This five-step tutorial will show you how to convert Google Sheets to PDF. PDF is an abbreviation that stands for Portable Document Format. PDFs allow you to save files that others can’t modify but are easily shared and printed.
By the end of this article, you will wield the power to convert Google Sheets to PDF manually or using the Sheetgo automation.
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Ready to automatically generate documents?
How to convert Google Sheets to PDF [in just 5 Steps]
Step 1: Open the file you want to convert
Navigate to and open the Google Sheets file. You can locate your Google Sheets files in a few ways:
- Navigating to Sheets.google.com
- Create a Browser Bookmark in Google Chrome
- Add a Sheets Desktop Shortcut (Windows Only)
- Navigate to your Google Drive
Step 2: Select “PDF Document (.pdf)”
- Hover over “File” in the top left corner of the screen directly below the Google Sheet title.
- Hover over “Download” in the dropdown menu
- Click “PDF document (.pdf).”
Step 3: Configure the export settings
Print settings will open, showing two screens. On the left, you’ll see what your PDF will look like. On the right, you’ll see formatting options for your PDF download.
You can configure several options in the print settings:
Export: Specify the contents of your Google Sheet that you want to convert into a PDF. You can choose from the current sheet, the entire workbook, or selected cells.
Selection: Specify which sheets you want to download if you selected “workbook” in the export dropdown. You can download all the sheets in the workbook or choose and exclude specific ones.
Paper size: Your Google sheet will be on the default paper size for printer paper; Letter (8.5” x 11”). You can change it to any size you want using the dropdown or create a custom size.
Page orientation: Specify whether the exported file should be portrait or landscape.
Scale: Specify if you want the page orientation in landscape or portrait orientation.
Margins: Specify if you want the margins to stay Normal (Default), narrow, wide, or a custom margin.
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Step 4: Configure the formatting settings
You can configure several options in the formatting settings:
Show gridlines: Specify whether you want to show gridlines by checking or unchecking the box. Gridlines are the horizontal and vertical lines that separate the cells in a worksheet.
Show notes: Specify if you want the PDF to display notes in the exported PDF file. Sheets will export any notes as footnotes.
Page order: Specify the page order as “Over, then under” or “Down, then over”
Horizontal Alignment: Specify whether you want the contents of the PDF download aligned “Center,” “Left,” or “Right.”
Vertical Alignment: Specify whether you want the contents of the PDF download aligned “Top,” “Bottom,” or “Center.”
Headers and Footers: Specify if you want to show page numbers, workbook title, sheet name, current date, or current time in the header or footer.
Step 5: Click the blue “Export” button
Scroll back to the top and click the blue “Export” button.
Your download should appear at the bottom of your browser window on Chrome and most other browsers. You can also locate your download in the Downloads folder on your Mac or Windows laptop.
Sheetgo: Convert Google Sheets to PDF automatically
Using the Sheetgo web app, you can create a 100% automated workflow. Sheetgo can identify the rows of data within your Google Sheet, transfer and add this data to any document you wish, convert the document into a PDF, and then send it to its recipient. All you need to do is set up the workflow. Provide your spreadsheet full of your data and the document template you wish to add your data.
Sheetgo handles everything else.
Why is this better than converting Google Sheets to PDF manually?
- Maintain data privacy: Protect your confidential data with Sheetgo. Instead of sharing entire files, you can only share the necessary information.
- Complete customization: Create custom document templates for your data, from contracts to invoices.
- No human error: Sheetgo automates the entire process for you, avoiding any risk of human error.
- Schedule automatic transfers: You can automate transfers for your workflow. The rest of your connection will be updated whenever your source data is updated.
Step 1: Sign up for Sheetgo
Signing up for Sheetgo is easy. Simply click the blue button below.
Log in with your Google, Microsoft, or Dropbox account to start.
Step 2: Prepare your spreadsheet data and document template
Before creating your workflow, you’ll need two files ready:
- Your source spreadsheet
- Your document template
Let’s look at these in more detail.
Source data file:
Your source data file should contain all the dynamic data you need to create your desired document. In this example, my Google Sheets file contains all the intern information I need to create the contracts and convert them as PDFs.
You should name each column clearly. These columns will become the dynamic tags in your document template, where Sheetgo will transfer your spreadsheet data. Each row of data in your spreadsheet will create a new document.
Document template:
You also need a document template created in Google Docs.
This should contain two things:
- The foundational content you want to include across your documents
- Dynamic tags, e.g. {{first name}}, where you want to insert your dynamic data from your source file. These dynamic tags should be the same as the column names from your spreadsheet.
In my example, I have created a Google Doc with the foundational content of the main contract text and variable placeholders for each intern’s personal information.
Step 3: Create your workflow
Now that your source file and document templates are ready, it’s time to create your workflow.
Open the Sheetgo web app. Select + New workflow on the homepage, then Connect files to build your workflow from scratch. Rename your new workflow at the top. I’ll name my new workflow “Internship Contracts 2022” in my example.
Step 4: Connect your source file to your document template
You can add single or multiple source files to begin your workflow. In this case, I want to add my Google Sheets, so I will select Single file, then upload my spreadsheet. Don’t forget to choose the tab where your data is in your file.
Once finished, press Next.
Now it’s time to add your document template. Under the ‘Generate’ section, select Documents. Upload your document template. You can change the title of your documents to clearly identify each document Sheetgo will create using your source data.
In my example, I can use the dynamic tags from my source data to identify each contract by intern name. To do this, I can type the document title as “Internship contract – {{First name}} {{Last name}}.
Finally, choose the destination file for these new documents.
Once completed, click Next.
This connection will allow every new row of your data to be transferred into an individual document based on your template. Now let’s continue to convert these new documents into a PDF.
Step 5: Convert your new documents to PDF automatically
To convert your newly created documents into a PDF, head to the ‘Generate’ section and select PDF. Select or create a destination folder where you want to save these PDFs.
Once finished, click Next.
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This connection now means that every new document created in the previous connection will be converted as a PDF automatically by Sheetgo. You will have the original document and the PDF in your files.
Step 6 (optional): Share your PDFs automatically via Gmail
You can opt to send these PDFs to their recipients automatically. Sheetgo can discover the email addresses within your source data and send each new document to its intended recipient via Gmail.
To do this, head to the ‘Share’ section and click Email. Select the Get dynamically from a column option and select the email address column. You can send your new documents as an access link or an attachment. Finally, you can edit the email subject – here, I will use my dynamic tags to personalize the subject line.
Once completed, click Finish and save.
Convert Google Sheets to PDF
There you have it.
We answered, “How to convert Google Sheets to PDF.” Now you have two ways to convert Google Sheets to PDF. Google Sheets is a powerful tool that allows you to share sheets as PDFs across the internet or among small groups. You can convert your Google Sheets to PDF automatically using the Sheetgo web app to get even more out of Google Sheets.
⇒ Watch the video below and learn how to automatically convert Google Sheets to PDF.
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