How to save Gmail as PDF
How to save Gmail as PDF: open the message, click the printer icon and choose Save as PDF as the destination. You get a text-based PDF of that message or the whole conversation in under a minute. If you need the attachments and the Message-ID in the record, download the .eml and convert it in your browser instead; nothing is uploaded.
Save Gmail as PDF with the printer icon
Gmail has no Save as PDF button, but every browser does. Gmail's print view hands the message to the browser's print dialog, and the dialog can write a PDF instead of sending the page to a printer. The result keeps real text, so you can search and copy it later.
- Open the email in Gmail on a computer.
- Click the printer icon at the top right of the message (next to the reply arrow). To print the whole thread, use the Print all icon at the top of the conversation instead.
- A print preview opens. In Destination, choose Save as PDF (Chrome, Edge) or click the PDF button in the bottom-left corner (Safari on a Mac).
- Check the page count, then click Save and pick a folder.
Keyboard shortcut: with the message open, press Ctrl+P (Windows) or Cmd+P (Mac) and the same dialog appears. If the preview is blank, your browser blocked the pop-up that Gmail opens for printing; allow pop-ups for mail.google.com and try again.
Have the email as a file (EML, MSG, MBOX)? Convert it to PDF in your browser: nothing is uploaded.
One message or the whole conversation
The two printer icons do different things. The icon inside a single message prints only that message, with its own From, To, Date and Subject lines. The Print all icon at the top of the thread prints every message in the conversation, oldest first, each with its header block.
For a record of a negotiation or a complaint, Print all is usually what you want: one PDF, every reply, in order. For a single receipt or a confirmation, the per-message icon gives a shorter file. Collapsed messages inside the thread are expanded automatically in the print view, so you do not need to open each one first.
Download the email as .eml and convert it with attachments
The print path has one gap: attachments are not in the PDF, only their names. When the attachment is the point (an invoice, a signed contract, a photo), download the message as a file and convert that file instead. Gmail stores the complete message, attachments included, in an EML file.
- Open the email, click the three dots (More) at the top right of the message.
- Choose Download message. A
.emlfile lands in your Downloads folder. - Go to SaveMail and drop the
.emlfile on the page. The message opens with its headers, inline images and an attachment list with names and sizes. - Press Save as PDF. The browser's print dialog opens; choose Save as PDF and save.
- Download the attachments one by one, or all of them as a ZIP, and keep them next to the PDF.
The file is parsed by JavaScript in your browser tab. There is no upload endpoint, no account and nothing to delete afterwards. The rendered page also shows the Message-ID, which the Gmail print view leaves out; that header is what lets someone match your PDF to the original message on a server. The same steps work for the EML to PDF converter page.
Which method to use
| You need | Use | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| A quick copy of one email | Printer icon, Save as PDF | One PDF, text searchable, no attachments |
| The whole thread in order | Print all icon, Save as PDF | One PDF with every reply |
| Attachments and full headers for a file or a case | Download message, then the converter | PDF with Message-ID plus the original attachments |
| Hundreds of emails | Google Takeout, then the converter | An MBOX you can open and save message by message; see export Gmail emails to PDF |
What a Gmail PDF does and does not contain
A PDF made through the print dialog contains the sender, recipients, date, subject and body, plus inline images that were loaded. It does not contain attachments, the Message-ID, or hidden quoted text that Gmail collapsed under the three-dot marker in the body. Page size and margins come from the print dialog, which is why two people can get a different page count from the same email.
A PDF made from the downloaded .eml adds the Message-ID and lists every attachment. It still does not merge several messages into one file: the converter renders one message at a time, so a batch means one Save as PDF per message. Encrypted messages (S/MIME, PGP) are shown as encrypted, not decrypted, in either path. Nothing in either PDF is editable; if you need to redact, do that in a PDF editor afterwards.
On a phone, the Gmail app has Print in the three-dot menu of a message; the share or print sheet on iPhone and Android offers Save as PDF or Save to Files. The steps are in save email as PDF on iPhone.
Frequently asked questions
How do I download Gmail as PDF?
Open the message, click the printer icon, set the destination to Save as PDF and click Save. For the attachments as well, use the three dots, Download message, then convert the .eml file in your browser.
Can I save a Gmail email as PDF?
Yes. Gmail's print view plus your browser's Save as PDF option produces a text-based PDF of one message or the whole conversation. No extension or add-on is needed.
How do I save multiple Gmail emails as a PDF?
Gmail prints one conversation at a time. For many messages, export them with Google Takeout as an MBOX file, open it in the converter and save each message as PDF; a merged multi-message PDF is not something the converter makes.
Does opening a PDF in Gmail download it?
No. Clicking a PDF attachment opens Gmail's preview; the file is downloaded only when you click the download arrow or Add to Drive.
How do I convert a Gmail email to PDF with attachments?
Use Download message to get the .eml file, drop it on savemail.app, press Save as PDF and download the attachments as a ZIP from the attachment list.
How do I convert Gmail to Outlook?
Add the Gmail account to Outlook desktop over IMAP, let it download, then export it to a PST from File, Open and Export. See Gmail to PST.