# How to Edit a PDF in Google Drive Using Google Docs

Need to make a quick edit to a PDF without installing anything? Google Drive can open a PDF in Google Docs, which turns it into an editable Google Doc. You make your changes there and download the result as a new PDF.

This is a conversion, not true PDF editing: Google Drive converts the PDF to text in a Google Doc. It works best on simple, text-based files. This guide does not cover annotating or signing PDFs.

> **Warning:** before you start, check that your PDF suits conversion. Google recommends files of 2 MB or smaller. Bold, italics, font size, font type and line breaks are likely to be retained, but lists, tables, columns, footnotes and endnotes are not likely to be detected.

**Before you start:** you need a Google account and the PDF on your computer or already in Google Drive.

## Step 1: Upload your PDF to Google Drive

1. Go to [drive.google.com](https://drive.google.com).
2. If the PDF is already in Drive, find it and skip to step 2. Otherwise, drag the file from your computer into the Drive window, or click **New** > **File Upload** and choose it.

## Step 2: Open the PDF with Google Docs

1. Right-click the PDF in Drive.
2. Point to **Open with** and click **Google Docs**.

Drive converts the file and opens the result in Google Docs as a Google Doc. The PDF itself is not edited; it stays in Drive as it was.

## Step 3: Edit the document

Edit the text as you would any Google Doc. While you are online, Google Docs saves your changes automatically as you type.

![A converted PDF open in the Google Docs editor, showing the document title, toolbar and ruler above an editable page headed How to Request an Experiment, with the body text pixelated](https://workover.io/api/proxy-image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwp.wpdocsync.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F09%2F3f0ddb0a-c8a2-4ceb-9b89-fe5fb00ca8c1-how-to-edit-a-pdf-in-google-drive-using-goo.png)

Check the layout carefully against the original, especially anywhere the PDF had lists, tables or columns.

## Step 4: Download your edited PDF

1. In Google Docs, click **File** > **Download** > **PDF Document (.pdf)**.
2. Save the file. This is a new PDF; the original in Drive is still the unedited version.

If you no longer need them, you can delete the converted Google Doc, or the original PDF, from Drive afterwards.

## Summary

- **Open with** > **Google Docs** creates an editable copy; it does not change the PDF.
- Keep to simple PDFs of 2 MB or less, and check lists, tables and columns after conversion.
- Download the edited version with **File** > **Download** > **PDF Document (.pdf)**.