Save Email as PDF: Outlook, Gmail, Mac and Saved Email Files

How to Save an Email as PDF in Classic Outlook

Classic Outlook has no PDF entry in its Save As list. Microsoft's help says the Microsoft Print To PDF utility included in Windows 10 and Windows 11 lets you print any email message straight to a PDF.

1. Open the message you want to save.
2. On the File tab, select Print.
3. In the Printer drop-down, choose Microsoft Print to PDF.
4. Choose Print.
5. In the Save Print Output As box, choose a folder, type a file name and choose Save.

Source: Microsoft Support: Save an Outlook message as a .eml file, a PDF file, or as a draft.

Save an Email as PDF in New Outlook or Outlook on the Web

The same page covers new Outlook for Windows, Outlook on the web and Outlook.com. None of them lists PDF as a default Save as type either, and all three use Microsoft Print to PDF, which is included in Windows 10 and 11.

1. Open the message you want to save as a PDF.
2. In the message, select More actions, then Print, then Print.
3. In the Printer drop-down, select Microsoft Print to PDF.
4. Select Print.
5. In the Save Print Output As box, choose a folder and a file name, then choose Save.

In new Outlook, More actions then Save as saves the message as a file instead, which is useful when you want the original email and not a PDF. In Outlook on the web, More actions then Download saves an .eml or .msg file that you can turn into a PDF with the tool above. To do many emails from new Outlook, see saving new Outlook emails as PDF in bulk.

Print or Download a Gmail Email

On a computer, Google's help gives this route for a single email: open it, click More at the top right of the email, then click Print. For a whole conversation, open it and click Print all at the top right. If the sender used confidential mode, printing the message text and attachments is blocked.

Google's print help does not mention PDF. To get a PDF from Gmail, take the email out as a file: click More, then Download message, which saves an EML file. Drop that file on the tool at the top of this page and download the PDF from there.

Source: Gmail Help: Print Gmail messages.

Save as PDF on a Mac, and Print From Mail on iPhone

Apple's general steps for saving a document as a PDF on a Mac are: open it, choose File, then Print, then click the PDF button or open the PDF pop-up menu and choose Save as PDF. Then enter a name and a location. Apple adds that Security Options lets you require a password to open the document.

For Mail on iPhone, Apple's guide documents printing: in the message, tap the action button, then tap Print. If you have the email as an .eml or .msg file, open this page in your phone browser and use the tool at the top.

Source: Apple Support: Save a document as a PDF on Mac.

Save EML or MSG Files as PDF in Your Browser

Use the tool at the top when the email is already a file, for example a downloaded Gmail message, an Outlook export, or a message forwarded to you as an attachment.

1. Drop the .eml or .msg files onto the box at the top, or click Choose .eml or .msg files.
2. Look at the preview of the email. Pictures from the internet are not loaded by default, so the sender cannot tell you opened the email. If you want them in the PDF, click Load images above the preview.
3. Under Save as PDF, pick the paper size: A4 or US Letter.
4. Click Download PDF on the email. You get one PDF with selectable text and a header block with From, To, Cc, Date and Subject.

Everything runs in your browser and the files are not uploaded. Saving one PDF per email is free, with no limit on the number of emails. A file larger than 50 MB is rejected. The PDF is a readable copy and will not match a heavily designed email exactly. Chinese, Japanese and Korean text is supported; keep the original file as the record.

Saving Many Emails as PDF at Once

Printing each email to PDF in a mail app works for a handful. For a long thread or a folder of messages the free route is slow, because each email is a separate print and a separate file. The tool has a paid unlock for the bulk case (Case Pass, Pro or Legal): all emails as a ZIP of separate PDFs, or one PDF with the emails in date order.

The steps for the merged file, and what the merged PDF contains, are on the merge EML files into one PDF page. For converting a single file, see EML to PDF.

Which Way to Save an Email as PDF Fits Your Case

If you only want to read an .eml file and not save it, see opening an EML file.