How to save an email as a PDF on Mac

How to save an email as a PDF on Mac: in Apple Mail select the message and choose File, Export as PDF; or press Cmd+P and use the PDF menu in the print dialog. Outlook for Mac and Gmail in Safari use the same PDF menu. For .eml, .emlx or .msg files, SaveMail converts them in the browser with nothing uploaded.

Apple Mail to PDF: File, Export as PDF

macOS has had a direct export in Mail for years, and it is the cleanest built-in path because it skips the printer dialog.

1. In Mail, click the message once so it is selected in the list. You can Cmd-click several messages; each becomes its own PDF.
2. Choose File, Export as PDF from the menu bar.
3. Pick a folder and click Save. The file is named after the subject.

The PDF keeps the header block (From, Subject, Date, To) and the body with inline images. Attachments are not in the PDF; they stay in the message, and you save them with File, Save Attachments or by dragging them to Finder. Exporting several selected messages gives several PDFs, not one merged file.

Have the email as a file (EML, MSG, MBOX)? Convert it to PDF in your browser: nothing is uploaded.

Apple Mail print to PDF for page control

Use the print dialog when you need to control the paper size, orientation or scale, for example to stop a wide table from being cut.

1. Open the message and press Cmd+P.
2. Set Paper Size and Orientation. Click Show Details if the dialog is collapsed.
3. Click the PDF button in the lower left and choose Save as PDF.
4. Name the file and Save.

Same dialog, same PDF menu, in every Mac app: Outlook for Mac (File, Print), Thunderbird, and Safari or Chrome when you print Gmail or Outlook on the web. The web paths are described in detail on save Gmail as PDF and save an Outlook email as PDF.

Convert email to PDF on Mac from a file (EML, EMLX, MSG)

Two common cases: a colleague sent you a .msg from Outlook that Mail will not open, or you dragged messages out of Mail into Finder and now have .eml files to archive. Either way you do not need a desktop converter.

1. Open the SaveMail converter in Safari, Chrome or Firefox and drop the file on the page.
2. The message renders with From, To, Cc, Date, Subject and Message-ID, the body with inline images, and the attachment list with names and sizes.
3. Press Save as PDF; the standard macOS print dialog opens, where the PDF menu works as usual.
4. Download attachments individually or as a ZIP.

Apple Mail stores messages as .emlx on disk; SaveMail treats EMLX as EML. An MBOX exported with Mailbox, Export Mailbox opens too, with every message listed so you can save each one; see MBOX to PDF. Files are parsed in the tab by JavaScript, nothing is uploaded, and the page works offline once loaded.

How to save an email as a PDF on Mac: methods compared

For an archive that may be needed later, keep the .eml next to the PDF. Only the file carries the raw headers and attachments; the PDF is the readable copy. More on this in the email archiving guide.

Common problems

• Export as PDF is grayed out. Select the message in the list rather than clicking inside the preview, or open the message in its own window first.
• The PDF cuts the right edge. Use the print path, set Orientation to landscape or reduce Scale.
• Quoted history makes the PDF long. In SaveMail, compact mode hides quoted replies and signatures.
• You need many messages at once. Export the mailbox as MBOX and open it in SaveMail, or print each one; a merged multi-message PDF is not something either path produces.

Printing to paper on a Mac, including the no-header question, is on print an email on a Mac.

Frequently asked questions