Merge Google Docs into One PDF Without an Extension

If you need to merge Google Docs into one PDF without installing anything, there are a few manual approaches. They all involve more steps than using the extension, but they work for occasional use.

Install Free Extension

Manual method: copy and paste into one Doc

Open a new Google Doc, then open each source document one at a time. Copy all the content from each document and paste it into the new Doc. Insert a page break between documents. When all content is in one Doc, export it as PDF with File > Download > PDF. The drawback is that pasting often breaks complex formatting, especially tables and images.

Manual method: use Google Docs Append add-on

The Google Workspace Marketplace has add-ons that append document content from one Doc to another. These preserve more formatting than copy-paste but still require processing content rather than merging pre-rendered PDFs. Results vary by document complexity.

Manual method: download each as PDF and use a web merger

Export each Google Doc as a PDF individually using File > Download > PDF. Then use a free web tool like Smallpdf or ILovePDF to merge the PDF files. This works but adds several extra steps and uploads your documents to a third-party server.

Why the extension is faster for regular use

If you merge documents more than once a month, the manual approaches cost significant time. The extension reduces a ten-minute process to under one minute. For occasional use, the manual methods are acceptable. For any kind of regular workflow, the extension pays for itself immediately.