About the Arbitrary Table Transposer
Transposing a table turns its rows into columns and its columns into rows. It is handy when data arrives sideways, for example one record per column in a report, and you want one record per row. This tool transposes any delimited text: type the delimiter, which can be a pipe, two colons, a tab written as \t or any other text, and the table is flipped at once. Short rows are padded with empty cells so nothing shifts. You can also choose a different delimiter for the result. The splitting is exact and plain, and everything runs in your browser.
Updated October 2026
How to use the Arbitrary Table Transposer
- 1Paste your table into the left box, one row per line.
- 2Type the delimiter that separates the columns.
- 3Optionally type a different delimiter for the result.
- 4Check the flipped table and the new row and column counts.
- 5Press Copy or Download to take the result.
Why transpose
Reports are often written sideways, with one column per month or per person, while databases and charts expect one row per record. Transposing converts between the two layouts without retyping. It is also a quick way to read a very wide table, by flipping it so that it becomes long instead of wide.
How it works
The text is split into rows at line breaks and into cells at the delimiter. The cell at row i and column j moves to row j and column i. The result is written with the same delimiter, or with the one you choose. Short rows are padded with empty cells so that the table is rectangular.
- Cell at row 2, column 3 moves to row 3, column 2
- Header row becomes the first column
- Empty cells keep positions
Any delimiter
The delimiter can be one character or several, may include spaces and can be written as \t for a tab. Matching is exact and case-sensitive. If the delimiter also appears inside values, those values will be cut in the wrong place, so choose a delimiter that never occurs in your data when you can.
A quick example
Take three rows of id, name and city separated by double colons. After transposing, you get three rows again but the first row now reads id, 1, 2 and the second reads name, Ann, Bob. If you type a comma as the delimiter for the result, the output is a comma-separated table.
Phone and computer
On a phone, paste the table, flip it and copy the result. On a computer you can also download it. Tables with a few thousand columns are fine; extremely wide tables may be slow to display.
Good to know
Transposing twice returns the original table, apart from the padding added to short rows. Quotes are not interpreted, so for true CSV with quoted values use CSV Transpose Tool. Line breaks inside a value cannot be handled, since each line is read as one row. Table is tab separated? The TSV Transpose Tool is the quick version, and the Arbitrary Column Extractor helps trim columns before you flip it.
Features
- Rows become columns and the reverse
- Any delimiter, even several characters
- Optional different delimiter for the result
- Pads short rows with empty cells
- Row and column counts
- Private: nothing is uploaded
Frequently asked questions
What does transposing a table mean?
The first row becomes the first column, the second row becomes the second column, and so on. A table of 3 rows and 4 columns becomes 4 rows and 3 columns.
What happens to rows of different lengths?
Short rows are padded with empty cells while flipping, so the values stay in the right positions.
Can I change the delimiter at the same time?
Yes. Type a delimiter for the result in the second option. Leave it empty to keep the same one.
Is transposing the same as sorting?
No. Sorting changes the order of rows. Transposing swaps the roles of rows and columns.
Does it work with a header row?
The first row is treated like any other. After transposing, the header becomes the first column.
Is my data uploaded?
No. It is processed in your browser.