You can no longer quickly store PDFs to Google Drive for access or printing later because Google earlier this year stopped supporting Cloud Print. To restore the functionality to Chrome’s desktop version, there is an official Google Chrome extension. We’ll walk you through how to download the extension and use the feature in this article.
Get Save to Google Drive for PDFs in Google Chrome
Using Save to Google Drive extension on Desktop
Install the Chrome Web Store’s Save to Google Drive extension. After the installation is finished, a new option labelled Save to Google Drive will appear in the print interface. Using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+P or from the list of choices that show after clicking on the three dots menu in the top-right corner, you may access the print interface.
2. Select the new option that says Save to Google Drive under Print destination by clicking on See more. After using it once, the Save to Google Drive option will appear in the default list of printers.
3. To begin printing after selecting Google Drive, click Print.
4. At this point, you should approve the Google Drive Chrome extension. Select the Google account you wish to store the generated PDF file in and grant the necessary permissions.
5. As shown below, the PDF file has been successfully posted to my Google Drive by the extension.
You can use this extension to swiftly save images and URLs to your Drive, as Google emphasises on the extension’s page. Simply select Save Image/Link to Google Drive from the context menu when you right-click on an image or link.
Save to Drive on Chrome for Android
You can save PDFs to Drive using the file picker that comes after using the print option in Chrome for Android, as Rio Akasaka, the product manager for Google Drive, pointed out on Twitter. However, due to varying file picker implementations, this might not function on all Android smartphones. On the OnePlus 7T I tested it on, it performed as expected.
1. Tap the three dots menu, select Share, then select Print to print.
2. After selecting Save as PDF, go to the Drive area on the left sidebar.
3. After making sure you’re going in the proper direction, click Save to upload the file to your Google Drive account.
Quickly Save PDFs to Drive
So that’s how you quickly and easily save PDFs to Google Drive. Although Cloud Print is no longer available, it is encouraging to note that one of its use-cases has been replaced with the aforementioned Chrome plugin. Check out our list of Google Cloud Print alternatives and choose one that best matches your needs if you’re seeking for a Cloud Print-like solution. If you frequently work with a large number of PDF files, don’t forget to read our article on editing PDF files for free.