How to convert Excel to PDF
- 1
Click Choose files or drag one or more spreadsheets (XLSX or CSV) into the box above.
- 2
Choose the Orientation — Automatic switches wide sheets to landscape, or force Portrait or Landscape.
- 3
Click Convert. Each sheet is laid out on PDF pages, with long cell text wrapped.
- 4
The PDF downloads automatically. Several files can be saved with Download all (ZIP).
Why share a spreadsheet as PDF?
An Excel file invites edits, depends on the recipient having a spreadsheet app, and can look completely different on a phone. A PDF is read-only, prints the same everywhere and opens on any device. Typical uses:
- Invoices, quotes and timesheets built in Excel and sent to clients.
- Price lists and schedules shared with people who just need to read them.
- Reports and budgets attached to an email or printed for a meeting.
- CSV exports from apps and databases that need to be readable by humans.
Orientation options
| Option | What happens | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Automatic | Each sheet is laid out in portrait, or landscape when it is too wide | Most workbooks |
| Portrait | All sheets in portrait | Narrow lists, forms |
| Landscape | All sheets in landscape | Wide tables, timelines, financial models |
Tips for a readable PDF
- Hide or delete helper columns and scratch sheets before converting; everything that is in the file will be printed.
- Keep headers in the first row so the table is easy to read on every page.
- Very wide sheet? Consider splitting it into two logical tables, or landscape plus narrower columns.
- Combine with other documents. Convert a Word cover letter with Word to PDF, then join both with Merge PDF.
- Need to edit the data again from a PDF? PDF to Excel extracts tables back into a spreadsheet.
Your spreadsheet is read and converted inside your browser — salaries, client lists and financial models are never uploaded.
Common problems and fixes
The text is tiny. A sheet with dozens of columns has to be scaled down to fit a page. Remove columns nobody needs, or split the data into two sheets, before converting.
A figure looks out of date. The PDF shows the values as they were last saved. Open the workbook in Excel, Google Sheets or LibreOffice, let it recalculate, save, and convert again.
My chart is missing. Charts are not drawn in the PDF. Copy the chart as a picture into a Word document and convert that with Word to PDF, then merge the two PDFs.
Strange characters in a CSV. CSV files exported by older software sometimes use a legacy encoding. Open the file in a spreadsheet app, save it as XLSX, and convert that instead.
Empty pages in the PDF. Cells that look empty can still contain spaces or formatting far below your data. Delete the unused rows and columns, save, and convert again.
XLSX or CSV?
XLSX is the modern Excel format and gives the most faithful result. CSV is plain data with no formatting — ideal for exports from apps and databases. Older XLS and OpenDocument ODS files are not supported: open them in Excel or LibreOffice and save them as XLSX first.