Convert XLS to PDF online and print every visible Excel 97-2003 sheet to a shareable PDF. Upload files up to 20GB and download the converted result in a few clicks.
Convert PDF to XLSDrag & Drop your XLS file here
XLS files, up to 20GB
Files stay private.
Automatically deleted after 24 hours.
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20GB upload limit.
4.8/5
Trusted for 1,827,796+ conversions
HOW IT WORKS
Three steps, no account, nothing to install.
01
Upload your XLS
Drag and drop or upload an .xls file from Excel 97-2003, Excel for Mac or a website's export button.
02
Convert to PDF
Keep PDF as the output format and start the conversion. The file type, separator and character set are detected, and every visible sheet is printed.
03
Download the PDF
Download one PDF per file. Pages are A4 unless the workbook sets its own paper size.
XLS
XLS is the binary workbook format of Microsoft Excel 97 to 2003. A sheet holds at most 65,536 rows and 256 columns. Banks, shops and business software often download data as .xls even when the file is really CSV text or an HTML table.
PDF is a fixed-layout document format designed to preserve page appearance across devices and operating systems. It is widely used for reports, forms, manuals, invoices, and files intended for sharing or printing.
FILE FORMATS
SOURCE
Excel used the binary XLS format from Excel 97 until 2007. It stores sheets, formulas, charts, formatting and VBA macros, but each sheet stops at 65,536 rows and 256 columns. Old reports, accounting exports and many web app downloads still arrive as .xls, and some of those are really CSV or HTML with the wrong name.
TARGET
Adobe introduced the Portable Document Format in 1993, and it has been an open ISO standard since 2008. A PDF fixes text, fonts, images and vector graphics onto pages, so a document prints and displays exactly as intended on any device. It is the default for sharing, printing, signing and archiving.
| Feature | XLS | |
|---|---|---|
| Developed by | Microsoft | Adobe (ISO 32000) |
| File extension | .xls | |
| Editable | Yes | Limited |
| Layout | Grid of cells | Fixed pages |
| Best for | Excel 97-2003 and legacy systems | Sharing, printing, archiving |
| Opens in | Excel, LibreOffice, Google Sheets | Every device and browser |
USE CASES
Practical workflows where XLS to PDF conversion is useful.
Print a bank or shop export
Statements and order lists downloaded as .xls are often CSV or HTML underneath. They are printed as proper tables.
Read an export in an older encoding
Exports saved in Windows-1251 or another older code page are detected, so names print as real letters instead of symbols.
Share an old workbook with people without Excel
Anyone can read the sheets as PDF pages in a browser or PDF reader.
Leave hidden sheets out
Hidden sheets are skipped, so only the visible sheets end up in the PDF.
Print an Excel web archive
Workbooks saved by Excel as a 'Single File Web Page' with an .xls name are printed with each sheet one after another, under its sheet name.
Archive legacy spreadsheets
Keep fixed PDF copies of old .xls reports for records that must stay readable.
Send figures without formulas
Formula results are printed, not the formulas, so recipients see only the numbers.
Print order lists with their dates
ISO dates such as 2024-03-11 in a CSV export print exactly as written.
Read a workbook on a phone
Open the PDF in the phone's built-in viewer to read the sheets without an office app.
Send statements to your accountant
Accountants and auditors who ask for PDF statements get the exported data as printed tables.
SUPPORTED FILES
Excel 97-2003 workbooks and XLS-named web exports are supported.
Every visible sheet, in order.
CSV, HTML tables and Excel XML files are detected and printed as tables.
Paper size and print areas are respected.
Skipped, as in Excel's printing.
Upload several workbooks and download the PDFs as a ZIP.
TROUBLESHOOTING
Most differences come from fonts and features the target format handles differently.
01
The document is laid out by LibreOffice, and fonts the server doesn't have are replaced with similar ones. Embed fonts in the original to avoid this.
02
Open the file, save a copy without a password and upload that copy.
03
A cut-off or broken upload can't be read. Download or copy the original again.
04
There's no automatic shrink-to-fit. Set fit-to-page in the workbook first.
05
Hidden sheets are skipped.
06
CSV and HTML exports get LibreOffice's default header and footer.
PowerPoint, Excel and LibreOffice can save XLS as PDF once installed. dragdropdo does the same conversion in the browser, on any device.
| What matters | dragdropdo | Desktop Office Suites |
|---|---|---|
| Nothing to install | ✓Yes. Runs in any modern browser. | ~Yes, a large install. Microsoft 365 also needs a subscription. |
| Works on phones and tablets | ✓Yes. Desktop, Android, iPhone and iPad. | ~Mobile apps exist, but exporting other formats is limited. |
| Batch conversion | ✓Yes. Add many files and download one ZIP. | ~No. One file at a time unless you script it. |
| Share finished files | ✓Yes. Send a unique link from the result page. | ~You upload and share the files yourself. |
| Pricing | ✓Free with daily limits. $2.99 or $6.99 passes for unlimited use, no monthly plan. | ~Free (LibreOffice) to subscription (Microsoft 365). |
| Exact Microsoft Office rendering | ✓Rendered by LibreOffice, so fonts and some effects can differ slightly. | ~Office renders its own files exactly. |
Other tools use different pricing, limits and workflows. This comparison describes dragdropdo's own features without assuming every other tool works the same way.
1.8M+
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Files kept
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WHY DRAGDROPDO
Convert XLS to PDF in your browser, with nothing to install and nothing kept after 24 hours.
Private by default
Files are encrypted in transit and deleted from our servers automatically after 24 hours.
No install required
Convert in any modern browser on Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iPhone or iPad. No app and no sign-up wall.
Big files and batches
Upload files up to 20GB each, add several at once, and download the results one by one or as a ZIP.
Share & download
Save finished files to your device or pass them on with a share link from the result page.
MORE XLS TOOLS
XLS is a proprietary spreadsheet file format created by Microsoft Excel, widely used for data representation, analysis, and storage. Featuring advanced calculation capabilities, users can create complex formulas, charts, and pivot tables. XLS files efficiently handle large datasets while maintaining compatibility with various applications, making them essential for business and educational purposes.
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FAQ
Answers to common questions about dragdropdo's XLS to PDF converter.
