How do I copy Word tables into Excel without splitting cells into multiple rows?

You'll have to do a bit of character replacement. It's a pretty simple fix.

In Word:

1. Select your entire table in Word.
2. Open the "Find and Replace" dialog (e.g., by typing Ctrl+H).
3. In the "Find what" field, enter ^l. This will select all line breaks.
   • You may select paragraph breaks by entering ^p.
4. In the "Replace with" field, enter ^v.
   • This is a shortcut for the paragraph symbol ¶, also known as a "pilcrow".
   • You may want to replace paragraph marks with two pilcrows for ease in replacement later.
5. Click "Replace All".
6. Copy the table data to the clipboard.

In Excel:

1. Paste your table in the desired location in Excel.
2. With the tabular data selected, open the "Find and Replace" dialog (again, Ctrl+H works).
3. In the "Find what" field, enter the following Alt code: Alt+0182. A pilcrow appears.
   • To enter an Alt code, hold down the Alt key as you type the digits on the numeric keypad. It may help to have Num Lock on.
4. In the Replace field, enter the following Alt code: Alt+0010.
   • This code enters in a single line break. Nothing appears, though your cursor may change.
5. Click "Replace All".

References:

• http://ask.metafilter.com/168104/Copying-Word-tables-into-Excel-without-splitting-cells-into-multiple-rows
• http://symbolcodes.tlt.psu.edu/accents/codealt.html#punc

There is an easier way.

If you have a Google Gmail account, you can open up Google Drive, and create a new spreadsheet, then copy the entire table from Microsoft Word into the Google Spreadsheet. Once you have it in the desired format, you can then copy the table into Microsoft Excel.