How can I convert text to tables in Pages?

There is no automated solution available in Pages for converting text to table cells. Unlike current versions of LibreOffice Writer 7.* and MS Word 16.73, there is no Table > Convert > Text to Table menu item in Pages that opens a dialog allowing you to choose the separator character.

In Pages, one must separate the text to be converted to columns of text by a tab character, and a newline after the each future row entry — before copying that content to the clipboard. Next, one inserts a blank table, and single-clicks the first cell (e.g. A1), before pasting. Pages will automatically add rows and columns to match the pasted text content. This is a tried and proven method. If all of the text is deposited in the first cell, then click undo, and check the formatted content and how one selected the first cell.

For your stated large amount of data, you may be better served exporting the Pages content to Word, and then using either of the first paragraph's LibreOffice or Word applications to take advantage of their text to table automation features. Then you can reopen those completed Word documents in Pages again with their tabular data intact.

A first click of cell selects it. A second single click of the same cell at a later time enters you into text insertion mode. Had you clicked outside of the table to completely deselect that first cell, then single-clicked the first cell again, your tab-delimited clipboard content would have pasted as expected.

The solution as noted, one can paste tab-delimited text into Text Edit, convert to RTF, then paste the RTF text into the first cell of the table.

Alternatively, pasting of multi-line, delimited text into the top left column cell worked if there was a line return at the end of each line and a hard (paragraph) return at the end of all the selected text (for a single-column paste) or hard return at end of every line for a multi-column paste.

This has been working this way for years, provided one only clicks once in the first table cell. Click twice and you are in text mode and all content will go into the first cell as you describe.

I just tested this with Pages v12.1 in Big Sur 11.7.10 and it works as I described above. Same result with Pages v13.1 in Monterey.

Copied & pasted Rich Text format from TextEdit like garyva1101 suggested and it worked fine, but had to make sure there were no extra keyboard spaces within the tabbed areas or before/after each line of text.

(version 13.2 Sonoma 14.4.1)

I just created four columns, three rows of tab-separated, plain text in a third-party programmer's editor (to ensure it was plain text), and then using the animated example above, copied and pasted that plain text into the first selected cell of a Pages v13.2 table. Worked correctly with plain, just as it would with RTF text.

Got it to work if the pasted text is RTF rather than plain text. So I copy/pasted into TextEdit which defaults to RTF text. If I then copy/paste from TextEdit to the table, it works.

But apparently Pages doesn't have a facility to convert from plain text to RTF. So it makes no sense for Pages to require RTF text when pasting into a table. Please explain if I'm missing something or there is an easier way than doing multiple copy/pastes. I still don't know how I got it to work two days ago since I wasn't using TextEdit then.

This is the solution, albeit cumbersome to paste tab-delimited text into Text Edit, convert to RTF, then paste the RTF text into the first cell of the table.

Alternatively, pasting of multi-line, delimited text into the top cell worked if there was a line return at the end of each line and a hard (paragraph) return at the end of all the selected text.

On Sonoma 14.0 with Pages v13.2, I can demonstrate that Text to Table does in fact work. The key is to have text fields separated by tabs with newlines, and only click once on the first cell of the table.

Gary,

If you are having trouble with inadvertently ending up on the text layer of a cell, you can start by clicking on another cell, and then using the arrow keys to move the focus to the cell where you want to do the paste. If the arrow key doesn't work to move the focus, or if you see the flashing text insertion cursor, you're in too deep.

I suggest this because with some background colors, or if you misplaced your reading glasses, that cursor isn't so easy to spot.

Regards,

Jerry

Gary,

If Paste doesn’t work, try Paste and Match Style. If neither works, switch to iOS Pages. I’ve found the iOS versions to be less fussy.

Jerry

This does not work for me. The data enters in one column where separated by return, but is not separated where the tabs are. I do not have Word to complete your second section. I have version 13.2 of Pages.

Rats! Now I'm still stuck, unable to paste tabulated lines into a table. First I copy 3 lines to insert which are as follows:

Then I insert a plain table. Then I click the A1 cell ONCE. Table appears as follows:

If I paste now, since the whole table is selected, it disappears. So I click one time more on cell A1. Table appears as follows:

Note that I do NOT see a blinking cursor (vertical line) in cell A1. So I'm not in text mode, right? Now when I paste the copied 3 lines, I see this:

Note that line 1 did not wrap like lines 2 and 3 because I previously unclicked "Wrap Text" for that line only. But none of them distributed into the other columns as desired.

I also tried what Jerry suggested, clicking cell B1 and then pressing the left arrow key once to move to A1. Same result. I'm wondering if there is some setting I'm not aware of that made it work for me last night but not today. I've looked and tried everything I see under the Format options, but so far I can't make it work.

Please let me know what I'm doing wrong. Thanks!

Thanks for the speedy reply. So I clicked outside of the table and then single-clicked cell A1 and then paste and this is what I see:

Like I said, that first click selects the whole table which then disappears completely when I perform the paste.