In this article we will show you how to convert any spreadsheet to a PDF in Google Sheets in just a few clicks. Simply follow the steps below:
Save and Export to PDF in Google Sheets
In the following demonstration we will show how to save a Google Sheet as a PDF.
1. From the file menu select “File” followed by “Download”. From the side menu select “PDF (.pdf)”
From the file menu at the top of the display click File which will display a menu, hover over or click Download to show a pop up menu at the side. From the side menu click PDF (.pdf)
2. Configure the Export selection and layout options.
The Print settings display will now open, on the left hand side you will see a preview of your content. To the right is the print settings menu.
The print settings contain several options that can be configured:
Export: This drop down menu allows you to choose the contents you would like to export into PDF. The options are the Current sheet, specific cells or the entire workbook (if you have multiple sheets).
Paper Size: This will set the size of the PDF area, by default A4 is selected but there are a variety of sizes to choose from including specifying a custom size.
Page orientation: This option can be changed to best suit the content or your requirements.
Scale: Contains options to scale the content to fit the page by width, height or full page. Also offer normal scaling 100% (Default) or you can set a custom scale.
Margins: Allows the margins to be changed to Normal (Default), narrow or wide.
Set custom page breaks: This option allows you to add additional page breaks to your content splitting it across multiple PDF pages.
3. Set the Formatting options
Expand the section labelled Formatting in the print settings by clicking the arrow next to the label. In this section you can specify the following options:
Show grid lines: This checkbox controls if the gridlines are shown in your PDF. Simply tick or untick it to show or hide the gridlines.
Shows notes: Any notes on your sheet can be shown or hidden on the PDF by using the checkbox.
Page order: Allows control over the page order shown in multi-sheet documents.
Alignment: The two drop down menus allow you to choose the position of the content on the page. You can choose to set the horizontal and vertical alignments.
Headers and Footers: Select the applicable checkboxes to show additional data in the header and footer areas of your PDF.
4. Click “Export” to generate your PDF, the file is downloaded.
Click on the blue button labelled Export at the top right hand side of the display.
Google Sheets will return to the main screen and the PDF is then downloaded. A notification will display in the bottom left hand corner of the display. The PDF will be stored in the default downloads directory of your computer. Alternatively you can click the downloaded file at the bottom of the display which will open it.
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