Converting Microsoft Office documents to PDF

Synopsis

Did you ever want to convert an excel document to a PDF print-out without having to open the file and print it manually using CutePDF or PDF-PRO?

Then use x2pdf, a set of simple VBA scripts that do the job assuming you have a working version of Microsoft Office (2007/2008/2010).

Package

The scripts have been packaged as a self-extracting executable.

Download X2PDF

Background

OpenOffice and/or LibreOffice offer this kind of functionality as an off-the-shelf feature using an appropriate command-line option. Alas, Microsoft is not so keen on accomodating expert users. Their Office applications lack any such option. However, they have the functionality to export documents in PDF format. Automating the process to allow for batch processing or drag-and-drop is the missing bit of technology.

I found a simple VBA-script by Michael Suodenjoki on the net. Inspecting his word2pdf script showed me a simple way to get the job done. All credits go to Michael.

Installation

Just run the executable and approve of the installation.

Usage

Graphical

The installation generated three program icons on your desktop (a blue one for Word files, a green one for Excel files and a red one for Powerpoint files). Drag and drop your document onto the appropriate icon, and a PDF file will appear next to your original file (in the same directory you dragged it from).

Command-line

You can run the the script using cscript. E.g., check the help message:

start a cmd-terminal
run cscript /nologo "%X2PDF%doc2pdf.vbs"

If you are smart enough to operate a cmd terminal, I guess you will be smart enough to take it on from there. Good luck!

License<

This work by Walter Daems is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. This work has been based on doc2pdf by Michael Suodenjoki.

You are free to modify it, redistribute it, sell it, dump it, whatever.

This software may be used on a ‘as is’ basis. Use at your own risk. No warranty whatsoever, express nor implied.