How to paste a web table into Google Sheets without breaking columns
Google Sheets splits a paste into cells only when the clipboard holds tab-separated text or HTML table cells. Copy the table so it carries one of those (Table Export puts both on the clipboard), click a cell and press Ctrl+V, or Ctrl+Shift+V for values only. For a public page, =IMPORTHTML("url", "table", 1) pulls the first table and refreshes it periodically.
Google Sheets splits pasted data into cells only when the clipboard holds tab-separated text or HTML table cells. When a paste puts everything in one column, or shifts half the rows to the right, one of those is missing or broken. Here is how to get a clean paste every time.
Quick steps
- Open the page. Open the page with the table in Chrome.
- Copy the table. Click the Table Export icon and click Copy next to the table you want.
- Paste into Sheets. Click a cell in Google Sheets and press Ctrl+V (Cmd+V on a Mac). Rows and columns land in separate cells.
- Values only (optional). To drop formatting, paste with Ctrl+Shift+V (Cmd+Shift+V) instead.
Why pasted tables break
- Merged cells: a header that spans two columns becomes one cell, so everything after it shifts left by one.
- Line breaks inside a cell: in plain text they look like a new row, so one record splits into two.
- Selection spilling outside the table: headings and buttons above or below the table get pasted as extra rows.
- Hidden rows and columns: the page hides them, but a drag selection can still copy them.
IMPORTHTML
In a cell, =IMPORTHTML("https://example.com/page", "table", 1) pulls the first table from a public page and refreshes it periodically. It is handy for tables on public pages such as Wikipedia.
Limits: Google's servers fetch the page, so pages behind a login, pages that build the table with JavaScript, and sites that block automated requests return an error or the wrong table. You also have to find the table's index by trial.
Copy with Table Export
Table Export reads the table from the page as you see it and puts two versions on the clipboard: tab-separated text and a clean HTML table. Sheets uses the HTML version, so each cell lands in place. Merged cells are expanded, line breaks inside a cell become spaces, and hidden rows are skipped.
Free copies any table, of any size, with no account. Pro is a one-time license that adds saving all tables at once and Markdown copy.
Want to try it first? The demo page has a plain table, one with merged cells and a long one.
FAQ
Why does Google Sheets paste everything into one column?
The clipboard held text without tabs or HTML cells, so Sheets cannot see the column boundaries. Use Data › Split text to columns, or copy the table with a tool that writes tab-separated text and HTML.
Can IMPORTHTML read a table from a page I am logged into?
No. IMPORTHTML is fetched by Google's servers, which do not have your login. Copy from the page open in your browser instead.
Does the pasted data stay linked to the web page?
No. A paste is a one-time snapshot. If you need a table that refreshes, use IMPORTHTML on a public page.
Updated 2026-10-25.