How to Save a PDF as a Google Doc

You can easily convert a PDF to a Google Doc, then save it.
Michael Michael (175)
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To save a PDF as a Google Doc, it must first be converted via Google Drive. We're actually impressed by how easily PDFs become Google Docs and how much of the formatting gets retained. Once it's a Google Doc, then it will be saved as one, too.

We'll walk you through the steps to save a PDF as a Google Doc.

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open file picker icon google docs

On the main Google Docs screen, select the "Open file picker" folder icon.

file selector google docs

Either drag the PDF file into the selector or click select file from your device to search through your computer for the PDF file.

open pdf in google docs

Once you select the PDF file, it will be opened automatically in Google Drive. If it does not automatically open, ensure that you allow pop-ups from Google Docs.

Click Open in Google Docs at the top of the page to have the PDF converted and opened in Google Docs. This may take a minute or two, depending on the length of the document.

file name in google docs

Now that your PDF is open in Google Docs, it is automatically saved in Google Docs under the file name of the PDF.

Change Google Doc file name

You may want a different file name for the PDF that you converted to a Google Doc. If so, simply click the file name on the top-left and edit it how you wish.

Fix formatting issues from conversion

While Google does a great job converting PDFs to Google Docs, it's still not a perfect process. Even if you're converting a Word doc to a Google Doc, you should go through your new Google Doc to ensure that the formatting is the way you want it. You may find that you need to change the margins, double-space, or make other changes to the Google Doc.

Choose "Download."
Michael Michael (175)
0

If you're looking to share your Google doc as a PDF, then you'll need to convert it. You don't actually "save" a Google Doc as a PDF file; you "download" the Google Doc as a PDF file.