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Published On: Thu, Dec 2nd, 2021

How to Open PDFs on Your Google Drive

No matter if you are working alone or as part of a group project, the need to be able to work on documents and then share them with others is a vital part of business life. If you are part of a research team, working for a company’s creativity department, or even in the finance department, there are many potential reasons to have a way to edit files for others. This is particularly true for PDFs which can be shared and worked on by multiple users at the same time. But this means that if you are working by committee in this way, there needs to be a way for everyone to have access to the given document at the same time. This is one of the big advantages of Google Drive.

photo/ Jan Vašek

               Google Drive is an online storage system that people and companies can use to store their files, pictures, videos, and other content they want to have in a secure but easily accessible location. Many businesses use Google Drive for this because it is a useful and efficient system that allows many users to use it at one time. As an example, a team of researchers might be compiling a report for a company or for an upcoming investors’ meeting. The team members are all researching different areas but must compile the research into a single report. They can use Google Drive to save their various findings into a single area which can later be merged together to create a single document. Although this can be done with any document type, it is especially useful for PDFs. To use PDFs though, you need a special way of opening and working on them.

               While PDFs are useful, they can be difficult to work with without a special online PDF editor or PDF editing software. The online PDF editors come with a series of tools that can assist you in editing the PDF. This extends beyond editing though and offers other abilities such as the ability to merge two or more PDFs with a merge tool, or an e-sign tool that can be used to virtually sign a document that makes it valid. There are many PDF editors available, finding the best PDF editor is a matter of finding the one that suits your needs. Although there are many expensive PDF editors available, there is also the option to use a free PDF editor from Google Drive.

Tips on How to Use Google Docs

               To open and edit a PDF from your Google Drive without a PDF editor, there are a few basic steps to follow. Firstly, you must identify the correct PDF file within your Google Drive account. From there all one needs to do is right-click the file and select the option to open with Google Docs. There should be a new tab or window with the PDF document in Google Docs. With your PDF open, you will then be able to edit and fill in whatever you need to. After you are finished, you will then be able to save your work back into your Google Drive Account. While this is very quick and easy, there are some issues when using Google Docs as a means to edit PDFs.

               If you open a PDF with Google Docs, you might notice some changes. While Google Docs does offer the ability to view and edit PDFs, it does not do so perfectly. Google Docs was built as a means of writing and sharing text documents, but PDFs are not texts strictly speaking but rather image files that often feature text. So, when opening them on Google Docs, there is the potential for distortion of the page and the images. In addition to this, Google Docs lacks some of the advanced editing features that other PDF editors have. Such as the ability to merge PDFs or manipulate images within the PDF. If this is an issue, there are other alternatives to edit and share PDFs available.

Better Solutions to Opening a PDF in Google Docs

               One of the best online PDF editors available is Lumin PDF. While Lumin PDF does offer all the tools that other PDF editors use, it does have a distinct feature that it shares with Google Docs. That is the ability to work on documents from Google Drive and then save them there as a means of sharing them with coworkers or whoever else needs to see/work on the document. This gives Lumin PDF a big advantage relative to other PDF editors on the market. It works well as a business tool because it works with Google Drive and is also a major asset for distance learning in 2021 since many remote schools post their assignments in Google Drive.

               Probably the most well-known PDF editing service is Adobe Acrobat. Adobe Acrobat has been around a long time and is a trusted PDF editing software with many tools. And while it is one of the premier editing services, it does come with some issues. The main issue with Adobe Acrobat is the price tag. While it might not be a major issue for businesses to pay so much for a PDF editing software it might be an issue for many people. In addition to this Adobe Acrobat comes with a little bit of a learning curve which is something to consider. In general, though, it is a great alternative to Google Docs.

               There are many other online PDF editors that can be used to edit and work on PDFs with, but these are a few of the major ones that can be used. Although Google Drive is a great tool to work with, its PDF editor leaves something to be desired. This is why having a PDF editor like Lumin PDF might be preferable. Being able to work on your project or document with other people can be challenging, and this is especially true with so many of us working remotely over the last 2 years or so. But by having the right tools and organization, this can be overcome.

Author: Trycia Marks

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