Excel not printing pdf

Update: added issue on Feedback Hub: https://aka.ms/AA65nqn

When I select sheets (Shift+Click to multiselect) in a macro-free workbook that each may or may not span multiple printed pages, select File > Print (using Microsoft Print to PDF, selecting «Print Active Sheets»), all pages don’t get included in the PDF.

This happens when using File > Save As (PDF) as well.

Specifically, the last couple of sheets/pages are omitted from the result, which is a huge issue, since it basically renders the file useless for its purpose (= PDF report generation).

File has mixed orientation (Landscape/Portrait), many of the sheets span multiple printed pages, and the last two sheets are static one-pagers that are — even though I selected them — not included in the PDF.

I can reproduce the issue consistently with this example file.
Example PDF output also available (note the two last sheets are missing). The last page looks like this:

Check the last page of the resulting PDF. It’s not there!

Environment

• Excel version 1906 (16.0.11727.20222 32-bit)
• Windows 10 Pro 64-bit

Things I’ve checked for/tested:

• All pages have same print quality (was noted as a potential issue elsewhere)
• Using regular «Save As» and selecting PDF gives the same (bad) results.
• CutePDF writer gives the same (bad) results.
• Printing to a physical printer prints all pages (good!)
• If I select only the last couple of sheets, they get included in the PDF as they should. As I expand my sheet selection and print to PDF, at some point it starts «losing» pages at the end of the document.

Observations/clues:

• Total page count varies throughout the PDF document. See page 21 and 22 in the example PDF linked above, it says «Page 21 of 31», then «Page 22 of 30» (similar oddity can be observed with CutePDF)
• Sheets with pivot tables that span multiple sheets seem to be the primary culprit: selecting these for printing seems to have higher likelihood of messing up the output.

I think this is mainly an issue with the print drivers (Microsoft Print to PDF or CutePDF) since printing to a professional printer works as intended, but I could be wrong.

What could be wrong, and how do you suggest I mitigate this? I need the PDF output; this is the primary purpose of the Excel file.

Hi Dov,

Thanks for responding. I have tried the official tech support path and the only option it ultimately offers me is the Community Forums, for which I’m deeply appreciative.  Am I missing a step that would connect me directly with Adobe Tech Support?  That would be great.  I’ve paid $300 for the Pro version, for which I would expect some type of official coverage, so if I’m missing that connection, please send me a link.

Secondly, I’m a little confused by your explanation.  Microsoft is the primary software here, probably the most common in the world, and Adobe Acrobat is a plug-in to that software, so I would fully expect Adobe to adjust its product to work with the parent application, in this case Excel.  As I think I noted, the workbook in question will print/display just fine when sent to a physical printer, so if Canon can execute this properly, why can’t Adobe?  Yes, sometimes lines/page will vary by printer a bit but nothing is ever just truncated.

Without knowing any of the internal programming details, I would fully expect that at the print option that Microsoft would determine the proper formatting and send that information to the destination output, whether that’s a physical printer or a PDF file created via Adobe.  This information originates in the Microsoft document.  Of course, they would be the ones to create that data stream and establish the print conventions.

The printers correctly interpret the commands and generate correct output.  Why can’t Adobe?  As big a player as Adobe is too, I can’t understand why if there is some special data accommodation that you need from Microsoft to generate reliable output, why you can’t get them to provide it.  As you’ve noted, the PDF function is actually embedded in various Microsoft products, so you obviously have a business relationship. 

I have also tried this same print-to-workbook option using Microsoft’s (albeit functionally inferior and less ubiquitous) XPS file-creator option and the output looks fine.  Again, what’s their secret?  Adobe is in every other way a better product; that’s why I paid $300 for it. 

I submitted this problem to another help web site and several folks touted Adobe knockoffs like PrimoPDF and BullZip which they claim work flawlessly in the print-to-PDF file capacity.  Again, how can the massive Adobe giant with all of its talent and array of products not solve this truncation problem with your primary business partner?  Certainly this would be a win-win.

I realize that you’re just the messenger, and I’m not trying to beat you up, but this should not be hard. Printing a workbook that someone creates is almost always it’s ultimate destination.   Printing to a PDF file should be easy and follow the same path.  And I’m not seeing how Microsoft is “damaging” anything in passing along formatting parameters, and that certainly isn’t evident in that Excel prints just fine to paper, and these other PDF plug-ins seem to manage just fine.

I’m moving from printing less to paper and printing more to files as PDF’s, which has the best history of backward compatibility.  When your signature PDF product Acrobat can’t convert an Excel document into a correct end product without corruption, fumbling with workarounds to accomplish basic functionality as you suggest just seems really poor.  I know this is not your fault, but it’s hard to believe there’s no solution after what seems to be a number of years.

Maybe I really am missing deeper technical issues, but again, other products seem to have solved it.

Again, thanks for the response and your time.  Please pass on my information and questions.  $300 is a lot of money to spend to still have to cope with these kinds of functional issues.

You can convert any Excel File or Spreadsheet to PDF Format using “Save As PDF” or “Print to PDF” features as available in Microsoft Excel. You will find below the steps to Print to PDF or Save As PDF in Microsoft Excel.

With Windows 10 featuring in-built support for PDF (Printable Document Format), saving or printing any Excel Spreadsheet to PDF format is easy.

While both “Print to PDF” and “Save As PDF” basically convert an Excel File to PDF format, the end product produced by the two methods are different.

When you use Print to PDF in Microsoft Excel, the resulting PDF File will be stripped of all its Metadata (Links, Author info, Bookmarks, etc.) and it will only contain information as available on a printed File.

In comparison, when you use Save As PDF in Microsoft Excel, the resulting PDF File will contain all the Metadata and almost the same information as available in the original document.

How to Print to PDF in Microsoft Excel

Follow the steps below to use Print to PDF in Microsoft Excel.

1. Open the Excel File that you want to Print to PDF.

2. Once the File is open, click on the File tab located in the top menu bar to open the File menu.

3. In the drop-down File menu, click on the Print option in the left pane. In the right-pane, make sure that PDF Printer (Microsoft Print to PDF) is available and adjust page size, orientation and margins as required.

Note: If Microsoft Print to PDF is not available, you will have to make the PDF Printer ready using steps as provided in the next section.

4. Once you are happy with the print settings, scroll up a bit and click on the Print box.

5. On the next screen, type a Name for your file > choose the Location where you want to save the resulting PDF file and click on the Save button.

Note: Make sure “Save as type” is set to .pdf before clicking on the Save button.

Once the PDF Print File is saved, you will be able to send the File for printing or share it electronically with anyone.

As mentioned above, the PDF File produced by using Print to PDF feature in Microsoft Excel will not contain Links and other Metadata associated with the original Excel File.

What to Do if Microsoft Print to PDF is Not Available

If you had previously printed to an actual printer, Microsoft PDF Printer may not be available when to try to Print to PDF in Microsoft Excel.

In such a case, you will have to make Microsoft PDF Printer available and ready, before being able to Print to PDF.

If “Microsoft Print to PDF” is not available, click on the current available printer and choose Microsoft Print to PDF in the menu that appears.

After this, you will be able to Print to PDF any Microsoft Excel File by clicking on the Print box as shown in step 3 above.

Save As PDF in Microsoft Excel

Another way of converting Microsoft Excel File or Spreadsheet in to PDF format is to use “Save As PDF” feature, as available in Microsoft Excel.

As mentioned above, the resulting saved PDF File will contain almost all the information as available in the original document.

1. Open the Excel File that you want to Print to PDF.

2. Once the File is open, click on the File tab located in the top menu bar.

3. From the drop-down menu, click on Save As option in the left pane. In the right-pane, click on Browse.

4. On the next screen, type the Name for your PDF File > select Location for the PDF file and click on Save.

This will save the Microsoft Excel File as a PDF File that you can print or share with anyone.

Whether you use Save as PDF or Print to PDF, the resulting file will retain its Fonts, Formatting and Pagination across all devices and platforms.

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