May 7, 2021
Google Doc saved as PDF will not keep formatting when transferred back to Google Doc for editing?
I'm working on creating editable templates. For this I'll create it in Google Docs and save as a PDF. I'll then transfer the file as a PDF for the end user. They will then be instructed to open back up in a Google Doc that they can then edit/personalise it.
Issue is that when I convert back to the Google Doc, the imagery is all gone and the text formatting is all over the place and illegible.
Sharing via the normal Google way won't work for what I'm needing to do. So any advice would be amazing! Other questions on here say it's an issue if original wasn't created in Google Docs, which these templates are.
Thanks in advance for the help
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Hello, Adam,
When you convert a file to a different format, that format will change it in obvious as well as subtle ways. If that format doesn't support features that are used in the app that created the original document, the content that utilized those features may be altered when the PDF is converted to another format, even if it is the original format the document had been in. There aren't any workarounds to avoid that.
If you want to send the file to end users rather than share it, I'd suggest downloading it to .docx (Word) format instead of PDF. Users can then open the document and convert it back to Docs format by going to File > Save as Google Docs (or they can continue to work with it in .docx format from within Google Docs). You will have better success retaining your formatting that way than converting the document to PDF and then trying to convert the PDF back to Docs.
~Jo
Google Product Expert Volunteer (not a Google employee)
Community Manager Niharika S recommended this
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May 7, 2021
Hello, Adam,
When you convert a file to a different format, that format will change it in obvious as well as subtle ways. If that format doesn't support features that are used in the app that created the original document, the content that utilized those features may be altered when the PDF is converted to another format, even if it is the original format the document had been in. There aren't any workarounds to avoid that.
If you want to send the file to end users rather than share it, I'd suggest downloading it to .docx (Word) format instead of PDF. Users can then open the document and convert it back to Docs format by going to File > Save as Google Docs (or they can continue to work with it in .docx format from within Google Docs). You will have better success retaining your formatting that way than converting the document to PDF and then trying to convert the PDF back to Docs.
~Jo
Google Product Expert Volunteer (not a Google employee)
Community Manager Niharika S recommended this