Automatically Save Google Docs as PDF to Your Computer
Automatically saving to your computer on a schedule requires a combination of Google Apps Script and a local tool to download the files, since scripts run in the cloud and cannot write directly to your hard drive. The practical solution is to save to Google Drive automatically and then sync that Drive folder to your computer.
The cloud-to-local approach
Automatically saving to your computer works by combining two pieces: a Google Apps Script that saves PDFs to a specific Drive folder on a schedule, and Google Drive for Desktop (formerly Backup and Sync) that syncs that folder to your local machine. The result is that new PDFs appear in your computer's file system automatically.
Setting up Drive for Desktop
Install Google Drive for Desktop from Google's website. During setup, choose to mirror a specific Drive folder to your computer. Any PDFs saved to that Drive folder by your Apps Script will sync to the corresponding local folder automatically.
The Apps Script part
Write a Google Apps Script function that exports documents from a specific folder to PDF and saves them to the target Drive folder. Set a time-based trigger to run the function daily or weekly. The PDFs will appear in your computer's synced folder without any manual action.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the Chrome extension automatically save PDFs to my computer?
No. The extension requires a user click to run. Fully automatic saving to your computer requires Apps Script plus Drive for Desktop sync.
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Install the free Chrome extension and start converting your Google Docs to PDF in one click.
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