Howchoo – How-to and DIY Guides for Makers, Programmers, and Everyone

Feb 23, 2021

0

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.

Google Workspace

×

1

Howchoo is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission at no cost to you.

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

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

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.

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. 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.