel command — look for the equivalent in the Sheets menus or its help before assuming the steps match. The aim was to get you unstuck fast and leave you a little more capable than a copy-paste would. The answer is at the top and the detail above shows why it holds — so the next time a colleague asks, you can answer without reaching for search. The short version of “word doc in excel”: the answer is at the top of this page, and the sections above explain why each step matters, so a variation of the problem does not stump you. Try it once on a copy of a real file and the steps stick far better than re-reading them.
Common mistakes
- Pasting a table whose cells contain line breaks — each break spawns an extra Excel row.
- Expecting the pasted table to stay linked to the Word file; the paste is a static copy.
- Keeping Word's formatting when the sheet should look uniform — choose Match Destination Formatting.
- Retyping structured text instead of saving as .txt and importing via From Text/CSV.
- Carrying merged Word cells into Excel, where they break sorting and filtering.
Frequently asked questions
How do I convert a Word table to Excel?
Select the table in Word, press Ctrl+C, click a cell in Excel and press Ctrl+V. Use the paste options button to control formatting.
Why did one Word cell become several Excel rows?
The Word cell contains line breaks. Replace ^l (and ^p) with a space via Ctrl+H in Word before copying, or rejoin the rows in Excel.
Does this work in Google Sheets?
Yes. Copy the Word table and paste it straight into Sheets, or save the document as .txt/.csv and use File ▸ Import.