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How To Save a Google Doc as a PDF

by Hung Nguyen

You can also read this article in German, Spanish, French, Indonesian, Italian and Portuguese.

Here are two ways to save any Google doc to PDF format.

Due to their accessibility and ease of use, Google documents have become a standard for any digital workspace. Gone are the times of conflicting file versions and frustrated editors. The service makes it super easy to work together on a file—even at the same time. Also, they make downloading materials in PDF format rather simple.

How To Save a Google Doc as a PDF File

  1. Open your document in Google Docs.

  2. Under “File,” click “Download.”

  3. Choose “PDF” or another format of your choice.

  4. Double-check that the file looks right.

2023-05-29 - How To Save a Google Doc as a PDF

Saving a Google doc as a PDF file in three clicks

My PDF Doesn’t Look Right

 

Although it’s simple to convert files from Google Drive to PDF documents, sometimes the export isn’t 100% accurate. Scanned content, especially, can be the cause of many a formatting nightmare.

If this happens, you can convert a Google doc to a .docx file and then use our converter to change it to a PDF with the formatting intact.

How To Convert a Google Doc to a PDF Using Smallpdf

 

To start off, save the Google doc as a .docx file by going to “File” and then clicking “Download.” Once you’ve downloaded the document, follow these steps:

  1. Go to the Smallpdf Word to PDF tool.
  2. Drag and drop the .docx into the field.
  3. Hit “Download” to save your PDF or continue editing.
2023-05-29 - How To Save a Google Doc as a PDF - Smallpdf

Easy-peasy! And the layout won’t be changed!

We don’t directly support Google Docs files, but when it comes to Microsoft Office documents, Smallpdf is the most popular online Word to PDF converter. Consider it a clever switch between programs while you convert your work to the required PDF format.

You can take advantage of our free tool to quickly save your Google doc as a PDF. You can also import files directly from cloud storage services, including Google Drive and Dropbox, by selecting the option in the drop-down menu instead of dragging and dropping a file.

Save PDF Back To Google Doc

 

Google Drive also offers the option to convert PDF to a Google doc. All you have to do is drag and drop the PDF to your Google Drive, double-click on it, and pick the option to open as a Google doc.

Google will use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to extract the content of your document into an editable Google doc. If this doesn’t work, head back to our converter, save your PDF back to Word format using the OCR option, and then try to export it as a Google doc again.

You can use Smallpdf for other Google documents as well, including presentations and spreadsheets. There is a tool for each file type on our website: Excel to PDF, PPT to PDF, and even JPG to PDF.

As an online site, you can convert your file from your Chrome, Safari, or Edge browsers. As an added bonus, our integration with Google Drive lets you save your documents back to the cloud storage system directly. That means you won’t have to download files to your local drive first—neat, right?

Your Secure Document Processing Tool

 

At Smallpdf, we’re all about making PDF easy for you—millions of monthly users rely on our tools!

Smallpdf’s servers use TLS encryption to ensure a safe and protected environment from the moment you upload a document to when you download the created PDF file. Check out our Privacy page for more information on this.

Be sure to check out our suite of 20+ PDF tools for all things online paperless file management. We’re here to help!

Hung Nguyen
Hung Nguyen
Senior Growth Marketing Manager @Smallpdf