When you use the Place command to import a Microsoft Word document that includes tables, or a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, imported data is an editable table. You can use the Import Options dialog box to control the formatting.

You can also paste data from an Excel spreadsheet or a Word table into an InDesign or InCopy document. The Clipboard Handling preference settings determine how text pasted from another application is formatted. If Text Only is selected, the information appears as unformatted tabbed text, which you can then convert to a table. If All Information is selected, the pasted text appears in a formatted table.

If you’re pasting text from another application into an existing table, insert enough rows and columns to accommodate the pasted text, select the Text Only option in Clipboard Handling preferences, and make sure that at least one cell is selected (unless you want to embed the pasted table into a cell).

If you want more control over formatting the imported table, or if you want to maintain a link to the spreadsheet formatting, use the Place command to import the table.