Google Docs is an essential productivity tool for digital work.

This article will cover how to save a Google Doc as a PDF on the Desktop version of Google Docs.

What Is Google Docs Used For?

You can use Google Docs for many different tasks.

For example, you can jot down key concepts in a Doc while you're watching a coding tutorial or reading through an article.

Or you can use it to create an e-book or other learning material for your students.

Google Docs is also a staple in the workplace for sharing documents with your teammates.

You can also use it to craft your perfect résumé or cover letter.

And the list goes on.

When you're ready to save your Google Doc, you have the choice of saving it in various formats. Let's look at some of them now.

Why Save a Google Doc as a PDF?

A PDF, one of the most popular document types, is short for Portable Document Format and was created by Adobe in 1991.

Before then, files shared digitally were somewhat problematic as the formatting of documents could get seriously altered depending on what system you were using and so on.

Adobe created PDFs so that people could send electronic files in a straightforward way, without their formatting getting compromised.

Thanks to PDFs, your files look as you intended. The styles the receiver sees are the original ones you saved when creating the document.

Without a doubt, the styles in the document are going to be preserved.

How to Save a Google Doc as a PDF File

The method we'll discuss now is for downloading any Google Doc file in PDF format on your local computer system.

First, log into your Google Account.

Next, open your Google Drive Account.

You can view all your saved documents on the Google Drive home screen.

Go ahead and open the document of your choice by double-clicking on the document. You can also open it by holding down the control key and touchpad at the same time for MacOs or right-clicking for WindowsOS. Then select Open With > Google Docs.

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If you don't have a document you want to save as a PDF already, you can create a new file altogether by selecting the New button and then Google Docs. Then either create a blank document or choose a template instead.

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Once the file is opened, edited, and ready to save, choose File > Download > PDF Document(.pdf).

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The PDF document will be downloaded on your computer and saved in your Downloads folder by default.

You will now have access to the Google Doc you created in Google Drive in a PDF format locally on your computer system.

How to Save a PDF Back to Google Drive

What if you want to save this PDF in Google Drive?

All you need to do is go to your Downloads folder (or wherever you saved your file), select the file, and drag it into Google Drive.

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Now you have both the Google Doc and PDF version saved in your Google Drive.

And there you have it.

In this quick guide, you learned how to save Google Doc documents as PDFs on both your computer system and Google Drive.

Thanks for reading!