Print to PDF and Save As PDF in Microsoft Excel
With Windows 10 featuring in-built support for PDF (Printable Document Format), saving or printing any Excel Spreadsheet to PDF format is easy. While both “Print to PDF” and “Save As PDF” basically convert an Excel File to PDF format, the end product produced by the two methods are different. When you use Print to PDF in Microsoft Excel, the resulting PDF File will be stripped of all its Metadata (Links, Author info, Bookmarks, etc.) and it will only contain information as available on a printed File. In comparison, when you use Save As PDF in Microsoft Excel, the resulting PDF File will contain all the Metadata and almost the same information as available in the original document.
How to Print to PDF in Microsoft Excel
Follow the steps below to use Print to PDF in Microsoft Excel.
Open the Excel File that you want to Print to PDF.
Once the File is open, click on the File tab located in the top menu bar to open the File menu.
In the drop-down File menu, click on the Print option in the left pane. In the right-pane, make sure that PDF Printer (Microsoft Print to PDF) is available and adjust page size, orientation and margins as required.
Note: If Microsoft Print to PDF is not available, you will have to make the PDF Printer ready using steps as provided in the next section. 4. Once you are happy with the print settings, scroll up a bit and click on the Print box.
- On the next screen, type a Name for your file > choose the Location where you want to save the resulting PDF file and click on the Save button.
Note: Make sure “Save as type” is set to .pdf before clicking on the Save button. Once the PDF Print File is saved, you will be able to send the File for printing or share it electronically with anyone. As mentioned above, the PDF File produced by using Print to PDF feature in Microsoft Excel will not contain Links and other Metadata associated with the original Excel File.
What to Do if Microsoft Print to PDF is Not Available
If you had previously printed to an actual printer, Microsoft PDF Printer may not be available when to try to Print to PDF in Microsoft Excel. In such a case, you will have to make Microsoft PDF Printer available and ready, before being able to Print to PDF. If “Microsoft Print to PDF” is not available, click on the current available printer and choose Microsoft Print to PDF in the menu that appears.
After this, you will be able to Print to PDF any Microsoft Excel File by clicking on the Print box as shown in step 3 above.
Save As PDF in Microsoft Excel
Another way of converting Microsoft Excel File or Spreadsheet in to PDF format is to use “Save As PDF” feature, as available in Microsoft Excel. As mentioned above, the resulting saved PDF File will contain almost all the information as available in the original document.
Open the Excel File that you want to Print to PDF.
Once the File is open, click on the File tab located in the top menu bar.
From the drop-down menu, click on Save As option in the left pane. In the right-pane, click on Browse.
On the next screen, type the Name for your PDF File > select Location for the PDF file and click on Save.
This will save the Microsoft Excel File as a PDF File that you can print or share with anyone. Whether you use Save as PDF or Print to PDF, the resulting file will retain its Fonts, Formatting and Pagination across all devices and platforms.
How to Enable Send to Mail Recipient Option in Excel and Word How to Bypass Start Screen in Microsoft Word and Excel
