Send an Excel spreadsheet as a PDF
A quote, a price list, a rota or a budget is easier to send as a PDF: it opens on any phone, looks the same for everyone, and can't be changed by accident.
Why not just send the Excel file
Not everyone has Excel, and spreadsheets open badly on phones. An Excel file also carries everything in it: formulas, hidden columns and other sheets you may not have meant to share.
A PDF shows what you want shown, on a page. Converting it in your browser means prices and figures aren't uploaded to a conversion site.
Key benefits
- Fits the pageWide sheets switch to landscape and shrink to fit, or split into tidy sections if they're very wide.
- Every sheetEach sheet in the workbook becomes pages in the PDF.
- Add other documentsCombine the spreadsheet with a cover letter, terms or photos in the same PDF.
- Lock it if neededAdd a password or a watermark before sending.
How to convert Excel to PDF
- Open Excel to PDF and add the .xlsx file.
- Check the pages, and remove any you don't want to send.
- Press Export PDF.
Tips
- Remove pages you don't want included, such as workings, before exporting.
- For a quote, add a DRAFT or your company name as a watermark.
- Older .xls files need saving as .xlsx in Excel first.
Questions
Will the PDF look exactly like Excel?
The values, number and date formats, colours, borders and column widths come across. Charts and pictures in the sheet aren't included yet, and fonts are replaced with a standard one.
My sheet is very wide. Will it be readable?
Wide sheets are turned landscape and shrunk to fit. Very wide ones are split into sections so the text stays readable.
Are formulas included?
No. The PDF shows the results, not the formulas behind them.
Tools for this job
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