ODS to PDF
ODS is the standard spreadsheet format for LibreOffice and OpenOffice, and Excel and Google Sheets can save in it as well. This tool turns an ODS file into a PDF for printing, sending or attaching, and it does so on your own device, so the spreadsheet stays with you.
How to use it
- Decide which sheets to include under Which sheets, and whether to tick Fit each sheet to one page wide.
- Pick an ODS file, or several at once (TeddyPDF handles up to 5 files at a time for free), or drop them onto the box. On your first visit the converter downloads, which is about 78 MB.
- Save the PDFs one by one, or grab them all in a single ZIP file.
How your sheets are laid out
The PDF shows the spreadsheet the way it would come off a printer. Number, date and currency formats stay as they are, along with cell colours, borders, merged cells and charts, and any print areas, page breaks and portrait or landscape settings stored in the file are followed. Hidden sheets, rows and columns do not appear. Where the file names no paper size, A4 is used; where it does name one, such as US Letter, that size is kept.
Fit each sheet to one page wide is switched on to begin with. It scales down wide sheets until every column sits across a single page, and runs on to as many pages downwards as the sheet requires. Switch it off if you would rather keep the print settings saved in the spreadsheet. Which sheets lets you choose between all visible sheets and just the sheet that was selected when the file was last saved.
Figures, limits and the first download
Values appear exactly as they were when the file was last saved, because formulas are not recalculated. The one exception is formulas that are always changing, such as NOW and TODAY, which show the date and time at which you convert. Comments are dropped. Nothing the spreadsheet links to is fetched or refreshed: figures pulled in from other files show the stored copy, which may be old, and web data or pictures held only online are missing. Files locked against editing convert normally without a password, but password-protected spreadsheets cannot be opened, so save a copy without the password first. Macros never run, and .ots templates are handled in the same way as ordinary files.
The converter is LibreOffice, the free office suite whose own format is ODS, working inside your browser. Files saved by other programs, such as Excel or Google Sheets, may look slightly different, and a missing font is swapped for a similar one, which can alter the layout, so look over the PDF before relying on it. It is fetched from this website first, then the page cuts off its own internet access before your file is opened. The engine is about 78 MB and also powers the Word, Excel, PowerPoint, ODT and RTF to PDF tools. Browsers usually keep it, so later runs are much faster, though they may delete it to save space. Wi-Fi is advisable. It is made for computers; a phone may be slow or give up, and phones can only take files up to 10 MB.
Questions and answers
What is an ODS file?
ODS stands for OpenDocument Spreadsheet, an open standard for spreadsheet files. LibreOffice Calc and OpenOffice use it by default, Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets can read and write it, and a good number of public bodies publish their data in it.
Why has my spreadsheet turned into so many pages?
A wide sheet carries its extra columns over onto further pages unless it is scaled to the page width. Tick Fit each sheet to one page wide to keep every column on one page across.
Is it possible to convert only one sheet?
Yes. Under Which sheets, pick Only the sheet that was selected when the file was saved. If the file holds no record of which sheet that was, TeddyPDF tells you so instead of guessing.
Why does the first conversion take a while?
On that first run your browser has to fetch the converter, which is roughly 78 MB. It is normally kept afterwards, so later files take only a few seconds.
Does TeddyPDF upload my file?
No. Your browser does all the work, on your own device. Before it opens your file, this page shuts off its own ability to send or fetch anything, and your browser holds it to that. Once the software a tool needs has loaded and the privacy lock is on, the work carries on even with your Wi-Fi off. How the lock works.