Document tabs split one Doc into sections, but the PDF download only exports the tab you’re on unless you change one setting. Here’s how to get everything into one file.
- Download all tabs from the File menu (fastest)
- Print all tabs to PDF (margins, scale, pages)
- Use Docs to PDF Pro (pick tabs, save to Drive)
Downloading all tabs with File > Download
Use this when you want a quick PDF of the whole Doc with no extra tools.
- Open the Doc in Google Docs on a computer.
- Click File > Download > PDF document (.pdf).
- In the dialog, the default is Current Tab. Change it to All Tabs.
- Click Export.
Result: One PDF with every tab, in the order shown in the tabs panel, saved to your browser’s Downloads folder.
Google describes this dialog in Use document tabs in Google Docs. Reorder tabs by dragging them in the Show tabs & outlines panel before you export.
Note: An all-tabs PDF can include a page showing each tab’s name before that tab’s content. If you don’t want those pages, use the add-on method below.
Printing all tabs to PDF
Use this when you need to adjust margins, scale or the page range before saving.
- Click File > Print, or press Ctrl + P (Windows) or Cmd + P (Mac).
- Choose Print all tabs.
- In the browser’s print panel, set Destination to Save as PDF.
- Adjust margins, scale or pages, then click Save.
Result: A single PDF of all tabs that matches the print preview. Labels in the print panel come from your browser, so they vary between Chrome, Edge and Safari.
To fix the document’s own margins rather than the print margins, change the margins in Google Docs first.
Downloading chosen tabs with Docs to PDF Pro
Use this when you want only some tabs, no tab-name pages, or the PDF saved straight to Google Drive. This is the method shown in the video above.
Docs to PDF Pro is our sister add-on for Google Docs. Its listing says it exports all tabs into a single PDF.
- Install Docs to PDF Pro from the Google Workspace Marketplace.
- In your Doc, go to Extensions > Docs to PDF Pro and launch the converter.
- Under Conversion Settings, leave Include tab names as pages when exporting multi-tabbed documents unticked to skip tab-name pages.
- Under Tab Selection, choose All Tabs or pick specific tabs.
- Under Output Destination, choose to download the PDF, save it to Google Drive, or both.
- Click Convert Current Document to PDF.
Result: One PDF of the tabs you chose, downloaded, saved to Drive, or both.
The listing also covers password protection and bulk conversion of several Docs. It states that conversion runs inside your Google account.
Comparing the methods
| Method | Best for | Works on |
|---|---|---|
| File > Download > All Tabs | Fast, free PDF of every tab | Docs on a computer |
| File > Print > Print all tabs | Margins, scale, page range | Docs on a computer (browser print panel) |
| Docs to PDF Pro | Chosen tabs, no tab-name pages, Drive saving | Docs in a desktop browser |
Platform differences
- Computer: both Download and Print ask you to choose current tab or all tabs. Download defaults to Current Tab.
- Mobile apps: the tab choice described in Google’s help is for computers. For a reliable all-tabs PDF, export on a computer.
- Pageless Docs: pageless format hides page breaks, headers and footers. Switch to Pages in File > Page setup to control how the PDF paginates.
- Limits: a Doc can have up to 100 tabs, nested up to 3 levels.
Troubleshooting
- Only one tab is in the PDF. The dialog was left on Current Tab. Download again and choose All Tabs.
- Tabs are in the wrong order. Drag them into order in the tabs panel, then export again.
- Extra pages with tab names. These are tab-name pages. Use Docs to PDF Pro with that option unticked, or export tabs one at a time.
- You can’t find the tabs. Open the left panel with Show tabs & outlines at the top left.
- The PDF never appears. Check your browser’s Downloads folder and allow downloads for docs.google.com.
Related next steps
- For single tabs, email and mobile exports, see the full guide to export Google Docs as PDF.
- Starting from separate Docs? Learn how to combine several Google Docs into one PDF.
- Need to restrict access? Export a password-protected PDF.
- Want one editable Doc instead? Merge multiple Google Docs into one.
More export how-tos are in the convert and export hub.