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Converting Excel to PDFs
Spreadsheets will need to be converted to accessible PDFs. Use
the following best practices when converting to PDF from Excel.
Add Repeated Rows
Repeat your rows if your data extends beyond 1 page.
1. Click on the “Page Layout” tab.
2. Click the “More” option on the lower right of “Page
Setup”.
The Page Setup window opens.
3. Click on “Sheet” tab.
4. Enter $1:$1 on the “Rows to repeat at top” field.
5. Click the “OK” button.
Select Page Orientation
Select the page orientation that best fits your data. For large
data sets, “Landscape” orientation works the best.
1. Click on the “Page Layout” tab.
2. Click on “Orientation”
3. Select the appropriate orientation layout from the drop-down menu.
Set Print Area
A print area is the range of cells that are designate to print or
convert. Adjust the print area to make sure certain columns or
rows don’t split, from the data set, to another page of the PDF.
• On the Page Layout tab, in the Page Setup group, click Print Area, and then click Set Print Area.
• Use the Page Break View to see and adjust the Print Area in Excel
(View > Page Break View).
Convert to PDF
Use one of the following ways to convert your Excel spreadsheets to PDFs. Regardless of which method is used,
additional steps in Acrobat will need to be performed.
• Save as Adobe PDF – “File” tab > select “Save as Adobe PDF” (located on the left-side green pane).
• Acrobat Tab – “ACROBAT” tab > select “Make Accessible” from “Create PDF and Run Action” tile.
• Print to PDF - Click on the “File” tab and Click on “Print” from the green pane of the left-side.
Retag in PDF
Converted spreadsheets will need to be retagged in Acrobat to be made accessible. Go to the “Accessibility”
tools panel and click “Autotag Document” (In Acrobat 11, it’s called “Add Tags to Document” ).
