How can I speed up the PDF-to-Excel conversion process in Able2Extract?

Users may frequently encounter the need to convert PDF documents containing large number of pages (e.g. 500+). While the speed of Able2Extract's PDF to Excel conversion is very good, conversion will inevitably take a little more time when a large number of pages is being processed.

Here are a few quick tips to speed up conversion:

1. Turn off the "Excel Fonts" option.
   The "Excel Fonts" command turns on/off Excel fonts for the PDF-to-Excel conversion. When turned on (which is the default setting), this feature attempts to replicate the size, colour and type of font from the PDF to Excel. 
   When turned off, the standard Excel font is used. Hence, Able2Extract spends less time attempting to replicate the fonts found in the PDF document.
   
   To turn off Excel fonts, please perform the steps given below:
   • Open Able2Extract application and go to "View -> Conversion Options...".
   • On Conversion Options dialog select the Excel/CSV Tab.
   • On the Excel/CSV Tab untick the Excel Fonts check-box.
   • Click on the OK button.
   • Now open your PDF file in Able2Extract, select the data and convert it to Excel in a usual way.
     
     
2. Turn off the "Excel Spacing" option.
   The "Excel Spacing" command turns on/off the automatic spacing for the to-Excel conversion. Turning this option off, in addition to turning off the Excel Fonts, will speed up conversion.
   
   To turn off Excel spacing, please use the following steps:
   
   • Open Able2Extract application and go to "View -> Conversion Options...".
   • On Conversion Options dialog select the Excel/CSV Tab.
   • On the Excel/CSV Tab untick the Excel Spacing check-box.
   • Click on the OK button.
   • Now open your PDF file in Able2Extract, select the data and convert it to Excel in a usual way.
     
     
3. Excel Spreadsheet Limitation. 
   Prior to Excel 2007, Excel spreadsheets could contain only 65,000 rows. In cases of very large PDF documents that require conversion from PDF to Excel, it is possible that the number of rows in Excel could be exceeded. This may cause Excel to crash or freeze. In this case, it is suggested that PDF-to-Excel conversion is done in several turns. This will ensure that the 65,000 row limit is not exceeded.
   
   Also, you may try to change the Excel format to Excel 2007, in order to speed the conversion process up. To do so, please follow these steps:
   • Open Able2Extract application and go to "View -> Conversion Options...".
   • On Conversion Options dialog select the Excel/CSV Tab.
   • On the Excel/CSV Tab change the Excel Format from Default to Excel 2007.
   • Click on the OK button.
   • Now open your PDF file in Able2Extract, select the data and convert it to Excel in a usual way.
     
     
4.  Change the selected Advanced Custom Excel options.
   In order to shorten the time of PDF-to-Excel conversion, you may wish to try steps given below:
   • Open your PDF file in Able2Extract and select the data.
   • Then click on the Excel button on the toolbar.
   • This will open a new dialog, so here please make the following changes:
     
     • under the Custom option, select the "All Consecutive Pages Have The Same Table Set" button, and also the "Single Table Per Range" button;
     • under the Automatic option, select the "Simple Analysis" button.
     
     
   • Once you have done this, click on the OK button.
   • You will now be returned to Convert to Excel dialog where you will be able to choose between Automatic and Custom Excel conversion. So, just proceed with the conversion in a usual way.

This article refers to Able2Extract and Able2Extract Professional.