To share something you track in a spreadsheet like company financials, club information, or a team roster, you can use a PDF instead of a spreadsheet. We’ll show you a couple of ways to convert Google Sheets to a PDF.
Depending on how you plan to share the file, you can simply download, save, and send it however you like. Alternatively, you can publish a link to the file on your site for others to view the sheet as a PDF. This is especially useful if you plan to make updates to the PDF in the future.
Download Google Sheets as a PDF
If you plan to send the PDF file via email, text message, or chat application, you can easily download it in PDF form.
RELATED: How to Create a PDF from a Google Docs Document
Visit Google Sheets, open the workbook, and do one of the following:
To convert specific cells, select them. To convert a certain spreadsheet, make it active by opening that sheet. To convert the entire workbook, you don’t have to select anything, just go to the next step.
Go to File > Download and select “PDF” in the pop-out menu.
On the top right, use the Export drop-down menu to pick from the current sheet, entire workbook, or selected cells. Then adjust the paper size and page orientation per your preference.
Next, you can scale to fit the width, height, or page and make the margins narrow or wide as needed.
Then, you can use the Formatting and Headers & Footers sections at the bottom of the sidebar. For Formatting, you can mark options for showing or hiding the gridlines and notes and adjusting the alignment.
For Headers & Footers, you can mark options to include page numbers, the sheet or workbook name, and the current date and time. You can also click “Edit Custom Fields” to view or add these options. Finally, check the boxes if you want to repeat the frozen rows or columns in your sheet.
When you finish, click “Export” on the top right. The file will download and appear in your default Downloads location.
Publish a Link to the PDF
If you have a website where you want to share the spreadsheet or workbook as a PDF for others to view, this is another option.
RELATED: How to Share a Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides File as a Web Page
Select File > Share and pick “Publish to Web” in the pop-out menu.
When the publish box opens, confirm that you’re on the Link tab. Click the Entire Document drop-down menu if you want to convert a specific sheet instead of the whole workbook and select it.
Then, click the Web Page drop-down menu and pick “PDF Document (.pdf).”
Optionally, you can expand the Published Content & Settings section and mark the option to automatically republish when you make changes to the sheet or workbook.
Select “Publish” or “Start Publishing” and confirm by clicking “OK.”
You can then select and copy the URL, add it to a Gmail message, or share it on Facebook or Twitter.
If you decide later to unpublish the file, return to File > Share > Publish to Web. Expand the Published Content & Settings section and choose “Stop Publishing.” Then, confirm with “OK” in the pop-up box.
Creating a PDF from your spreadsheet or workbook is a great way to share the data from Google Sheets with others. If you use Microsoft Excel in addition to Google Sheets, look at how to save an Excel sheet as a PDF too.
