Excelguru Help Site - Printing Worksheets To A PDF File (Using Early Binding)

Introduction:
This article contains code examples to print worksheets to PDF files.

These code examples are built for PDFCreator, an open source PDF writer utility. Unlike Adobe Acrobat and CutePDF, which both require pro versions to create PDF's via code, PDFCreator is completely free! Download PDF Creator from Sourceforge here. Please note that this code will NOT work with Adobe Acrobat.

It should also be noted that each of the examples in this section use an Early Bind. If you are not familiar with the difference between Early and Late Binding, please read our article on Early vs Late binding.

Routines Included In This Article:

Print a Single Worksheet to a PDF File
Print Multiple Worksheets to Multiple PDF Files
Print Multiple Worksheets to a Single PDF File
Print Specified Worksheets to a Single PDF File

Versions Tested:
These routines were originally developed using PDFCreator 0.9.1 (GPLGhostscript.exe download package) on Windows XP Pro (SP2). The current versions below contain numerous improvemnents and were fully tested using PDFCreator 1.2.0 on Windows 7 Ultimate x64. Excel versions tested include:

Excel 2003
Excel 2007
Excel 2010 (32 bit)
Excel 2010 (64 bit)

NOTE: Before you "go it alone" with trying to adapt any of these routines, you may want to read this article, which shares some of the idiosyncrasies discovered in the development of the PDFCreator code samples.

Print a Single Worksheet to a PDF File:

Code:

Option Explicit
Sub PrintToPDF_Early()
'Author       : Ken Puls (www.excelguru.ca)
'Macro Purpose: Print to PDF file using PDFCreator
'   (Download from http://sourceforge.net/projects/pdfcreator/)
'   Designed for early bind, set reference to PDFCreator

    Dim pdfjob As PDFCreator.clsPDFCreator
    Dim sPDFName As String
    Dim sPDFPath As String
    Dim bRestart As Boolean

    '/// Change the output file name here! ///
    sPDFName = "testPDF.pdf"
    sPDFPath = ActiveWorkbook.Path & Application.PathSeparator

    'Check if worksheet is empty and exit if so
    If IsEmpty(ActiveSheet.UsedRange) Then Exit Sub

    'Activate error handling and turn off screen updates
    On Error GoTo EarlyExit
    Application.ScreenUpdating = False
    Set pdfjob = New PDFCreator.clsPDFCreator

    'Check if PDFCreator is already running and attempt to kill the process if so
    Do
        bRestart = False
        Set pdfjob = New PDFCreator.clsPDFCreator
        If pdfjob.cStart("/NoProcessingAtStartup") = False Then
            'PDF Creator is already running.  Kill the existing process
            Shell "taskkill /f /im PDFCreator.exe", vbHide
            DoEvents
            Set pdfjob = Nothing
            bRestart = True
        End If
    Loop Until bRestart = False

    'Assign settings for PDF job
    With pdfjob
        .cOption("UseAutosave") = 1
        .cOption("UseAutosaveDirectory") = 1
        .cOption("AutosaveDirectory") = sPDFPath
        .cOption("AutosaveFilename") = sPDFName
        .cOption("AutosaveFormat") = 0    ' 0 = PDF
        .cClearCache
    End With

    'Delete the PDF if it already exists
    If Dir(sPDFPath & sPDFName) = sPDFName Then Kill (sPDFPath & sPDFName)

    'Print the document to PDF
    ActiveSheet.PrintOut copies:=1, ActivePrinter:="PDFCreator"

    'Wait until the print job has entered the print queue
    Do Until pdfjob.cCountOfPrintjobs = 1
        DoEvents
    Loop
    pdfjob.cPrinterStop = False

    'Wait until the file shows up before closing PDF Creator
    Do
        DoEvents
    Loop Until Dir(sPDFPath & sPDFName) = sPDFName

Cleanup:
    'Release objects and terminate PDFCreator
    Set pdfjob = Nothing
    Shell "taskkill /f /im PDFCreator.exe", vbHide
    On Error GoTo 0
    Application.ScreenUpdating = True
    Exit Sub

EarlyExit:
    'Inform user of error, and go to cleanup section
    MsgBox "There was an error encountered.  PDFCreator has" & vbCrLf & _
           "has been terminated.  Please try again.", _
           vbCritical + vbOKOnly, "Error"
    Resume Cleanup
End Sub

Print Multiple Worksheets to Multiple PDF Files:

Code:

Option Explicit
Sub PrintToPDF_MultiSheet_Early()
'Author       : Ken Puls (www.excelguru.ca)
'Macro Purpose: Print to PDF file using PDFCreator
'   (Download from http://sourceforge.net/projects/pdfcreator/)
'   Designed for early bind, set reference to PDFCreator

    Dim pdfjob As PDFCreator.clsPDFCreator
    Dim sPDFName As String
    Dim sPDFPath As String
    Dim lSheet As Long
    Dim bRestart As Boolean

    'Activate error handling and turn off screen updates
    On Error GoTo EarlyExit
    Application.ScreenUpdating = False
    Set pdfjob = New PDFCreator.clsPDFCreator
    sPDFPath = ActiveWorkbook.Path & Application.PathSeparator

    'Check if PDFCreator is already running and attempt to kill the process if so
    Do
        bRestart = False
        Set pdfjob = New PDFCreator.clsPDFCreator
        If pdfjob.cStart("/NoProcessingAtStartup") = False Then
            'PDF Creator is already running.  Kill the existing process
            Shell "taskkill /f /im PDFCreator.exe", vbHide
            DoEvents
            Set pdfjob = Nothing
            bRestart = True
        End If
    Loop Until bRestart = False

    For lSheet = 1 To ActiveWorkbook.Sheets.Count
        'Check if worksheet is empty and skip if so
        If Not IsEmpty(Sheets(lSheet).UsedRange) Then
            With pdfjob
                '/// Change the output file name here! ///
                sPDFName = "testPDF" & Sheets(lSheet).Name & ".pdf"
                .cOption("UseAutosave") = 1
                .cOption("UseAutosaveDirectory") = 1
                .cOption("AutosaveDirectory") = sPDFPath
                .cOption("AutosaveFilename") = sPDFName
                .cOption("AutosaveFormat") = 0    ' 0 = PDF
                .cClearCache
            End With
    
            'Delete the PDF if it already exists
            If Dir(sPDFPath & sPDFName) = sPDFName Then Kill (sPDFPath & sPDFName)
    
            'Print the document to PDF
            Worksheets(lSheet).PrintOut copies:=1, ActivePrinter:="PDFCreator"
    
            'Wait until the print job has entered the print queue
            Do Until pdfjob.cCountOfPrintjobs = 1
                DoEvents
            Loop
            pdfjob.cPrinterStop = False
    
            'Wait until the file shows up before moving on
            'Important:  Counter must reach zero or hangs on next iteration
            Do Until pdfjob.cCountOfPrintjobs = 0
                DoEvents
            Loop
        End If
    Next lSheet
    
Cleanup:
    'Release objects and terminate PDFCreator
    Set pdfjob = Nothing
    Shell "taskkill /f /im PDFCreator.exe", vbHide
    On Error GoTo 0
    Application.ScreenUpdating = True
    Exit Sub

EarlyExit:
    'Inform user of error, and go to cleanup section
    MsgBox "There was an error encountered.  PDFCreator has" & vbCrLf & _
           "has been terminated.  Please try again.", _
           vbCritical + vbOKOnly, "Error"
    Resume Cleanup
End Sub

Print Multiple Worksheets to a Single PDF File:

Code:

Option Explicit
Sub PrintToPDF_MultiSheetToOne_Early()
'Author       : Ken Puls (www.excelguru.ca)
'Macro Purpose: Print to PDF file using PDFCreator
'   (Download from http://sourceforge.net/projects/pdfcreator/)
'   Designed for early bind, set reference to PDFCreator

    Dim pdfjob As PDFCreator.clsPDFCreator
    Dim sPDFName As String
    Dim sPDFPath As String
    Dim lSheet As Long
    Dim lTtlSheets As Long
    Dim bRestart As Boolean

    '/// Change the output file name here! ///
    sPDFName = "Consolidated.pdf"
    sPDFPath = ActiveWorkbook.Path & Application.PathSeparator

    'Activate error handling and turn off screen updates
    On Error GoTo EarlyExit
    Application.ScreenUpdating = False
    Set pdfjob = New PDFCreator.clsPDFCreator

    'Check if PDFCreator is already running and attempt to kill the process if so
    Do
        bRestart = False
        Set pdfjob = New PDFCreator.clsPDFCreator
        If pdfjob.cStart("/NoProcessingAtStartup") = False Then
            'PDF Creator is already running.  Kill the existing process
            Shell "taskkill /f /im PDFCreator.exe", vbHide
            DoEvents
            Set pdfjob = Nothing
            bRestart = True
        End If
    Loop Until bRestart = False

    'Assign settings for PDF job
    With pdfjob
        .cOption("UseAutosave") = 1
        .cOption("UseAutosaveDirectory") = 1
        .cOption("AutosaveDirectory") = sPDFPath
        .cOption("AutosaveFilename") = sPDFName
        .cOption("AutosaveFormat") = 0    ' 0 = PDF
        .cClearCache
    End With
    
    'Delete the PDF if it already exists
    If Dir(sPDFPath & sPDFName) = sPDFName Then Kill (sPDFPath & sPDFName)

    'Print the document to PDF
    lTtlSheets = Application.Sheets.Count
    For lSheet = 1 To Application.Sheets.Count
        On Error Resume Next 'To deal with chart sheets
        If Not IsEmpty(Application.Sheets(lSheet).UsedRange) Then
            Application.Sheets(lSheet).PrintOut copies:=1, ActivePrinter:="PDFCreator"
        Else
            lTtlSheets = lTtlSheets - 1
        End If
        On Error GoTo EarlyExit
    Next lSheet

    'Wait until all print jobs have entered the print queue
    Do Until pdfjob.cCountOfPrintjobs = lTtlSheets
        DoEvents
    Loop

    'Combine all PDFs into a single file and stop the printer
    With pdfjob
        .cCombineAll
        .cPrinterStop = False
    End With

    'Wait until the file shows up before closing PDF Creator
    Do
        DoEvents
    Loop Until Dir(sPDFPath & sPDFName) = sPDFName

Cleanup:
    'Release objects and terminate PDFCreator
    Set pdfjob = Nothing
    Shell "taskkill /f /im PDFCreator.exe", vbHide
    On Error GoTo 0
    Application.ScreenUpdating = True
    Exit Sub

EarlyExit:
    'Inform user of error, and go to cleanup section
    MsgBox "There was an error encountered.  PDFCreator has" & vbCrLf & _
           "has been terminated.  Please try again.", _
           vbCritical + vbOKOnly, "Error"
    Resume Cleanup
End Sub

Print Specified Worksheets to a Single PDF File:

Code:

Option Explicit
Sub PrintToPDF_SpecifiedSheetsToOne_Early()
'Author       : Ken Puls (www.excelguru.ca)
'Macro Purpose: Print to PDF file using PDFCreator
'   (Download from http://sourceforge.net/projects/pdfcreator/)
'   Designed for early bind, set reference to PDFCreator

    Dim pdfjob As PDFCreator.clsPDFCreator
    Dim sPDFName As String
    Dim sPDFPath As String
    Dim sSheetsToPrint As String
    Dim sSheets() As String
    Dim lSheet As Long
    Dim lTtlSheets As Long
    Dim bRestart As Boolean

    '/// Change the output file name here! ///
    sPDFName = "Consolidated.pdf"
    sPDFPath = ActiveWorkbook.Path & Application.PathSeparator
    
    '/// Record the sheets you want to print here! ///
    '/// Use sheet names separated by commas only  ///
    sSheetsToPrint = "Sheet1,Sheet3"
    
    'Activate error handling and turn off screen updates
    On Error GoTo EarlyExit
    Application.ScreenUpdating = False
    Set pdfjob = New PDFCreator.clsPDFCreator

    'Check if PDFCreator is already running and attempt to kill the process if so
    Do
        bRestart = False
        Set pdfjob = New PDFCreator.clsPDFCreator
        If pdfjob.cStart("/NoProcessingAtStartup") = False Then
            'PDF Creator is already running.  Kill the existing process
            Shell "taskkill /f /im PDFCreator.exe", vbHide
            DoEvents
            Set pdfjob = Nothing
            bRestart = True
        End If
    Loop Until bRestart = False

    'Assign settings for PDF job
    With pdfjob
        .cOption("UseAutosave") = 1
        .cOption("UseAutosaveDirectory") = 1
        .cOption("AutosaveDirectory") = sPDFPath
        .cOption("AutosaveFilename") = sPDFName
        .cOption("AutosaveFormat") = 0    ' 0 = PDF
        .cClearCache
    End With
    
    'Split the sheets into an array
    sSheets() = Split(sSheetsToPrint, ",")

    'Delete the PDF if it already exists
    If Dir(sPDFPath & sPDFName) = sPDFName Then Kill (sPDFPath & sPDFName)

    'Print the document to PDF
    For lSheet = LBound(sSheets) To UBound(sSheets)
        On Error Resume Next 'To deal with chart sheets
        If Not IsEmpty(Application.Sheets(sSheets(lSheet)).UsedRange) Then
            Application.Sheets(sSheets(lSheet)).PrintOut copies:=1, ActivePrinter:="PDFCreator"
            lTtlSheets = lTtlSheets + 1
        End If
        On Error GoTo EarlyExit
    Next lSheet

    'Wait until all print jobs have entered the print queue
    Do Until pdfjob.cCountOfPrintjobs = lTtlSheets
        DoEvents
    Loop

    'Combine all PDFs into a single file and stop the printer
    With pdfjob
        .cCombineAll
        .cPrinterStop = False
    End With

    'Wait until the file shows up before closing PDF Creator
    Do
        DoEvents
    Loop Until Dir(sPDFPath & sPDFName) = sPDFName

Cleanup:
    'Release objects and terminate PDFCreator
    Set pdfjob = Nothing
    Shell "taskkill /f /im PDFCreator.exe", vbHide
    On Error GoTo 0
    Application.ScreenUpdating = True
    Exit Sub

EarlyExit:
    'Inform user of error, and go to cleanup section
    MsgBox "There was an error encountered.  PDFCreator has" & vbCrLf & _
           "has been terminated.  Please try again.", _
           vbCritical + vbOKOnly, "Error"
    Resume Cleanup
End Sub

This article was also published as the August 2006 Office Newsletter at Cimaware.com, makers of ExcelFIX. (Unfortunately, the history of these newsletters is no longer available on their site.)

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