Tag: ods

Win2PDF 10 build 172: Win2PDF Pro Converts Excel Spreadsheets to PDF, Image, and Text Formats

A new release of Win2PDF (version 10 build 172) is now available on the Win2PDF Download site with a variety of new features and enhancements.

We’ll cover other features in a subsequent post, but the most significant addition is that Win2PDF Pro now supports the ability to easily convert Microsoft Excel and OpenDocument spreadsheets (XLSX, XLS, XLSB, ODS, and CSV formats) to PDF, images, and text. Win2PDF supports these formats directly, and Microsoft Excel or OpenOffice do not need to be installed. (Note: This is a Win2PDF Pro feature only)

Converting a spreadsheet file to PDF is useful for several reasons:

  • Preservation of Formatting: PDF ensures that the layout, fonts, and formatting of the spreadsheet remain consistent across different devices and operating systems. This is crucial when sharing the file with others who may not have Excel or have a different version.
  • Security: PDFs can be password-protected, preventing unauthorized editing or copying of the data. This is important for sensitive financial or personal information.
  • Portability: PDFs are widely supported and can be opened on virtually any device without the need for specific software. This makes them ideal for sharing and distributing information.
  • Archiving: PDFs are a stable format suitable for long-term archiving of data, as they are less likely to become corrupted or incompatible with future software.

Earlier versions of Win2PDF Pro supported Microsoft Word document formats, but this update expands coverage to Microsoft Excel and OpenOffice spreadsheet formats. This is a free update to licensed users of Win2PDF 7 or higher.

In the Win2PDF Desktop app, you’ll now see conversion options for XLSX, XLS, XLSB, ODS, and CSV formats in the Batch Convert and Watch Folder (Win2PDF Pro TSE only) interfaces. These features now support the following spreadsheet file formats:

  • XLSX – Microsoft Excel Workbook
  • XLS – Microsoft Excel 97-2003 Workbook
  • XLSB – Microsoft Excel Binary Workbook
  • CSV – Comma Separated Values
  • ODS – OpenDocument Spreadsheet

One thing to note is that there are differences between these spreadsheet formats when used as inputs versus outputs. As an input format, the new spreadsheet formats can be read and converted to anything (PDF, Image, Text). As an output format, however, it can only handle another spreadsheet format as input.

Here are a few examples:

Convert Type

Supported?

XLS to PDF

Yes. Spreadsheet to PDF file is supported

XLS to JPG

Yes. Spreadsheet to Image file is supported

XLS to TXT

Yes. Spreadsheet to Text file is supported

XLS to XLSX

Yes. Excel spreadsheet to another spreadsheet format is supported

PDF to XLS

No. PDF to spreadsheet is not supported because formatting is different between file types

DOC to XLS

No. Word to spreadsheet is not supported because formatting is different between file types

The command line options of Win2PDF Pro have been similarly updated. Here are the new command line options to convert from spreadsheet formats to PDF:

And these added command line options allow users to print spreadsheet formats to a paper printer:

Plus, the following output formats have been added to the convertto, batchconvert, and watchconvert commands:

  • “xlsx” – Microsoft Excel Workbook
  • “xls” – Microsoft Excel 97-2003 Workbook
  • “xlsb” – Microsoft Excel Binary Workbook
  • “ods” – OpenDocument Spreadsheet
  • “csv” – Comma Separated Values
  • “pdfa” – PDF for archiving

Stay tuned as we’ll be covering the other updates and enhancements to this release in a follow-up post. If you have any questions, please contact us.