How to open a PDF in Google Docs

I’ll take any opportunity to not have to leave the comfort of Google Workspace. Perhaps it’s because my part-time job effectively forces me to stick with Microsoft’s suite of apps, so this is my tiny act of rebellion.

So when I’m working with PDFs, I like to open—and sometimes even edit—them in Google Docs. Here’s how it works.

Table of contents:

How to open a PDF in Google Docs

Here’s how to turn a PDF into a Google Doc.

Go to drive.google.com.
Click New > File Upload, and then select the file you want to upload. Alternatively, you can drag and drop the file from your computer directly into Google Drive.
Right-click the PDF file you just uploaded.
Click Open with, and then select Google Docs.

That’s it.

How to edit a PDF in Google Docs

To edit a PDF in Google Docs, you’ll follow the instructions above for how to turn a PDF into a Google Doc, then you’ll edit it the way you would any other Google Doc.

For the most part, Google Docs does a decent job of turning simple PDFs into a Google Doc. It’ll even apply the appropriate styles—for example, Title, Subtitle, or Heading 2—to your text. But there’s a good chance it won’t nail all the formatting.

For example, in the side-by-side comparison below (PDF on the left; Google Docs on the right), the spacing in my bulleted list isn’t the same. Instead of having a table with three distinct columns, Google Docs merged the two right columns into one, big messy one. And the resolution for images in my Google Doc is lower—they look much grainier than the originals.

Split screen comparing a PDF and the converted version in Google Docs.

The conversion is even less accurate if you upload a more complicated PDF—for example, one that contains icons or checkboxes. As shown in the comparison below, Google Docs will smack the PDF with an ugly stick and focus mostly on extracting the text while keeping very basic formatting somewhat intact.