Export Google Chat to PDF and Save All Conversations
If you or your organization uses the Google Chat application there is always a chance that you have to Export Google Chat to PDF format.
If such a data preservation requirement is upon you you might be surprised to see that there isn’t any direct export mechanism. This limitation can lead to lots of confusion. However, not to worry we have a number of ways. Let’s get straight into the methods starting with the one involving Gmail.
Export Google Chat to PDF by Sending it to Gmail and Print
- Open Google Chat.
- Take your cursor to a message and click on three vertical dots (More actions) in the popup.
- Select “Forward to Inbox” in the fly-out menu.
- Go to your Gmail Inbox and open the mail with the subject “Fwd: Chat with recipient…”.
- Then, click on the Printer icon at the top right corner.
- This opens a new tab with a print preview screen on top.
- In the destination tab, choose Save as PDF and hit Print.
- Finally, use the Save window to browse for a location, name the file, and hit Save.
Copy-Paste Messages in Doc
- Select All Chats.
- Copy the conversations (Ctrl/Cmd + C).
- Then, open Google Docs and paste the content (Ctrl/Cmd + V).
- Click on File > Hover over Download > Select PDF document (.pdf).
- Finally, browse for a location on your device, type a suitable name, and hit Save.
Take a Screenshot and Save Google Chat as a PDF
- Take a Screenshot (On Windows): Use the Snipping Tool.
- Open it and click on New.
- Hold your cursor and select Google Chat.
- Then, release the cursor.
- In the image preview, go to File and select Print…
- Then, inside the Printer options, choose Microsoft Print to PDF, and hit Print.
- Inside the Save Print Output As window, enter a suitable name and click on Save.
Use Google Takeout to Get Chat Data Out
- Go to (https://takeout.google.com/) and deselect all default selections.
- Scroll till you see the Chat option and mark the checkbox next to it.
- Scroll down again and click on Next Step.
- Choose the Destination, Frequency, File type & size.
- There is also an option to break the export into multiple splits or 1, 2, 4, 10, or 50 GB size.
- Then click on Create Export.
- Once the export finishes, it will appear in the preset destination; go there and download the Google Chat data.
What to do After you Export Google Chat as PDF?
Try out every method described in this text and use the one you find the most easy and convenient. Moreover, if you are an admin exporting out messages in bulk for all employees in your organization it is possible you may have to document other workloads too. Fortunately,
you need not repeat the manual maneuver rest of the data like Emails, contacts, calendars, etc as the SysTools G Suite Export tool can handle bulk export easily.
This tool can export Google Workspace Email to PST as well all you have to do is follow these simple steps. Just get a copy, open, select endpoints, mark workloads, apply date filter, validate source and destination, map users, preview, select, prioritize, and validate start Export.
Conclusion
So now users have a complete idea of how to export Google Chat to PDF in any situation, we gave them 4 distinct ways to make this task possible. In an organization, it is not just the chats that need to be saved and documented. The methods outlined here work perfectly for Google Chats for other major workspace workloads you can use the professional export tool suggested in the content.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to Add Google Chat in Gmail UI to Make the Export Process Easier?
- Login to Gmail and click on the cog icon at the top right corner.
- Click on See all settings
- Go to the Chat and Meet tab
- In the Chat section select Google Chat and Save Changes.
Your Browser should reload on its own after which you will see that a new chat icon is present at the leftmost bar.
There is also a green dot with the text “Active” next to the Gmail search bar indicating that you are online on Google Chat.
Do Google Chat conversations count towards my Google Cloud storage Quota?
Yes, like every other Google app every bit of text, and files you share/keep on chat occupy some space in your overall Google Account storage. You can reduce some of it by backing up the chats and deleting them from the cloud.
Is Google Chat the same as the Google Messages app on my phone?
No, Google Chat and Google Messages are two entirely different applications.
- Chat is for one-to-one/group conversations between people with Gmail accounts.
- Messages make use of your mobile number to send and receive text, images, etc.
