pdfpix

Turn Excel into a PDF

or drop one here
Choose a workbook first.

Choose an .xlsx or .xls workbook, review the first page, then make a PDF without uploading the file. Pick which sheets to print, the scale, paper, orientation, margins, gridlines, row and column labels and page numbers before converting. The result is reopened, every page is rendered, and the expected cell text is compared in order before download.

How to turn Excel into a PDF

  1. Choose the workbook

    Drop an .xlsx or .xls file, or pick one. The file is read in this browser tab.

  2. Set the page

    Choose which sheets to print, the scale, paper, orientation, margins, gridlines, row and column labels and page numbers.

  3. Check the preview

    The first page is drawn at the current settings, and the line under it reports how many pages the workbook takes.

  4. Convert and verify

    The output is reopened. Every page is rendered and the cell text is compared in order before download.

What this version draws

The reader takes the cell values a workbook stores and the properties that decide how they look: font, size, weight, colour, fill, alignment, wrapping, borders and merged ranges. It does not recalculate. A formula prints as the value the workbook last saved for it, which is the value Excel itself would print without opening the file. Charts, images, shapes, comments, pivot tables and conditional formatting are not drawn, and the page says so before you convert.

The page setup starts from what the file records. Paper, orientation and margins default to the sheet's own print settings, so a workbook laid out for A4 landscape converts that way without a single click. Scale is the setting most visitors change: an excel to pdf converter that cuts the right-hand columns off the page is the usual complaint, so fit columns to width and fit sheet on one page are one chip away, and the preview redraws at the new setting.

The line under the preview reports how many pages the workbook takes at the current settings, before anything is written. A layout problem you would otherwise meet after downloading shows up while a different setting still costs one click.

The receipt separates writing from proof. A valid PDF structure is not enough: every page must reopen and render, and the cell text drawn on each page must still be readable, in order, from the finished file.

Questions

Does the workbook leave my browser?
No. The file, the generated PDF and the page preview stay in this browser tab.
Which files can it read?
Excel workbooks in the .xlsx format and the older .xls format that Excel 97 through 2003 wrote.
What is drawn?
Cell values with their fonts, sizes, colours, fills, alignment, borders and merges, plus optional gridlines and row and column labels.
What is not drawn?
Charts, images, shapes, comments, pivot tables and conditional formatting are not drawn. A formula is printed as the value the workbook last stored for it, because nothing here recalculates a sheet.
How do I fit a wide sheet on one page?
Set the scale to fit columns to width, or to fit the sheet on one page. The preview and the page count update before you convert.
Why can some text be refused?
The pages use the standard fonts bundled with PDF readers. Those cover Western European Latin, so a workbook with Cyrillic, Greek, CJK or Central European accented letters is refused with an error rather than printed with empty boxes.
How is the output checked?
The tool opens the new PDF with an independent reader, renders every page, checks the page count and compares the expected cell text page by page in order. At least 98% must remain.

The other pdfpix tools

All 31 of them run in a browser tab like this one. Each reads its own output back and checks it before offering the download, and none of them needs an account.

Where to go next