How to Fix Excel Date Changes and Hash Symbols When Converting to PDF
Question details
The user needs to fix an issue where Excel date values change formatting or display as hash symbols (####) after exporting the spreadsheet to a PDF.
- Product
- Excel
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Exporting or saving an Excel spreadsheet containing dates into a PDF document.
- Observed behavior
- During the PDF conversion process, dates either change their format unexpectedly or convert into hash symbols, especially when the cells contain long month names like 'September'.
Before converting your file, switch to the Print Preview mode in your spreadsheet to check if the dates are already being truncated or showing up as hash symbols in the print layout.
Increase Column Width and Row Height
Expanding the cell dimensions ensures that longer date formats have enough space to display fully, preventing Excel from substituting the text with hash symbols during the PDF export.
Hash symbols (####) in Excel indicate that the numerical or date value is too wide to fit within the current cell dimensions. This often happens with dates containing long month names. Widening the column resolves this visual error.
Click the column letter header (e.g., Column C) that contains the dates displaying as hash symbols.
Hover your cursor over the right border of the column header until it turns into a double-sided arrow, then double-click to automatically adjust the width to fit the longest date.
If the text is wrapping vertically, click and drag the bottom boundary of the row number to make the row taller.
Go to File > Save As, select PDF from the format dropdown, and save the file to verify the dates display correctly.
Use the 'Print to PDF' Feature
Using the system's Print to PDF virtual printer instead of the standard 'Save As' function can often bypass rendering glitches that alter date formats.
Convert Spreadsheets to PDF Flawlessly with WPS Office
WPS Office features a robust, built-in PDF converter that perfectly maintains your cell dimensions, formatting, and date values, preventing frustrating hash symbol errors during document export.
- 1. Open your file in WPS Spreadsheet: Launch WPS Office and open your .xlsx or .xls file containing the date data.
- 2. Access the PDF export tool: Navigate to the 'Menu' or 'Tools' tab and click on the 'Export to PDF' option.
- 3. Export without errors: Configure your export layout preferences and click 'Export'. The resulting PDF will accurately display all date values without hash symbols.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Excel show hash symbols (####) instead of dates?
Excel displays hash symbols when a cell containing a number, date, or time is too narrow to show the entire value. It does this to prevent displaying partial or misleading numbers. Widening the column resolves the issue.
Does changing the date format help fix PDF conversion errors?
Yes. Applying a shorter date format (e.g., 09/25/2023 instead of September 25, 2023) reduces the character length in the cell. This makes it less likely for the text to exceed the column width and convert into hash symbols during the PDF export.
Why do dates look fine in Excel but turn into #### in the PDF?
The rendering engine used for PDF conversion sometimes calculates font sizes and margins slightly differently than the screen display. If the date width is already very close to the cell boundary in Excel, the slight shift during PDF generation can trigger the hash symbol error.
