Share an Excel report as a PDF
Sending a workbook to a client or manager risks broken formulas, edits and confusion over which sheet to look at. A PDF is fixed and opens on any device.
Excel to PDF draws each worksheet's cells as a bordered grid on landscape pages, starting each sheet on a new page titled with its name, and repeats the first row as a header on following pages.
Example: a monthly sales workbook with three sheets. The PDF shows each sheet on its own pages with the sheet name as its title, ready to attach to an email to a client who doesn't use Excel.
Values are shown exactly as the workbook stores them: a formula's last saved result is used, not recalculated, so save the workbook after final changes. Dates stored as serial numbers appear as numbers. Charts, pictures, cell colours, conditional formatting, merged cells and print areas are not carried over yet, so this suits tables of figures rather than designed dashboards. Delete helper sheets you don't want to share before converting.
Step by step
- Save the workbook as .xlsx after final changes.
- Sign in, open Excel to PDF and add the file (up to 25 MB).
- Convert and download the PDF.
- Check each sheet, especially dates and totals, before sending.
Tips
- Put the column headings in the first row so they repeat on every page.
- Older .xls files must be saved as .xlsx first.
- Merge the report with a cover letter PDF using Merge PDF.
Questions
- Are charts included?
- Not yet. Only cell values are drawn.
- Are formulas recalculated?
- No. The saved result of each formula is used.
- Is the workbook stored?
- The input is converted in memory, not stored. The PDF is stored privately for download and becomes eligible for cleanup after an hour; deletion runs on later submissions.