Tool for converting Google Docs to PDF via Markdown. Along the way, it allows
replacing variables in the document (indicated by {{VARIABLE_NAME}}) with
values from another Google Doc.
First, make sure you have a recent version of node installed. It works on
node v15.0.1 but may not work on older versions.
Before installing, you'll need credentials to run the application. These
credentials need to be stored in the file ~/.config/gdoc2pdf/credentials.json.
First, you need to enable the Google Docs API, if it is not already enabled.
- Go to your Google Cloud Console and
go to
APIs and Services. - Go to the
API Libraryand search forGoogle Docs - Click on the
Google Docs API. - Turn on the API (you may have to click a button like
Manage).
To obtain this file, use the instructions from Google and create credentials for a desktop app. You want to "Create Desktop application credentials," so follow the appropriate section! Once downloaded, copy them in the appropriate folder:
mkdir -p ~/.config/gdoc2pdf
mv ~/Downloads/client_secret_<STUFF>_apps.googleusercontent.com.json ~/.config/gdoc2pdf/credentials.json
Make sure that the first redirect_uri in the file is something like
urn:ietf:wg:oauth:2.0:oob.
Now, install and run!
npm install
npm run build
npm link
gdoc2pdf
Note that on the first run, it will ask for authorization on Google Drive's API. This will happen once every 7 days.
To convert a Google Doc to PDF or Markdown, you can do this out of the box by
running gdoc2pdf. Then, when the interface prompts you for the google doc
file, input the Google Doc URL. Input the output file you want to create at the
prompt. For everything else, use the default settings.
To do this quickly, you can set the flags:
gdoc2pdf -f <GOOGLE_DOC_URL> -o output.pdf
To use variables, in the document, write {{VARIABLE_NAME}} wherever you want a
variable piece of text.
Then, make a separate Google document with the corresponding values. The document should have the following structure:
## {{VARIABLE NAME}}
Value for the variable.
It can have multiple lines with line breaks in between, but it will ignore
trailing whitespace.
## {{ANOTHER_VARIABLE_NAME}}
### Comments I don't want in the form as values
This is the value for this other variable
In this secondary doc, you should set the headings Heading 2 and Heading 3
for your variable names. That is, do not actually write ##, set the heading
level in Google Docs instead.
Now, use the URL of the secondary doc when prompted with "What file has values for variables in the doc?"
To do this quickly, you can set the flags:
gdoc2pdf -f <GOOGLE_DOC_URL> -v <SECONDARY_GOOGLE_DOC_URL> -o output.pdf
To highlight every sentence not present in a separate document (for instance, a
template document), you simply need to set the flag -t.
gdoc2pdf -f <GOOGLE_DOC_URL> -t <SECONDARY_GOOGLE_DOC_URL> -o output.pdf
Note that if required flags are not included, the GUI will display for choosing options.
| Flag | Description | Default | Required |
|---|---|---|---|
-f |
The URL of the Google Doc to convert | N/A | Yes |
-o |
The path to the output .pdf or .md file |
N/A | Yes |
-v |
The URL of a Google Doc with variables to insert in the document | 'none' |
No |
-t |
The URL of a Google Doc which has template phrases not to highlight | 'none' |
No |
-c |
A custom .css stylesheet for the output PDF. |
'default' |
No |
-s |
Whether to include strikethrough text | 'no' |
No |
- Does not support tables
- Does not support images
- The conversion strips out all formatting except bold, italic, heading, strikethroughs, and lists.
- Only one line will ever be placed between two lines of text. To add more lines, enter a new line with only a single space.
- If you have issues with authentication, make sure your Google account has permission to access the files used.
- If you do already have permissions, make sure you enable the Google Docs API
(as described in Installation). Then, delete the
~/.config/gdoc2pdf/token.jsonfile and retry.
React
Typescript
Django
Laravel
Facebook
Microsoft
Google
Alibaba
D3
Tencent