How to preserve formatting and colors when converting Excel to PDF

Key points of this article

Set the print area before conversion, and only include the required headers and data to avoid extra blank pages and irrelevant content.
The paper orientation and scaling should be determined according to the table width. Adjusting all columns to one page width can reduce truncation.
Make sure that monochrome printing is not turned on so that the fill color and font color will be retained in the PDF.
After exporting, check the borders, formula results and number formats page by page. If any problems are found, return to the table to adjust and re-export.

After exporting Excel tables to PDF, many people find that the colors have faded, the columns have been cut to the next page, the borders have been missing, or the number format has changed. This type of problem is common in quotations, financial statements, course transcripts, and background statistics. Most of them are not file errors, but that the print settings before exporting do not match the table.

This article is written for readers who need to hand over their Excel sheets to others and want the PDF to look the same as the original sheet. The content is a set of general methods: first make print-related settings in Excel, then check with print preview, and finally check the exported PDF item by item. After reading this, you can decide for yourself which settings affect color and layout, and adjust them before exporting.

How to preserve format and color when converting Excel to PDF? One sentence conclusion

First adjust the printing area, paper orientation, scaling and color mode in Excel, then confirm each page through print preview, and finally export the PDF. Most formatting losses can be discovered and corrected before export.

your situation	Recommended practices	reason
The table only has a few columns and can fit on a single page.	Export directly after setting the print area	No scaling required, colors and borders can be basically retained as they are.
The table is very wide and the right side is cut off after exporting	Horizontal layout, scaled to one page wide	All columns enter the same page to avoid being split into different pages
The original table has a background color, but after exporting the color becomes lighter or black and white.	Turn off monochrome printing and check the printing options	Monochrome printing will remove fill colors and colored fonts
The table contains formulas or dates, but the numbers in the PDF are incorrect.	Confirm formula results and number formats before exporting	The PDF only displays the results, errors will be fixed as they are.
The file contains sensitive data and I do not want to upload it to the website	Generate PDF using the print function on this machine	The file does not leave your computer, but you need to check the layout yourself

Before you start: Confirm these points first

Determine the structure of the form before taking action, otherwise the adjustment direction will easily go astray.

Actual extent of table. Excel often comes with a lot of blank rows and columns or formatting left over from a long time ago, which will turn into blank pages in PDF. First press Ctrl+End and look at the last used cell to know the real data range.
Whether color depends on conditional formatting. If the background color is generated by conditional formatting, it will still be displayed when exporting, but you must confirm in the print preview that the range it covers has not changed.
Whether it contains formulas and external links. PDF saves the display result when printing. If the formula references other workbooks, the values may appear abnormally after the link is broken, and should be checked manually before exporting.
What does the recipient use to view PDF. Colors may appear slightly different on screen and in print. If the other party wants to print, it is recommended to use a light background color to avoid filling a large area with dark colors, which will lead to high toner consumption and unclear text.
Whether the document needs to be kept confidential. When using an online conversion website, the files go through a third-party server. For content involving contracts, wages, customer lists, etc., it is recommended to complete the export locally.

Steps to set print area in Excel and export PDF

The following steps are applicable to most desktop versions of Excel tables, and the operation ideas are basically the same as the print settings of other office software.

Select the area to be exported. Only select the table header and data, and do not include irrelevant notes or draft content.
Set printing area. Find "Print Area" in the menu related to page layout, and set the range just selected as the print area, so that only this part of the content will be included when exporting.
Select paper orientation. If there are more columns than rows, choose landscape orientation; if there are more rows, choose portrait orientation. Orientation determines how much content the form can fit on the paper.
Set the zoom to one page wide. In the page settings, choose to adjust all columns to one page width, and there is no limit to the number of rows. This step can solve the common problem of "the right column is cut to the second page".
Check Color Mode. Make sure Print in Monochrome or Print in Black and White is not checked, otherwise fill colors and colored fonts will disappear in the PDF.
Open print preview and flip through page by page. Pay attention to whether the headers and footers, table borders are complete, and whether cross-page headers appear repeatedly. When you need to repeat the header, you can set the top header line in the print header.
Select the export method. Select the virtual PDF printer in the print dialog, or use the PDF format in "Save As". The content saved by both is basically the same, and which one you choose depends on your system and habits.
Save and name the file. The file name should reflect the content and date as much as possible, such as "2024 Quotation_Final Version" to facilitate identification by the recipient.

Check each item after completion

After exporting, do not send it directly. Open the PDF and check the items below.

Check items	How to see	What to do if there is a problem
Is the color complete?	Compare the original table to see if the background color, font color, and conditional formatting are all present	If the color disappears, check whether monochrome printing is enabled and re-export.
Is the table truncated?	Turn to each page to see if the right column and row below are complete	Adjust scaling to one page wide, or change to landscape layout
Are the borders complete?	Zoom in to view table edges and merged cell lines	Check whether the border is only set on some cells, complete it before exporting
Number and date formats	Check whether the number of decimal places, currency symbol, and date format are consistent with the original table	Set the number format uniformly in the table to avoid displaying it as code after exporting
formula result	Spot check a few key totals and reference cells	Manually recalculate, correct reference errors, and then export after confirming that they are correct.
Multiple page header	Check whether the header is repeated from the second page onwards	Set top header row in print header

If the PDF has been generated and just needs fine-tuning, you can use the desktop client's PDF editor to process it. It supports modifying paragraph text, page operations (insertion, deletion, rotation, rearrangement, merge, split) and comparison of two PDFs. For example, you can use the "Compare" function to compare the old version and the new version of the quotation, find out the differences in numbers or text, and then decide whether to re-export.

📊 Core comparison

There are three common ways to convert Excel to PDF, each of which is suitable for different scenarios.

Way	advantage	Notice
Print locally or save as PDF	The file does not leave the computer, and the color and layout are controlled by yourself.	You need to adjust the printing settings yourself, which is a certain threshold for novices.
Online conversion website	No need to install software, suitable for temporary use	The file will be uploaded, please pay attention to the size limit, watermark and privacy policy
Browser or other plug-in export	The operation entrance is in the web page or plug-in, which is easy to use.	The layout may not be exactly the same as Excel, you need to check it page by page after exporting.

🎯 Which method is suitable for you?

Occasionally export a simple form: Directly use the local save as PDF, set the print area and zoom.
The form contains sensitive information: Prioritize exporting on this machine and do not upload it to the website at will.
Batch export is required and the layout is fixed: Make print settings for a template first, and then only replace the data each time, which can reduce repeated adjustments.
Modify the PDF after exporting: Use the PDF editor to change text, fill in forms, or merge multiple files, which is easier than re-exporting.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. Will online conversion preserve colors?

In most cases the fill color and font color are preserved, but the effect depends on the settings of the table itself. After exporting, be sure to open the PDF and compare it with the original table, especially to see if the light background color has faded.

2. Why are the colors in PDF lighter than in Excel?

The common reason is that monochrome printing or grayscale mode is turned on when exporting, or the printer driver may compress colors. Turn off these options, re-export, and confirm with print preview.

3. The table is too wide, how to make it display on one page?

Change the paper orientation to landscape and select Scale to one page wide in Page Setup. If there are too many columns, you can split the table into two worksheets and export them separately.

4. There are many blank pages in the exported PDF. What should I do?

Usually the table range is too large or unnecessary printing area is set. Delete the blank rows and columns, reset the printing area, and then confirm the number of pages in the print preview.

5. Can the text continue to be edited after conversion?

PDF saves the layout and display results by default, making direct editing inconvenient. If you need to modify it, you should go back to Excel to modify it and re-export it; if you only need to make minor changes, you can use a PDF editor to modify the paragraph text.

📝 Summary

Whether the format and colors can be preserved when converting Excel to PDF depends on the print settings before exporting: determine the printing area, select the paper orientation and scaling, turn off monochrome printing, and then use print preview to check page by page. After exporting, follow the checklist to check colors, borders, numbers, and formulas. Many problems can be solved before exporting.

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