How to Download a Locked PDF from Google Drive

Introduction

• Objective: Download a PDF from Google Drive with the download button disabled.
• Situation: PDF can be read but not downloaded or printed.

Steps to Download the PDF

1. Access the JavaScript Code

   • Link in the description to a Google Doc containing the JavaScript script.
   • Copy the entire script from the document.

2. Open the PDF

   • Navigate to the PDF you want to download.
   • Scroll to the last page of the PDF.

3. Open the Console

   • Press the F12 key on your keyboard to open the Developer Tools console.

4. Paste the JavaScript Code

   • Right-click in the console and select Paste.
   • Press Enter to execute the code.

5. Handling Warnings

   • If a warning appears about pasting code into DevTools:
     • Type allow pasting and hit Enter to enable pasting.
     • Re-paste the code and press Enter again.

Result

• The PDF should begin downloading successfully.
• Note: The JavaScript converts each page of the PDF into an image, creating a new PDF file with those images.

Disclaimer

• The downloaded PDF will not have selectable text; it will only consist of images of each page.

Conclusion

• Quick tutorial to download PDFs from Google Drive with disabled download options.
• Thank you for watching!