excel2pdf

Excel → A4 PDF Converter

Convert Excel spreadsheets to print-ready A4 PDF tables with proper Chinese rendering. Column headers keep their original text (no English translation).

Quick start

Run the bundled script directly on the Excel file:

python scripts/excel_to_pdf_signin.py "C:\path\to\file.xlsx"

The script auto-detects:

• Column layout (drops empty/merged placeholder columns)
• Page orientation (landscape for ≥7 columns or >35 rows)
• Chinese system font (Windows: Microsoft YaHei; macOS: PingFang; Linux: Noto CJK)
• Output path (same directory, same name, .pdf extension)

Common options

# Set custom title and wider margins
python scripts/excel_to_pdf_signin.py roster.xlsx --title "签到表" --margin 12

# Force landscape, higher rows for manual sign-in
python scripts/excel_to_pdf_signin.py signin.xlsx --orientation LANDSCAPE --row-height 8

# Pick specific columns (0-based indices), custom widths
python scripts/excel_to_pdf_signin.py sheet.xlsx --columns 0,1,2,3,7,8 --col-widths 0.1,0.2,0.15,0.2,0.2,0.15

# Larger font for sparse data (e.g. room lists)
python scripts/excel_to_pdf_signin.py rooms.xlsx --font-size 12 --margin 12 --row-height 8

# Explicit output path
python scripts/excel_to_pdf_signin.py data.xlsx --out "D:\output\result.pdf"

# Specific sheet (for multi-sheet workbooks)
python scripts/excel_to_pdf_signin.py multi.xlsx --sheet "1号台"

# Custom column widths (13 columns, give more space to 学号/电话 to avoid wrapping)
python scripts/excel_to_pdf_signin.py roster.xlsx --col-widths 0.07,0.13,0.10,0.10,0.04,0.05,0.10,0.07,0.08,0.04,0.05,0.09,0.08

Decision guide

Orientation

• Portrait (default): ≤6 columns and ≤35 rows — typical for sign-in sheets
• Landscape: ≥7 columns or >35 rows

Margins

• Crowded tables: --margin 5
• Normal: --margin 8 (default)
• Sparse data (room lists, etc.): --margin 12

Row height

• Dense sign-in sheets: --row-height 6 (default)
• Hand-writing sign-in sheets (needs space): --row-height 8
• Room/roster lists (fewer rows): --row-height 10

Column selection

• The --columns flag takes 0-based indices (A=0, B=1, ...).
• If omitted, the script auto-drops columns where both header AND all data rows are empty.
• Typical sign-in sheet (skip sign-number placeholder columns): --columns 0,1,2,3,7,8

Column widths

• Equal width by default: usable_width / ncols
• Use --col-widths with ratios summing to ~1.0 to allocate more space to wide columns (学号, 电话, 导师, 院系) and less to narrow ones (性别, 年度).

Full reference

usage: excel_to_pdf_signin.py EXCEL [options]

Options:
  --title TEXT         PDF title (default: derived from filename)
  --orientation PORTRAIT|LANDSCAPE  (default: auto-detect)
  --margin N           Page margin in mm (default: 8)
  --row-height N       Row top/bottom padding in pt (default: 6)
  --columns LIST       Column indices (0-based), comma-separated
  --col-widths LIST    Column width ratios, comma-separated
  --font PATH          Chinese .ttf/.ttc file path
  --font-size N        Cell font size in pt (default: 10)
  --sheet TEXT         Sheet name to process (default: active sheet)
  --out PATH           Output PDF path

Output style

All generated PDFs share:

• Blue header row (#4472C4) with white text
• White body background with black grid borders
• Center-aligned text throughout
• Bold bottom border on header row
• Original Chinese column headers preserved (no translation)

Dependencies

Install once per environment:

pip install openpyxl reportlab

Requires a Chinese-capable font on the system (auto-detected).