Gridlift

Extract tables from PDF files in your browser.

Your file never leaves the browser.

How Gridlift finds tables in a PDF

  1. Open a PDF

    Open a PDF by dragging it onto the drop area or choosing a file with the picker. The document is read and parsed directly in this page, so it stays in your browser.

  2. Review detected tables

    Review the detected tables listed for each page, then select one to preview its rows, columns, and extracted values before deciding how to export the result.

  3. Download your data

    Download the selected table as CSV or JSON, or choose JSON for all detected tables. Export settings preserve practical formatting choices for use in other tools.

How detection works

Lattice detection looks for ruled lines in the PDF and uses those lines to reconstruct table grids. Stream detection instead examines whitespace column gaps between text, which helps recover tables that have no visible ruling.

When detection mode is auto, the page runs lattice detection first. It falls back to stream detection only when lattice found nothing on that page, keeping ruled tables and whitespace-aligned tables on their appropriate paths.

Headers and merged cells

Header detection considers at most three header rows. When headers are nested, their parts are joined with the separator " > ", producing readable column paths that retain the hierarchy represented by the source table.

If column names repeat, later duplicates receive a "(2)" suffix so exported fields remain distinguishable. Merged cells can either repeat their value across covered positions or be left empty, depending on the selected merge policy.

Export options

CSV export supports comma, semicolon, and tab delimiters, making the downloaded data suitable for spreadsheets and tools with different regional conventions. Files use CRLF line endings, and an optional UTF-8 BOM can be included.

JSON export can contain the selected table or all tables detected in the document. Choose the selected-table option for focused work, or export every result when you need a complete machine-readable record.

Is my PDF uploaded anywhere?
No network request is made: this app is a static site that runs entirely in the browser, so your PDF stays on your device while it is processed.
Which PDFs work best?
Text-based PDFs work best because their characters are available as a readable text layer. Scanned or image-only pages have no text layer, and this app does not provide OCR.
What if no tables are found?
If no tables are found, check whether the table uses ruled lines. Tables without ruled lines fall to the whitespace-based detector, and very tight column gaps can defeat it.
How are multi-page tables handled?
Each page is detected separately, so page boundaries remain clear. When exporting all tables to JSON, every detected table keeps an addressable identity for reliable downstream use.