Excel to PDF — print spreadsheets cleanly without an Office install

What it does

The API accepts a .xlsx file and renders it as a PDF — just like Excel’s print preview would show the worksheet. Formulas are evaluated, formatting is preserved, charts are embedded as vectors.

Minimal request

curl -X POST https://api.dokmatiq.com/v1/convert/excel-to-pdf \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $DOKMATIQ_KEY" \
  -F "document=@revenue-q1.xlsx" \
  -o revenue-q1.pdf

Response: Content-Type: application/pdf, status 200.

Print options

Most Excel print settings can be overridden:

{
  "orientation": "landscape",
  "fitToPage": true,
  "scaling": 100,
  "printArea": "A1:H50",
  "repeatRows": "1:3",
  "repeatColumns": "A:A",
  "gridlines": false,
  "blackAndWhite": false,
  "margins": { "top": "15mm", "bottom": "15mm", "left": "15mm", "right": "15mm" },
  "headerFooter": {
    "header": "&L&B&D&R&P / &N",
    "footer": "&CConfidential — do not distribute"
  }
}

Print areas set inside the workbook are honoured if no explicit values are provided.

Selecting worksheets

By default all visible worksheets are converted, each starting on its own page range. For a targeted selection:

{
  "sheets": ["Summary", "Details Q1", "Details Q2"],
  "pageBetweenSheets": true
}

pageBetweenSheets: true guarantees each sheet starts on a new page — otherwise printing continues as soon as there’s room.

What converts cleanly

• Cell formats (numbers, dates, currency, custom)
• Conditional formatting (colour bars, data scales, icon sets)
• Cell merges, borders, shading
• Headers and footers using the usual Excel codes (&P, &N, &D, &F, &A)
• Charts (column, bar, line, pie, scatter) — as embedded SVGs
• Images anchored to cells
• Formulas (evaluated server-side, including INDIRECT/LOOKUP)
• Groupings and outlines (optionally expanded)

What needs extra attention

• VBA macros (.xlsm): ignored; cell values remain as computed
• External links: not re-fetched — the last values stored in Excel are used
• ActiveX controls: not supported
• Pivot tables with external data sources: rendered using cached data
• Conditional formatting using IF formulas: evaluated in full

What it’s used for

• Monthly closings, reporting exports from BI tools that emit Excel
• Delivery notes, order lists from inventory systems
• HR exports, payroll statements in printable form
• Price lists with thousands of rows for customer dispatch
• Inspection protocols from QA templates

Comparison with alternatives

	Dokmatiq Excel-to-PDF	Microsoft Excel (server)	LibreOffice Calc headless	xlsx-to-pdf (Node)
Formula evaluation	yes	yes	yes	limited
Charts	vector	vector	vector	often as image
Conditional formatting	complete	complete	mostly	limited
Honour print areas	yes	yes	yes	often not
Scaling	API-side	problematic	daemon management	on you
Fidelity to Excel’s print preview	high	highest	good	medium

For simple tables many open-source libraries suffice. As soon as formulas, charts and conditional formatting enter the picture, support cost quickly exceeds the cost of using an API.

Common pitfalls

1. “The PDF has too many pages” — set printArea or fitToPage: true; otherwise every filled cell is printed
2. Columns cut off — fitToPage: true on width; otherwise Excel scales at “actual size”
3. Fonts differ — register corporate fonts via the font-upload endpoint
4. Long texts in cells — wrapText must be enabled in the source file; the API does not change cell layout