How to set up landscape printing when converting Excel to PDF

Key points of this article

Before exporting a wide table to PDF, first change the paper orientation of the worksheet to landscape, and then check the print preview. The problem of column width exceeding the page can usually be solved.
The paper directions of multiple worksheets can be set independently. If you only change one worksheet, the other worksheets in the exported PDF will still be vertical.
If it still cannot fit in landscape orientation, adjust the zoom ratio again and make sure the font size is still visible in the PDF.
The exported vertical PDF can use the PDF editor to rotate the page, but when the content is truncated, it cannot be filled in. You can only go back to the table and re-export.

Many people make a table in Excel, and after exporting it to PDF, they find that the right columns have been pushed to the next page, or the text in the entire table is too small to be seen clearly. This type of wide table is usually more suitable for horizontal layout. Readers often search for "how to set the landscape orientation when converting excel to pdf" and "how to set the landscape orientation when converting excel to pdf". The problem often lies in the paper orientation not being adjusted before exporting.

This article only talks about one thing: how to change the paper orientation to landscape, then export the PDF, and check the results. If the page cannot fit and the entire page needs to be zoomed, there is a special explanation, which will not be discussed here. After reading, you will be able to judge whether your table should be horizontal, know where to set it, and how to check page by page after exporting.

How to set the landscape orientation when converting Excel to PDF? One sentence conclusion

Direct answer: Set the paper orientation of the worksheet to landscape before exporting, and the exported PDF page will be landscape. For a wide table with many columns, the horizontal orientation usually allows more columns to be arranged on the same page. The table below provides methods based on your situation.

your situation	Recommended practices	reason
The table is very wide, has many columns, and is truncated on the right side in vertical format.	Export it after setting it to landscape orientation, and then check it with print preview.	Landscape pages are wider, making it easier for columns to fit on the same page
There are only a few columns, and the vertical version can be put down	stay vertical	No need to change the format, and reading habits are more consistent
The table is long but not wide	Keep it vertical and set a top title row	Horizontal layout will increase the total number of pages, and tables with many rows are more suitable for vertical layout.
There are several worksheets in the file, only one is very wide	Set only the wide sheet to landscape orientation and keep other worksheets vertical	The paper directions are set separately according to the worksheet without affecting each other.
I have already exported the vertical PDF and don’t want to redo it.	Use the PDF editor to rotate the page; if the content is truncated, return to the table and re-export it.	Rotation only changes the viewing direction of the page, and the truncated content will not automatically come back.

Before you start: Confirm these points first

Confirm the actual width of the table first. Looking in the print preview, if the column on the right is split to the next page, it means that the page width is not enough, and landscape orientation can usually solve the problem. If all the columns in the preview are already on one page, there is no need to change them to landscape orientation.

First confirm which worksheet is exported. Paper orientation is set per sheet. When there are multiple sheets in a workbook, and only one of them is changed, the other sheets in the exported PDF will still be in vertical format. Check each image before exporting.

First confirm whether the printing area is set. If the print area is set, only this area will be exported, and the width should be calculated based on this area. Columns outside the area will not appear in the PDF, so there is no truncation problem, which in turn may result in missing content.

Confirm whether scaling is required first. The width increases after horizontal orientation, and most wide tables can be placed down. If it still doesn't fit, reducing the zoom ratio will make the entire table wider, but the fonts will also become smaller. Check whether the font size is still readable in the preview, don't just look at "can be dropped".

Confirm first whether you want to change it after exporting. If you need to change the text, translate or modify the data again after exporting the PDF, please keep the Excel original. PDF is suitable as the final output. Modifications should be completed back to the original table and then re-exported.

# steps to set horizontal orientation and export PDF in Excel

Open the workbook to be exported and switch to the worksheet that needs to be landscape orientation.
Find the options related to page setup (the location is slightly different in different versions, usually in page layout or print settings), and change the paper orientation to landscape.
Open the print preview and check page by page whether the columns on the right are complete and whether there are any columns that have been moved to the next page.
If there are still columns that are truncated, adjust the scaling in the page settings, for example, set it to scale all columns to fit on one page, and then look at the preview again.
Check whether the header of each page is complete. When the table spans multiple pages, you can set a top header row so that each page has a header.
Select the output method as PDF in the print function, set the save location, and confirm the export.
Open the exported PDF and look through it page by page to make sure the orientation is horizontal and there are no missing columns.

If you are using an online conversion site, look for options for paper orientation or page settings before uploading. When there is no such option, it is recommended to go back to Excel to set the direction and then export it in the way of "output to PDF" instead of relying on the conversion tool to determine automatically.

# check item by item after completion

After you get the PDF, don't just read the first page. Problems with wide tables often appear in the middle or the last few pages, and the following recommendations are recommended to check them one by one.

Check item	What do you think?	What if there's a problem?
Page orientation	Look at it page by page and make sure it's all horizontal.	There is a vertical page, go back to the table to check if there is a worksheet that is not set horizontally
Whether the column is complete	Compare the contents of the right column of the table with the right column of PDF	Still truncated, adjust the scale or reduce the column width appropriately and then re-export
Whether the header is duplicated	Turn to the second page to see if the meter head is still there.	There is no header, set the top header row and re-export
Is the font size readable?	Zoom in to the ratio of common reading and look at small prints and numbers	If the word is too small, relax the zoom ratio, or split the form into two parts
Key number	Spot check several totals and key data, compare with the original table	If the numbers are inconsistent, go back to Excel to check the original data, and then re-export

If you find that the content is important and needs to be confirmed word by word, it is recommended to check the original table manually instead of judging by feeling alone.

# Core comparison

Each has its own horizontal and vertical scenarios, so you can first look at the number of columns and rows in the table when choosing.

Mode	A suitable form	Matters needing attention
Horizontal	A wide table with more columns and relatively few rows, such as monthly reports and multi-column comparison data	Each line can hold more content and usually has fewer pages.
Vertical direction	A long table with fewer columns and more rows, such as customer lists and pipelining records	It is more in line with common reading habits, and it is more natural to change pages.
Add scale horizontally	A table with a large number of columns that cannot be put down horizontally.	The whole table can be displayed within one page width, but the font size will be smaller, so you need to confirm the readability in the preview.

# frequently asked questions (FAQ)

1. Set horizontally, why is the exported PDF still vertical?

A common reason is that only one worksheet has been changed, and other vertical worksheets are included in the export. Another case is that when uploading an online conversion site, the direction option is not found, and the conversion tool is processed vertically by default. In this case, go back to Excel to confirm the direction one by one, and then re-export.

2. How to convert excel to pdf into horizontal version, and can the exported vertical version of PDF be changed directly?

You can use the PDF editor to rotate the page and turn the whole page into landscape view. However, rotation only changes the orientation of the page, and if the original table has columns truncated in the vertical version, the content will not be filled back automatically after rotation. In this case, it is recommended to go back to Excel to reset landscape and export. The PDF editor of the OmniDoc desktop client provides page rotation, which is suitable for handling such page orientation adjustments.

3. After setting horizontally, the word becomes smaller, what to do?

The word becomes smaller usually because the zoom is set too small, in order to squeeze all the columns into one page. You can appropriately increase the zoom ratio, or reduce the column width or reduce the margins to make the columns more reasonably distributed within the page. If there are too many columns, you can split the table into two parts and export them separately.

4. Can the exported horizontal version of PDF be translated or modified?

Sure. OmniDoc supports the translation of PDF documents, the translation results can be bilingual or translation-only, and retain the table and layout. The PDF editor can also modify paragraph text and fill out forms. However, after translation or modification, it is still necessary to check whether the columns of the table are complete and whether the numbers are correct. The content of machine translation is also recommended to check the important parts manually.

5. Without Excel, how to export the table to horizontal PDF?

You can use desktop office software that supports forms, or convert websites online. Before using it, make sure that it provides the setting of paper direction, and after export, check it item by item with the checklist above. When choosing free or online tools, also pay attention to file size restrictions, watermarks, privacy policies for uploading files, and whether typesetting is retained.

# Summary

Excel to pdf how to set horizontal, the key is to change the paper direction of the worksheet to horizontal before export, and then use print preview to make sure that the column is not truncated. After export, check the direction, header, font size and key numbers page by page, and the problem can be found before delivery.

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