Can I use Split text to columns with a pipe separator?

You can, but you then have to delete the empty leading and trailing columns created by the outer pipes, remove the |---| separator row, and strip any ** markers left in the values. Converting first avoids all three cleanups.

Why does Sheets use tabs?

Tab-separated values are the long-standing convention for moving grid data between applications. Every spreadsheet, including Excel and Numbers, reads them the same way.

What if my data contains tabs?

Tabs inside a value would break the row structure, so they collapse to spaces. The clipboard also carries an HTML table version, which Sheets prefers when available and which has no such limitation.

Does this work on Sheets mobile?

Pasting works, but clipboard behaviour on mobile browsers is inconsistent. On a phone, downloading the CSV and importing it is more reliable.

Markdown to Google Sheets guide

Why a Markdown Table Pastes Into One Cell in Google Sheets

Sheets splits pasted text on tab characters. Markdown separates columns with pipes, so there is nothing to split on and the row stays in a single cell.

Direct answer

Google Sheets decides where cells break by looking for tab characters in the pasted text. A Markdown table separates its columns with pipe characters, which carry no meaning to Sheets, so the entire row arrives as one long string in one cell. Converting the pipes to tabs before you copy fixes it at the source, with no Split text to columns pass afterwards.

Open Markdown to Google Sheets converter

When to use this

An entire table ended up in cell A1.
Each row occupies one cell in column A.
Split text to columns produced the wrong number of columns.

Steps

Undo the bad paste with Ctrl+Z so you are working from a clean sheet.
Paste the original Markdown into the converter.
Confirm the preview shows the column count you expect.
Press Copy for Sheets and paste again.
Each value now occupies its own cell.

Example conversion

Markdown input

| Sprint | Committed | Completed | Carryover |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| 24.1 | 34 | 31 | 3 |
| 24.2 | 29 | 29 | 0 |
| 24.3 | 36 | 30 | 6 |

Tab-separated output Sheets splits into cells

Sprint	Committed	Completed	Carryover
24.1	34	31	3
24.2	29	29	0
24.3	36	30	6

Common mistakes

Do not fix it with Split text to columns using | as a custom separator — it leaves an empty first and last column from the table's outer pipes, and the |---| row becomes a row of dashes.
Do not manually delete the separator row after splitting; converting properly never creates it.
Do not retype the data by hand for anything larger than a few rows.

FAQ

Can I use Split text to columns with a pipe separator?: You can, but you then have to delete the empty leading and trailing columns created by the outer pipes, remove the |---| separator row, and strip any ** markers left in the values. Converting first avoids all three cleanups.
Why does Sheets use tabs?: Tab-separated values are the long-standing convention for moving grid data between applications. Every spreadsheet, including Excel and Numbers, reads them the same way.
What if my data contains tabs?: Tabs inside a value would break the row structure, so they collapse to spaces. The clipboard also carries an HTML table version, which Sheets prefers when available and which has no such limitation.
Does this work on Sheets mobile?: Pasting works, but clipboard behaviour on mobile browsers is inconsistent. On a phone, downloading the CSV and importing it is more reliable.

Why a Markdown Table Pastes Into One Cell in Google Sheets

Direct answer

When to use this

Steps

Example conversion

Common mistakes

FAQ

Related Sheets guides

How to Paste a Markdown Table Into Google Sheets

How to Get a ChatGPT Table Into Google Sheets

How to Import a Markdown Table Into Google Sheets as CSV

Keeping Numbers, Percentages, and Currency Correct in Google Sheets