ATOI365D#Office365Challenge One of the biggest challenges as a blogger – is to keep writing even if you think everyone knows it already. Because they don’t. At any given time somebody, somewhere still needs to learn something you’ve already forgotten. I still interact with students on a regular basis, who don’t know you can save PDF’s straight from Office. So here goes.

Day:  345 of 365, 20 left
Tools:  Office 365, Excel, Word, PowerPoint

Description: Saving Microsoft Office Files as PDF
Audience:  All

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What does Microsoft say?  You can use the Office programs to save or convert your files to PDFs so that you can share them or print them using commercial printers. And you won’t need any other software or add-ins. Examples include resumes, legal documents, newsletters, files that are intended to be read only (not edited) and printed, and files that are intended for professional printing.

I’ve previously written about PDF’s where you can Share a Word Document as a PDF directly via email and opening PDF’s in Word, but for some reason I’ve never explained the basics.

What are the benefits of saving a document as a PDF?
  • Compatibility on other computers
  • Files are smaller
  • Professional appearance
  • Not that easy to edit

How to PDF a document:

To PDF a Word or PowerPoint document is fairly easy – as we’re already working with specific page sizes. On the File Menu, click on Save As. Select PDF – Voila!

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You also have the option for Standard and Minimum Size Publishing:

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Saving a PDF from Excel however, requires some extra tweaking. As your Excel page is not necessarily a page size, you have to stipulate which area to PDF. Under the Save As Options, click on More Options. Choose PDF as the file type, then select Options. Here you’ll have the ability to select the area. By default I will setup a Print Area first, preview it to make sure I’m happy with the outcome, select the area and only then Save as PDF using the selection option. Active Sheets will use the print areas:

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PDF Away!

Overview of my challenge: As an absolute lover of all things Microsoft, I’ve decided to undertake the challenge, of writing a blog every single day, for the 365 days. Crazy, I know. And I’ll try my best, but if I cannot find something good to say about Office 365 and the Tools it includes for 365 days, I’m changing my profession. So let’s write this epic tale of “Around the Office in 365 Days”. My ode to Microsoft Office 365.
Keep in mind that these tips and tricks do not only apply to Office 365 – but where applicable, to the overall Microsoft Office Suite and SharePoint.