How to Convert Excel to PDF: Preserve Formatting and Layout

The Challenge of Spreadsheet-to-PDF Conversion

Spreadsheets are inherently fluid -- they grow horizontally and vertically without fixed page boundaries. PDFs are the opposite: fixed-layout documents with defined page sizes, margins, and orientation. Converting from one to the other is not as simple as clicking "Save As" and hoping for the best.

Without proper preparation, your Excel-to-PDF conversion might produce pages where columns are cut off, text is too small to read, data wraps awkwardly across pages, or headers and footers disappear. This guide covers everything you need to know to produce professional, well-formatted PDFs from Excel spreadsheets every time.

Before You Convert: Prepare Your Spreadsheet

The quality of your PDF output depends almost entirely on how well you prepare the spreadsheet before conversion. Spend a few minutes on setup and you will avoid hours of frustration.

Set the Print Area

The print area defines exactly which cells will appear in the PDF. Without it, Excel tries to include all cells that contain data, which often captures accidental content far from your main data.

1. Select the range of cells you want in the PDF
2. Go to Page Layout > Print Area > Set Print Area

To clear a print area: Page Layout > Print Area > Clear Print Area

Choose Page Orientation

Set orientation in Page Layout > Orientation.

Adjust Margins

Tight margins give you more space for data. For data-heavy spreadsheets:

1. Go to Page Layout > Margins
2. Select Narrow (0.75" top/bottom, 0.25" left/right)
3. Or choose Custom Margins for precise control

Scale to Fit

Scaling is the most powerful tool for controlling how your spreadsheet maps to PDF pages.

In Page Layout > Scale to Fit:

• Width: Set to 1 page to prevent columns from splitting across pages
• Height: Leave on Automatic unless you want to force everything onto a specific number of pages
• Scale: Manually adjust the percentage (100% = original size)

Method 1: Export from Microsoft Excel

On Windows

1. Open your workbook in Excel
2. Click File > Export > Create PDF/XPS Document
3. Click Create PDF/XPS
4. In the dialog, click Options:
   • Page range: All, pages, or selection
   • Publish what: Active sheets, entire workbook, or selection
   • Include non-printing information: Document properties, accessibility
5. Click Publish

On macOS

1. Open your workbook in Excel
2. Click File > Save As
3. Select PDF from the File Format dropdown
4. Choose quality level and click Export

Quick Method (Both Platforms)

Press Ctrl+P (or Cmd+P), verify the print preview looks correct, then change the printer to Microsoft Print to PDF (Windows) or click the PDF dropdown (macOS).

Method 2: Convert Online with ConvertIntoMP4

When you do not have Excel installed or need to convert on a mobile device, ConvertIntoMP4 handles Excel to PDF conversion in the browser.

1. Go to the PDF converter on ConvertIntoMP4
2. Upload your .xlsx or .xls file
3. Click Convert
4. Download the PDF

The online converter processes the spreadsheet server-side using LibreOffice, which correctly handles formulas, conditional formatting, charts, and most Excel features. For more document format options, see the document converter.

Method 3: LibreOffice Command Line

For automated or batch conversion:

# Single file
libreoffice --headless --convert-to pdf spreadsheet.xlsx

# Batch convert all Excel files
libreoffice --headless --convert-to pdf *.xlsx

# Specify output directory
libreoffice --headless --convert-to pdf --outdir ./pdfs *.xlsx

LibreOffice respects most Excel formatting, including:

• Merged cells
• Cell borders and shading
• Conditional formatting
• Charts and embedded objects
• Print area and page setup settings

Method 4: Google Sheets

If your spreadsheet is in Google Sheets:

1. Open the spreadsheet in Google Sheets
2. Click File > Download > PDF document (.pdf)
3. Configure layout options:
   • Paper size
   • Orientation
   • Scale
   • Margins
   • Headers and footers
   • Sheet selection
4. Click Export

Google Sheets provides a real-time preview of the PDF output, making it easy to adjust settings before exporting.

Handling Headers and Footers

Headers and footers add context to printed pages -- page numbers, sheet names, dates, and custom text. Setting them correctly before PDF conversion ensures professional output.

Add Headers and Footers in Excel

1. Go to Page Layout > Print Titles
2. Click the Header/Footer tab
3. Click Custom Header or Custom Footer

Common Header/Footer Codes

Example Professional Footer

Left section: &[Tab] Center section: Page &[Page] of &[Pages] Right section: Confidential - &[Date]

Repeating Rows and Columns (Print Titles)

When a table spans multiple pages, you want the header row to appear on every page of the PDF. Without this, recipients cannot tell what the columns represent on pages 2, 3, and beyond.

1. Go to Page Layout > Print Titles
2. In Rows to repeat at top, click the row selector and pick your header row (e.g., $1:$1)
3. In Columns to repeat at left, optionally select columns to repeat on every page

This is one of the most overlooked settings in Excel-to-PDF conversion and makes an enormous difference in readability.

Multi-Sheet PDF Export

Excel workbooks often contain multiple sheets. Here is how to control which sheets appear in the PDF.

Export All Sheets

In the Export dialog, select Entire workbook under "Publish what." Each sheet becomes a section of the PDF.

Export Specific Sheets

1. Hold Ctrl and click the sheet tabs you want to include
2. Now all selected sheets are part of a group
3. Export to PDF -- only the grouped sheets will be included

Sheet Order

Sheets appear in the PDF in the order they appear in the workbook. Reorder sheet tabs before exporting by dragging them to the desired position.

Different Settings Per Sheet

Each sheet can have its own page orientation, margins, print area, and scaling. Set these individually by clicking on each sheet tab and configuring its Page Layout settings before exporting the workbook.

Formula vs Value Export

Excel PDFs always show the displayed values, not the underlying formulas. However, there are scenarios where you want to include or exclude certain information:

Show Formulas Instead of Values

If you need to document the formulas in your spreadsheet:

1. Press Ctrl+` (grave accent) to toggle formula view
2. Adjust column widths (formulas are wider than values)
3. Export to PDF
4. Press Ctrl+` again to return to normal view

Hide Sensitive Formulas

If your spreadsheet contains proprietary calculations you do not want visible:

1. Select cells with sensitive formulas
2. Right-click > Format Cells > Protection tab
3. Check Hidden
4. Protect the sheet: Review > Protect Sheet

In the PDF, these cells will show values but the formulas will not be accessible.

Handling Charts and Graphs

Excel charts transfer well to PDF, but there are a few considerations:

• Resolution -- Charts in PDF are vector-based when exported properly, so they scale cleanly
• Colors -- Chart colors print differently than they appear on screen. Check the PDF on multiple devices
• Embedded vs separate -- Charts on the data sheet export inline. Chart sheets export as full pages
• 3D charts -- These sometimes render incorrectly. Prefer 2D charts for documents intended for PDF

Chart-Only PDF

To export just a chart:

1. Click the chart to select it
2. Go to File > Export > Create PDF/XPS
3. Under "Publish what," select Selection
4. The PDF will contain only the chart

Conditional Formatting in PDF

Excel's conditional formatting (color scales, data bars, icon sets, highlight rules) transfers to PDF since it is a visual element. However:

• Data bars may look slightly different in PDF due to rendering
• Icon sets transfer cleanly
• Color scales are preserved
• Custom formulas for formatting -- the visual result transfers, not the formula

Test your PDF output to verify conditional formatting appears as expected, especially if you use complex rules.

Reducing PDF File Size from Excel

Excel-generated PDFs can be surprisingly large, especially with embedded charts, images, or many formatted cells.

Size Reduction Strategies

For significant file size reduction after conversion, use ConvertIntoMP4's PDF compressor. Our guide on how to reduce PDF file size covers additional optimization techniques.

Batch Converting Multiple Excel Files

When you need to convert dozens or hundreds of Excel files, manual conversion is impractical.

LibreOffice Batch Conversion

# Convert all Excel files in a directory
for file in /path/to/spreadsheets/*.xlsx; do
  libreoffice --headless --convert-to pdf --outdir /path/to/output "$file"
  echo "Converted: $file"
done

Python Batch Conversion

import subprocess
import os

def batch_excel_to_pdf(input_dir, output_dir):
    os.makedirs(output_dir, exist_ok=True)
    files = [f for f in os.listdir(input_dir)
             if f.endswith(('.xlsx', '.xls', '.xlsm'))]

    print(f"Converting {len(files)} Excel files...")

    for i, filename in enumerate(files, 1):
        input_path = os.path.join(input_dir, filename)
        print(f"  [{i}/{len(files)}] {filename}...", end=' ')

        try:
            result = subprocess.run(
                ['libreoffice', '--headless', '--convert-to', 'pdf',
                 '--outdir', output_dir, input_path],
                capture_output=True, text=True, timeout=120
            )
            print("OK" if result.returncode == 0 else "FAILED")
        except subprocess.TimeoutExpired:
            print("TIMEOUT")

batch_excel_to_pdf("./spreadsheets", "./pdfs")

For more on batch conversion workflows, see our batch processing guide.

Common Issues and Solutions

Columns Cut Off on the Right

Fix: Set Page Layout > Scale to Fit > Width: 1 page. This forces all columns onto one page.

Text Is Too Small to Read

Fix: Either increase the page size (A3 instead of A4/Letter), switch to landscape, or split the table across multiple pages and use repeating headers.

Gridlines Missing in PDF

Fix: Go to Page Layout > Sheet Options > check Print under Gridlines. By default, gridlines are visible on screen but not printed/exported.

Page Breaks in the Wrong Place

Fix: Use View > Page Break Preview and drag the blue dashed lines to the correct positions.

Merged Cells Cause Layout Problems

Fix: Minimize use of merged cells. Use Center Across Selection formatting instead, which does not interfere with page breaks and column sizing.

Best Practices Summary

1. Always set a print area before converting
2. Use Page Break Preview to verify page breaks
3. Set Print Titles so headers repeat on every page
4. Choose the right orientation based on your data shape
5. Scale to fit width to prevent column splitting
6. Add headers and footers for page numbers and context
7. Check the PDF after conversion -- verify all pages look correct
8. Compress the PDF if file size matters

Wrapping Up

Converting Excel to PDF requires more preparation than converting Word documents, but the results are worth the effort. A well-formatted spreadsheet PDF communicates data clearly and professionally, while a poorly converted one confuses recipients and undermines your work.

Use Excel's built-in export for the best results with single files, LibreOffice for batch automation, and ConvertIntoMP4's PDF converter for quick conversions from any device. And remember -- the secret to a great Excel PDF is not in the conversion tool but in the print setup you do beforehand.

For related tutorials, see our guides on how to convert spreadsheets between formats, how to convert Word to PDF for document conversion best practices, and how to merge and split PDFs for combining multiple spreadsheet PDFs into one document.