Buzz
Converting an Excel file to PDF makes it easier for people to open, even if they don't have Office installed. Additionally, printing and sharing the Excel spreadsheet becomes simpler. Apart from converting directly from Excel, you can also use an online conversion service if you don't have Excel installed on your computer.
Steps
Using the Excel Program (for Windows)
Select the portion of the spreadsheet you wish to convert to PDF (optional). If you only want to convert a part of the spreadsheet, select that portion. If not, proceed to the next step.
- Note: Converting PDF back to Excel is difficult, but this method will help preserve the original version.
Click on the "File" tab. If you are using an older version of Excel, click on the "File" menu.
Next, click on "Export" (Export File). For Excel 2010 or earlier, select "Save As" (Save as).
Select "Create PDF/XPS" (Create PDF/XPS). For Excel 2010 or earlier, choose "PDF" from the "Save as type" dropdown in the "Save As" window.
Click the button .Options.... This will allow you to adjust the settings for the PDF file you are about to create.
Select the content to display in the PDF. In the Options window, you can choose the pages to include in the PDF file, select the entire workbook, or only the current worksheet. The PDF file may also include properties from the original document.
- Once you've selected the content to convert, click the OK button.
Choose optimization (optional). Above the Options... button, you can select the PDF optimization method. Most people opt for "Standard" unless the spreadsheet is particularly large.
Give the file a name and save it. Name your PDF file and click the Publish button to generate the PDF. (For Excel 2010 or earlier, click the Save button instead.
Preview the PDF file. By default, the PDF will open automatically after it's created so you can review it. If you're unable to open the PDF file, it may be because you don't have a PDF reader installed on your computer.
- You cannot directly edit the PDF file. Therefore, if changes are needed, you must make them in Excel and generate a new PDF file.
Using Excel 2011 (for Mac)
Ensure the header and footer are the same across all worksheets (optional). Excel 2011 allows you to save all worksheets in one PDF file only if the header and footer are identical on each sheet. Otherwise, each worksheet will be saved as a separate PDF file. However, you can easily merge these separate files later.
- Select all worksheets in the workbook. Click on the first worksheet tab, hold the Shift key, and then click on the last tab to select all the sheets.
- Click on the Layout tab, then go to "Header & Footer".
- Click the Customize Header... and Customize Footer... buttons to edit the header and footer for all sheets.
Select the part of the spreadsheet you want to convert to PDF (optional). If you wish to convert only a specific section of the spreadsheet to PDF, highlight that area. Otherwise, continue to the next step.
- Note that converting from PDF back to Excel is not easy, but this method will help protect your original file.
Click on the File menu and select "Save As". Choose the directory where you want to save the file and give it a name.
Click on the Format dropdown menu and choose "PDF". This will allow you to save a copy of the spreadsheet as a PDF file.
Select what to include in the PDF file. At the bottom of the window, you can choose between "Workbook" (entire spreadsheet), "Sheet" (current sheet), or "Selection" (highlighted section).
Click on .Save to create the PDF file. If the header doesn't match, each sheet will generate a separate PDF. Note that this can sometimes happen even if the header and footer match perfectly.
Merge separate PDF files (if necessary). If the conversion process produces multiple individual PDF files, you can easily combine them using Finder.
- Open the folder containing the PDF files and select all the ones you want to merge.
- Click on the File menu and choose "Create" → "Combine Files into Single PDF".
Review the PDF file. Double-click the PDF file to open it. This will launch the file in Preview, allowing you to review it before sending. You cannot edit the PDF directly, so if you need to make any changes, you must edit the original Excel file and generate a new PDF.
