Convert xls file to pdf. How to convert Excel document to PDF and vice versa - ways why you need it. How to convert Excel formats to PDF using third-party programs

In Microsoft Office Excel, users can work with spreadsheets. They are a grid of cells that contain information. In addition to being able to fill an Excel workbook, you can perform various mathematical operations, create visual charts, and insert other elements. The program also works with data from other sources and databases, and the user can save the result in one of several popular formats.

We consider various options for converting files

Saving an Excel file to PDF is most often used in two cases - when a document needs to be transferred:

To the printing house for printing;
For another user - information should be provided in a simpler form, and the file should not be editable.

In addition, documents in PDF format can be opened on any computer, even if Excel of one version or another is not installed on it. Converting a document to another format can be done in several ways. These include the use of Excel's capabilities - this feature first appeared in the 2010 version.

There are also the opposite situations - when a PDF needs to be converted to an Excel file. For example, when a colleague sends you data from a recent report or project, or you downloaded a file whose author wanted to make reading easier or hide Excel formulas. In any case, if you need to work with the document and make changes, it will have to be converted from PDF to XLS.

Excel table structure is quite complex. Editable cells contain not only common information, but also formulas, xrefs, and graphics. This factor complicates the circulation of documents in the program.

To increase the likelihood that another user will be able to open and read the document, you can translate it into PDF. This is also convenient when you need to hide from outsiders the formulas by which certain indicators were calculated in the cells of the book. Before sending a file by mail or making it public, convert to PDF in one of the following ways:

Using built-in Excel functions;
Via an official add-on from Microsoft;
Using online services;
In the downloaded program.

The PDF document that you receive in any of the ways will have a coherent structure. It can be opened on any device, including mobile, and also cannot be edited by the reader. Such a file does not contain links to third-party resources and calculation formulas.

How to convert Excel to PDF in the editor itself

To use this method, you do not have to search for third-party services - online or downloadable. Everything is done in Excel:

Select the table cells that you want to convert to PDF, or go to the next steps if you want to convert the entire sheet (note that the document can be returned back - this is not so easy, but the whole structure will be preserved);
Click on "File";
Select "Export";
In Excel 2010, click "Save As", in newer versions, specify the location and title first;
Select PDF from the list of formats;
In order to customize the future document, click "Options" - you can specify the range of pages to be converted, select only specific cells, the active sheet or the entire book;
Choose an optimization method - "Standard" is suitable for small files, while for large files you will have to change the parameters;
Name the file and save it - it will open immediately by default;
If the document does not open, your computer may not support PDF reading - install a suitable program and check if everything loaded correctly;
If you need to make changes, make them in the Excel source document, and then convert it again.

When saving, you can set additional parameters

How to convert Excel to PDF using the official editor add-in

This method is suitable for those cases when Excel does not allow converting, since the installed version does not have such an option. You can get around this limitation by installing a special add-on (plugin) called "Save as PDF and XPS". You can download the functionality from the official Microsoft website - it's free.

For the translation itself you need:

After installing the plug-in, the "Create PDF / XPS" field will appear in the "Save" section in the main menu of Excel - select the PDF format and name the document;
Save this file to the desired directory on your computer.

In order to make it more convenient to work with the function, use the possibilities for selecting cells or saving a whole page or sheet, which are described in the previous method.

Depending on the version of the Office, the menu items may differ slightly

How to convert Excel to PDF using online services

There are a large number of converters on the Internet that allow you to convert XLS to PDF in a few clicks. Most of them do it for free or offer the user a demo mode. To convert, you usually need:

Upload the document to the service system;
Select the format into which the document will be translated, if several are available;
Start conversion;
Download the PDF file to your computer.

All services have similar functionality, but it is recommended to choose verified ones so that viruses do not get on the computer. However, the method is not recommended if it is possible to convert directly to Excel. It is more difficult and longer, and some services provide limited options or ask you to pay for the conversion.

One of many examples of online tools

How to convert Excel to PDF using third-party downloadable programs

Like online services, such programs allow you to make a conversion without using Excel's functionality. This is necessary in cases where the version of the editor does not allow you to do the process in it. Programs work on the principle of a virtual printer - they take your file "for printing", but instead of issuing a paper document, they save it to another directory. However, you can change the format during the process, including from XLS to PDF.

One of the best conversion programs outside of Excel is Universal Document Converter. It adds several hotkey functions to the editor's main menu to make it easier to save a file in a different format. After installing Universal Converter, you can convert an Excel document to PDF in a couple of clicks:

Go to the Converter toolbar:
Select "Convert to PDF";
Specify the name and location of the file, save.

This method, as in the case of online services, is recommended for those versions of Excel, in which it is impossible to perform conversion using built-in functions.

Universal Document Converter is built into the program

How to fit an entire Excel sheet on one PDF page

If you need to make one sheet of the Excel book occupy one page in PDF and at the same time display correctly:

Open the "Page Layout" in Excel, click on the arrow that opens additional options (the icon in the lower right corner of the "Page Settings" area);
Activate the item "Place on no more than" and specify the number of pages equal to one;
Click "OK", print the file to PDF using Excel functions, additional plug-in or Universal Document Converter.

It is very easy to fit a document to the paper size

How to convert Excel files to PDF in bulk

If you regularly create a large number of XLS documents that need to be translated to PDF, this can be done using the automatic function. It will do the job faster, and you don't have to do everything manually.

This feature is available in the Universal Document Converter. To activate it, you need to make the settings:

When saving a document, select the program among the printers;
Click "Change settings";
Specify PDF format in the parameters of the final document;
To start batch conversion, click "Start";
The current and subsequent documents will be saved in the desired form - this can be canceled in the same settings.

You can also use the downloadable Folder Mill software, which is capable of handling a wide variety of file formats from external sources. It was created in order to simplify the work of company employees who had to convert everything manually. Use Folder Mill - in the settings, specify that the files are converted to PDF, after which the automatic conversion will begin.

The application is relevant for a large number of converted documents

How to protect the resulting PDF file with a password

Access protection without the appropriate code is needed in order to prevent the file from being read by third parties. The easiest way to do this is to also use Universal Document Converter. To activate protection you need:

Open the required document in XLS format in Excel;
Click "Print", select Universal Converter as a printer and select "Properties";
Configure the function so that the output document is in PDF - this is done in "File Format";
In the "PDF Standart" area, select the "Password protection" item and enter the secret code;
If later you need to add pages to the password-protected document, do not change the secret code itself (if the file did not initially have protection, do not install it on new pages);
Click "OK", print the Excel document as PDF using the Converter.

How to convert PDF to Excel

The opposite situations, when you need to convert PDF to Excel, happen if you were sent a file, the author of which did not take into account that you want to edit. In addition, PDFs are often the only available format when downloading various company pricing tables. They are designed to make the file available on any system, even if there is no Excel on the device.

In contrast to the initial conversion of an Excel table to a PDF document, the reverse procedure is more complex. However, it can also be performed in the editor - for this you have to use one of two options:

Function "Text by Columns" in Microsoft Office Excel (Acrobat Reader is also required);
Online converter;
Downloadable conversion program.

How to convert PDF to Excel with Text by Columns option

The popular Adobe viewer provides such an opportunity

This method does not require downloading special programs or using online services - Acrobat Reader, which is available on almost every computer, is enough. To convert you need:

Open PDF in Acrobat Reader;
Save as Plain Text using "File" - "Save to Others" - "Text" (or "File" - "Save As" - "File Type" - "Text File");
Specify a name and a directory for saving, click "Save";
Next, open a text document and transfer the files from it to a new Excel file - paste in cell A1;
Use the function for automatic distribution - "Data" - "Working with data" - "Text by columns";
The "Text Wizard" window will open, where in the "Source data format" section you need to select "Delimited", then "Next";
Set a space as a separator character, remove the rest of the marks;
Specify any column in "Parsing Sample", select "Text" in "Column Data Format";
Repeat the previous steps for each column in the samples;
Click "Finish" to complete the procedure - the data from the PDF will be sorted by columns in Excel.

The sequence of operations consists of several stages

How to convert PDF to Excel using online services

There are many programs on the Internet for converting XLS to PDF. In contrast to the reverse action, this conversion is usually easier to use the service. Typically, the procedure is as follows:

Upload the PDF to the conversion system (for the best result, use the files that have the table structure preserved);
Select the required format and start converting;
When the process is complete, download the received document.

In many programs there is a limit on the amount of data or the number of files that are offered to be removed by getting paid access. Some services require you to enter a postal address in order to send a file to it. Most likely, you will have to bring the table to the desired look, as services rarely cope with formatting - especially complex documents. However, they do the bulk of the work and only require a few clicks to start the conversion.

An example of an online conversion service

How to convert PDF to Excel using downloadable program

There are a large number of converters that you can download for use. Usually the most effective ones are paid. They are worth buying if you have to work with a large number of documents. Usually the process goes something like this:

You open the required PDF file or call the context menu for it at the location;
Choose the conversion function, final format, name and directory;
Converting.

Outcome

PDF documents are very popular as they can be opened on any computer. Converting XLS to PDF is needed in order to make it easier to run on different devices, to make it easier to read and to prevent editing and viewing the properties of table cells. The reverse transformation is needed to work with table data in the Excel interface.

It is required to fix the result to exclude the possibility of editing. One of the options for how to achieve the desired result is to convert Excel to PDF format.

Translation in the editor

One of the easiest ways to convert Excel to PDF is to save the document in this format. To do this, select the "File" menu, where click on the "Save As" item.

In the window that opens, you will be asked to select the path and name under which the file will be saved, as well as the extension where you need to find the PDF format. After selecting the optimization parameters and the range of data to be saved, all that remains is to click on the "Save" button. As a result, a file will be created at the selected address, which contains all the marked information.

Using the add-in

However, in some earlier versions of Excel, PDF is missing from the list of valid formats. In this case, you should use another method by installing a special add-on for the program. It will allow you to convert Excel to PDF even in the absence of a program that supports this format. This plugin is called Save as PDF and XPS. It can be downloaded for free from the official Microsoft website.

After installing the plugin, there are three easy steps to follow to save your document as PDF. In the "File" menu, you need to find the "Save and Send" item for the 2007 and 2010 versions of the program, and "Save As" for the rest. In the first case, the menu will only select "Create PDF / XPS Document", which will open a window with settings similar to those for saving the document in the editor. In the second case, in the expanded menu, you need to find a PDF or XPS, which will bring up the same window. Just like in the editor, the add-in prompts the user to either save the entire document or leave only the selected range of cells in the table.

Special services

If there is no opportunity to use the methods suggested above, then a special converter will help you convert Excel to PDF. At the moment, there are both special online services and programs that do not require an Internet connection. Both of them use the same algorithm of actions, producing similar results.

In the case of using web applications, you only need to download the desired document, after which, after a while, you should download the result. In an offline program, you just need to select the appropriate file, specify the parameters and the path to save the document. One of the advantages that the (PDF to Excel) converter has is that it can also translate without using special programs.

Reverse conversion

You may need to revert to the original format if you want to continue working with the file. So, if you convert Excel to PDF, then all the data will remain, but the formulas will not be available to the user. Thus, in order to keep the process of obtaining the results a secret, it is enough to perform the transformation of the document twice. And if the editor itself can help to translate, then only the PDF to Excel converter can be guaranteed to return the data.

Excel to PDF Converter is a program that allows you to save Excel spreadsheets in PDF format with just one click. After installing this application, a number of additional buttons appear on the Excel toolbar for exporting the document as a PDF file, and for configuring export options. To save a spreadsheet to PDF, simply open it in Excel and click the "Save as PDF" button. When converting, the original table layout is completely preserved, and the export process itself takes very little time. At the same time, Excel to PDF Converter is a completely stand-alone solution and does not require third-party software (like Adobe Acrobat). The program has many settings and allows you to specify the desired PDF version, document resolution, use automatic page rotation and compression of pictures (their resolution can be adjusted), as well as set passwords and rights to copy, edit and print the saved PDF document.

Sometimes there are cases when reports or tables created in Excel editor need to be presented in the form of a regular document. That is, you need a ready-made result, without the possibility of editing data. In this article we will look at how Excel files are converted to PDF format. There are many different methods for this purpose. Let's take a closer look at each of them.

Excel is a very powerful program that can handle this task in several ways.

Saving the document

In order to convert your book to a different format, you need to follow these steps.

Open the document you want. Click on the "File" menu item.

Then go to the "Save As" section.

After that click on the "Browse" button.

As a result, the "Save Document" window will appear. Click on the dropdown list "File Type".

Select "PDF" from the list that appears.

In addition, you can choose the option you need to optimize the document.

You can also specify custom save options.

As a result, you will see a window in which you can:
- specify a page range;
- select the sheets you need;
- enable / disable non-printing data.

Then enter the desired name and click on the "Save" button. If you want, you can check the box so that the document will open immediately after publication.

The result will be as follows.

As you can see, the conversion turned out to be not entirely successful, because the table borders turned out to be too "thick". And it doesn't look very good.

Book Printing

A more accurate conversion occurs through another section of the menu. To do this, follow these steps.

Click on the combination of buttons Ctrl + P or click on the "File" menu item.

If you decide not to use hotkeys, you will need to additionally click on the "Print" section.

As a result (in both cases), you will see the following window. Click on the drop-down list of printers.

Select "Adobe PDF" (if not, then you do not have Adobe Acrobat installed) or "Microsoft Print to PDF".

Then click on the "Print" button.

Next, you will be asked to indicate the name and location of the future PDF document. To start the conversion, just click on the "Save" button.

This will start the "inverter". You won't have to wait long - the virtual printer prints very quickly.

As you can see, the result is much prettier. All borders are very neat and of the right thickness.

This method is much better than the usual book saving.

Using Adobe Acrobat

If this program is installed on your computer, then you can do the following.

In Excel, click on the "File" menu item.

Click on "Save as Adobe PDF".

As a result, a window will appear in which you can specify:
- conversion range;
- required sheets in Excel;
- conversion options.
In order to convert the file into the desired format, you need to click on the "Convert to PDF" button.

If you do not want to save the entire book in its entirety, then to specify the required sheets, you must use the buttons:

add;
delete;
add everything.

This will bring up the "Save Adobe PDF File As" window. Here you can specify additional parameters (besides restricting editing).

Secondary settings include the following items.

After you select the parameters you need, you need to specify the directory and the name of the future file. To save, click on the corresponding button.

The result will be as good as printing.

In addition to the methods described above, there is still the possibility of exporting data. To do this, follow these steps.

Click on the main menu "File".

In the window that opens, go to the "Export" section.

It looks like this.

This list may contain more items. It all depends on what programs are installed on your computer.

A detailed description of this method is displayed on the right side of the program.

When you click on "Create Adobe PDF", you will see exactly the same window that was described a little above.

Create PDF / XPS Document

This format differs in that the content will be locked for further editing.

When you click on "Create PDF / XPS" you will see the following window. Here you can specify the option you need to optimize the document.

When you click on the "Options" button, you will see a corresponding window.

At the end, you need to specify the path and file name. To save, just click on the "Publish" button.

In this case, you will be offered various options for saving the book in a different format.

There is no PDF option in the book list. Therefore, you will have to click on the "Save As" button. As a result, we will be in the same place where we were at the very beginning of the article.

Saving to MS Excel 2003

In the old editor Excel, of course, there are much fewer possibilities. For example, if you go to the section for saving a book, you will not find a large list of modern formats there. The PDF item is also missing there.

You won't find it even if you scroll the slider to the very bottom.

Click the "File" menu and select "Print" there. Or press the hotkeys Ctrl + P.

You will then need to select the appropriate printer (Adobe PDF or Microsoft Print to PDF). Then specify the desired print options. To start converting, click on "OK".

In the window that appears to save the file, you need to specify the desired location and name of the document. To save, click on the corresponding button.

The result will be the same as in modern editors (2007, 2010, 2013 and 2016), since it uses the capabilities of not Excel, but a virtual printer.

Online converters

In addition, there is the possibility of converting files using online services (sites). If you open the Yandex search engine and type in the appropriate query, you will see the following result.

Let's take a look at some of them.

This service has a fairly simple design. The principle of operation is also simple.

Click on the "Select file" button (or simply drag the book you want to book directly into the browser).

After that, you must specify the required document and click on the "Open" button.

The download of the file will start immediately after that. Wait for the end of this process.

After a while, a link will appear to download your PDF file.

If you click on the triangle next to this link, you will see that the converted document can be uploaded to Dropbox or Google Drive.

If you decide to save the result to your computer, then after clicking on the "Download" button you will see a standard window. You must click "Save".

As a result, you will see the following (after you open the downloaded document).

Everything looks fine except for the lines after the table. The fact is that in the Excel editor they were increased in height and the "text wrapping" function was used. Apparently, this service cannot correctly convert such a format. For the rest of the items, everything is at a high level.

This site is significantly ahead of the portal described above in terms of capabilities.

Since the following operations can be performed here.

In addition, there is an official program for translating files of any format.

The process of working with the site is quite simple.

Click on the Select File link, or drag and drop the Excel workbook directly into this green area.

After clicking you will open a standard file selection window. To continue, click on the "Open" button.

Wait for the end of the conversion.

Right after that, links to:
- downloading a file;
- uploading to the clouds "Drop Box" and "Google Drive";
- Union;
- separation;
- converting to JPG;
- document editing.

The final document looks pretty nice. But even in this case, there is a problem with text wrapping in cells. The previous site was overlapping lines. And here they are simply absent.

This site, just like the previous one, demonstrates its wide conversion capabilities.

In order to take advantage of the capabilities of this service, you need to perform the following steps.

Click on the "Select file" button.

Again, indicate the file that we want to convert from the XLSX to PDF format.

In this case, the automatic download will not start. You need to click on the "Convert" button.

Then you need to wait for the conversion process.

After that, a window will appear to save the result, in which you will need to:
- specify the desired name;
- select the required directory;
- click on the "Save" button.

As a result, we get the following.

The borders of the table are thick again. In addition, as in all online services, cells with text wrapping are displayed incorrectly.

As a result of all of the above, we can draw the following conclusion: if your workbook uses word hyphenation, then it is better to use the capabilities of a virtual printer or Microsoft Excel editor.

Additional applications

Take FoxPDF Excel to PDF Converter as an example. It can be downloaded both on the official website and on any other soft-portal.

This application is shareware, that is, you can use this application without paying for only a certain period. In this case, 30 days. Then you have to pay $ 29.95.

To start the trial mode, click on the "Continue to Try" button. After that, you will see the following.

The app looks pretty impressive. It's not just that they are asking for almost 30 bucks for it. In order to check its capabilities, you need to follow these steps.

Click on the "Add Excel Files" button.

Select the required file and click on the "Open" button.

As a result, the selected book will be added to the list.

For each file, the original format and result are indicated. In addition, you can perform various operations by clicking on the drop-down list "Operate".

Almost every item has its own hotkey. Please note that multiple files can be added. In addition, you can put a check mark in front of each book. This means that you can add 10 files and convert only those that will be active.

To convert the entire list, click on the icon in the lower right corner.

The conversion is very fast. At the end of the process, you will be asked: "Would you like to open the catalog with the result?". Click on the "OK" button.

Then you will see another question. You will be offered to buy the program. If you do not want this, then click on the "Cancel" button or on the "cross" in the upper right corner of the window.

By default, all converted files are saved to the PDF Save folder located in the Documents directory.

Run this document.

All lines are visible, but again - we see an overlay. In addition, a large "Trial Version" watermark has been added. In fact - until you pay, it will be impossible to use this application normally.

Conclusion

In this article, we examined all kinds of methods for converting Excel files to PDF format. You can choose any of them that you like the most or that seems to be the easiest.

If you are unable to do something, it is possible that virtual printers are not installed on your computer, or you are choosing the wrong file format.

Video instruction

If you still do not understand anything, or there are some unclear points, you can always find the answers to them in the video attached below, which contains additional tips for the article described above.