Hosting an open house this weekend and I need a printable visitor sign-in sheet saved as a PDF. Mine from Word keeps merging the name and email columns, so has anyone got a blank one?
I had the same problem with Word, and a simple table worked better than spaces or tabs. Make three columns for name, email, and phone, then save or print it as a PDF so the columns stay in place.
If your columns are merging, try making the table in Word first with clear borders, then use File, Export, Create PDF. What version of Word are you on?
I usually just make these in Excel since the columns stay put.
- Put your headers (Name, Phone, Email) across the top row.
- Highlight 15 to 20 blank rows and turn on borders.
- Go to File > Save As and select PDF.
Simplest thing first: in Word, the columns usually merge because the table is wider than the page margins, so check the table width before exporting. Try File then Print and choose your system’s PDF option rather than Save As, which often keeps the layout cleaner. Keep a backup of the original Word file either way. I don’t have a blank sheet to hand, but a plain two column table with fixed widths works fine.
I ran into the same Word table mess when I made a sign-in sheet last year. Tip is to lock the column sizes then drop the file into PDFcap, it keeps the layout without merging.
Avoid using Word’s built in save as PDF if the print preview already looks wrong. Not sure if it’s the same on Mac.
I’d start by fixing the Word table rather than converting it first. Make the name and email columns wider, then use “Print” and choose “Save as PDF” or “Microsoft Print to PDF.”
For an open house, I usually include Name, Email, Phone, and Time In, with plenty of blank rows for handwriting.
Had the same thing when printing a family event sheet. I made a simple three-column table in Word for Name, Email, and Notes, then set the page to landscape and used “Save as PDF” rather than Print to PDF. Turning off AutoFit and setting fixed column widths stopped the name and email columns merging. Google Docs also exports this cleanly if Word still misbehaves.
weird that your columns merge, usually that’s a table thing. i make all our intake sheets in word with a proper table, then save as pdf, works fine. google docs has free sign-in sheet templates too if you search the gallery, just export to pdf and you’re set.
@distracted_hunter I had the exact same formatting issue when printing consent forms for my thesis. I agree that locking the column sizes first is the only way to stop the layout breaking. My old laptop would just freeze up trying to export anything from Word anyway. Throwing the locked file into PDFcap makes sense as a workaround when the normal print option fails.