Complete Guide to Converting Excel to PDF and Back (5 Shots)
You may often need to export Excel reports as PDFs or convert data from received PDFs back into Excel. This guide covers five steps, from saving Excel files as PDFs to converting PDFs to Excel, including Copilot and automation methods.
Summary
| Category | Feature | Tool | Key Benefit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Excel → PDF | Export/Print | Excel | Preserves formatting for sharing |
| PDF → Excel | Import data | Power Query | Automatically detects tables |
| Copilot | Summarize PDFs and create tables | Excel Copilot | AI-powered conversion |
| Automation | Recurring PDF conversion | VBA/Power Automate | Batch saving |
| Practical tips | Print area and security | Excel settings | Prevents formatting errors |
Shot 1 — Save Excel as PDF
- Menu path:
File → Export → Create PDF/XPS - Set the print area:
Page Layout → Set Print Area - Keyboard shortcut: Alt → F → E → A
To save only specific worksheets, select the sheets and then click File → Export → PDF.
To save multiple worksheets in one file, Ctrl+select the sheets, then export to PDF.
Shot 2 — Convert PDF to Excel (Power Query)
In Excel 365 or later, select Data → Get Data → From File → From PDF.
Data → Get Data → From File → From PDF- Tables in the PDF are automatically detected and displayed in a preview.
- Select and import only the tables you need.
- Clean up columns and rows in the Power Query Editor, then select “Close & Load.”
Shot 3 — Summarize PDF Content and Convert Tables with Copilot
In Excel with Copilot enabled (or OneDrive/Teams Copilot), you can drag and drop a PDF to analyze it directly.
Example prompts:
"Convert the order table in this PDF into an Excel table."
"Create a table from the sales data on page 3."Copilot recognizes the PDF structure, separates content by table, and automatically converts it into Excel tables.
Shot 4 — Automation: VBA and Power Automate
Automating the process is efficient when you export the same report to PDF every day.
' VBA example: Save the active worksheet as a PDF
Sub ExportToPDF()
ActiveSheet.ExportAsFixedFormat Type:=xlTypePDF, _
Filename:="C:ReportsReport_" & Format(Now, "yyyymmdd") & ".pdf"
End Sub
In Power Automate, you can create an automated flow for “Save file → Convert to PDF → Attach to email.”
Shot 5 — Practical Tips (Formatting Issues and Security Settings)
- Print boundaries: Check the area in “Page Break Preview.”
- Headers/footers: Add automatic dates and page numbers to report PDFs.
- Security: You can set a password through “Adobe PDF → Protect File.”
- Preserve formatting: Enable Korean font embedding to prevent font issues.
Related learning: Excel Print Settings, Introduction to Power Query, Create Lightweight Excel Files