• March 7, 2025
• in Tutorial, PDF, Google Drive
• 4 min read

Download protected pdf from google drive

Ever found yourself frustrated by a view-only PDF in Google Drive that you desperately need to download? You're not alone. Today I'm sharing a powerful, tested solution that actually works.

The Protected PDF Problem: Why Google Makes It Difficult

We've all been there – you find the perfect resource, but it's locked behind Google Drive's "view only" restriction. While Google implements these protections for valid copyright reasons, there are legitimate scenarios where downloading is necessary:

• Accessing academic materials you need offline
• Saving conference materials for later reference
• Backing up your own documents shared through limited-access links

Important Ethical Reminder

This tutorial is provided strictly for educational purposes. Always respect copyright laws and terms of service. Only use this technique for content you have legitimate permission to download.

The JavaScript Solution: Download in High Resolution

Unlike other methods that produce poor-quality screenshots or incomplete files, this approach creates a perfect, high-resolution PDF with all pages intact. Here's why this method is superior:

• Preserves image quality at optimal resolution
• Maintains proper page formatting
• Works with multi-page documents
• Creates a standard PDF file compatible with all readers
• Doesn't require installing suspicious third-party software

Step-by-Step Instructions

Follow these simple steps to download your protected PDF:

1. Prepare the Document

Open the protected PDF in Google Drive and scroll to the very bottom. This crucial step ensures all pages are loaded into your browser's memory.

2. Access Developer Tools

Right-click anywhere on the page and select "Inspect" or press: - Windows/Linux: Ctrl+Shift+I - Mac: Cmd+Option+I

3. Navigate to Console

Click on the "Console" tab in the developer tools panel. This is where we'll run our PDF-generating script.

4. Run the Magic Script

Copy the entire code block below and paste it into the console:

let trustedURL;
if (window.trustedTypes && trustedTypes.createPolicy) {
    const policy = trustedTypes.createPolicy('myPolicy', {
        createScriptURL: (input) => {
            return input;
        }
    });
    trustedURL = policy.createScriptURL('https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/jspdf/2.5.1/jspdf.umd.min.js');
} else {
    trustedURL = 'https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/jspdf/2.5.1/jspdf.umd.min.js';
}

// Load the jsPDF library using the trusted URL
let jspdf = document.createElement("script");
jspdf.onload = function () {
    // Create a PDF with higher quality images
    const { jsPDF } = window.jspdf;
    const doc = new jsPDF({
        orientation: 'portrait',
        unit: 'mm',
        format: 'a4'
    });

    let elements = document.getElementsByTagName("img");

    // Function to process each image
    const processImage = (index) => {
        if (index >= elements.length) {
            // All images processed, save the PDF
            doc.save("high_quality_download.pdf");
            return;
        }

        let img = elements[index];
        if (!/^blob:/.test(img.src)) {
            // Skip non-blob images
            processImage(index + 1);
            return;
        }

        // Create a high-resolution canvas
        let canvasElement = document.createElement('canvas');
        // Use double the display size for higher resolution
        canvasElement.width = img.naturalWidth || img.width * 2;
        canvasElement.height = img.naturalHeight || img.height * 2;

        let ctx = canvasElement.getContext("2d");
        ctx.imageSmoothingEnabled = true;
        ctx.imageSmoothingQuality = "high";

        // Draw the image at full resolution
        ctx.drawImage(img, 0, 0, canvasElement.width, canvasElement.height);

        // Get high-quality image data
        let imgData = canvasElement.toDataURL("image/jpeg", 1.0);

        // Calculate dimensions to fit on A4
        const pageWidth = doc.internal.pageSize.getWidth();
        const pageHeight = doc.internal.pageSize.getHeight();

        const imgRatio = canvasElement.height / canvasElement.width;
        let imgWidth = pageWidth - 20; // margins
        let imgHeight = imgWidth * imgRatio;

        // If image is taller than page, scale it down
        if (imgHeight > pageHeight - 20) {
            imgHeight = pageHeight - 20;
            imgWidth = imgHeight / imgRatio;
        }

        // Add a new page for each image except the first
        if (index > 0) {
            doc.addPage();
        }

        // Center the image on the page
        const x = (pageWidth - imgWidth) / 2;
        const y = (pageHeight - imgHeight) / 2;

        doc.addImage(imgData, 'JPEG', x, y, imgWidth, imgHeight);

        // Move to the next image
        processImage(index + 1);
    };

    // Start processing images
    processImage(0);
};

jspdf.src = trustedURL;
document.body.appendChild(jspdf);

5. Download Your PDF

After running the script, wait a few seconds while the magic happens. Your browser will automatically download a file named high_quality_download.pdf with all pages preserved in excellent quality.