Table2Clipboard is a free Mozilla addon, available for all the major Mozilla applications like Firefox, Thunderbird and SeaMonkey, which improves selective copying of tables from these three applications. Mozilla apps like Firefox allow you to select and copy only certain cells from a table open inside them using the Ctrl button. When you paste this type of selection inside Excel, OpenOffice Calc or LibreOffice Calc, the formatting that the table had gets lost. By using Table2Clipboard, you can preserve formatting when doing selective copying of tables.
To further illustrate how exactly it is that Table2Clipboard is working have a look at the table screenshot down below. Notice that the top row and the middle column are selected. They have a blue selection marker around them. This type of selection can be made inside aforementioned Mozilla apps by holding down Ctrl and then clicking on cells that you want to select, just like you would do when selecting files.
The trouble is that when you right click and select the usual copy command from the right click menu, formatting and the arrangement of cells will not be preserved when they are pasted in Excel, LibreOffice Calc, OpenOffice Calc or any other spreadsheet application.
Key features of Table2Clipboard are:
- Free and simple to use: integrated into the right click context menu
- Works with Mozilla applications like Firefox, Thunderbird and SeaMonkey
- Selective copying of tables: copy only certain cells from tables
- Preservation of formatting and cell arrangement when copying
- Supports pasting in spreadsheet apps like Excel, Libre Calc, etc.
If you’re still not quite sure just how it is that Table2Clipboard works, here’s a quick how to where you can find detailed explanations and instructions on how to use it.
How to copy table cells selectively with formatting in Firefox, Thunderbird and SeaMonkey with Table2Clipboard
First install the addon. Links are available down below. If you’re using Firefox, open up the table from where you would like to selectively copy cells and select the cells that you would like to see copied by holding down Ctrl key and clicking on the cells, the usual way.
Notice the blue selection markers indicating the cells that we’ve selected. Right click, select Table2Clipboard and then Copy selected cells. It’s also possible to copy entire table or create selections with this free addon.
Table at the top has been copied with regular Copy command, while the one down below with Table2Clipboard. Notice how entries in columns and rows down below are all properly arranged in correct cells, while the ones at the top are all moved to the left? Also notice that only selected entries from the table in Firefox were copied.
Conclusion
Table2Clipboard is an addon that fixes which the standard copy command should do on its own, preserve formatting of cells in tables when copying them from Firefox, Thunderbird or SeaMonkey in to Excel, LibreOffice Calc or some other spreadsheet application. It’s very easy to setup, very easy to use and what’s more important, everything works as advertised.
