Converting
How to Convert an Email to PDF
Save an email as a PDF that works as a record — with the sender, recipients, full timestamp and its attachments included rather than left behind.
Emails get saved as PDFs for a reason: a record of what was agreed, a receipt for an expense claim, evidence for a dispute. Which means the details around the message matter as much as the message.
The direct route
- 1Open the email in your mail client or webmail.
- 2Press Ctrl+P, or Cmd+P on a Mac.
- 3Set the destination to Save as PDF.
- 4Check the preview shows the sender, recipients, subject and full date before you save.
Gmail, Outlook on the web and Apple Mail all support this, and printing from the message view rather than the inbox list is what gets you the headers.
Keep the details that make it evidence
A PDF containing only the body text proves very little. What gives an email record weight is the metadata printed alongside it:
- From and To addresses in full, not just display names.
- The complete date and time, including the year.
- The subject line.
- CC recipients, where they are relevant to who knew what.
- The quoted thread beneath, if the context depends on it.
Attachments
Printing an email does not include what was attached to it; you get a filename at best. Save the attachments separately, convert any that are not already PDFs, and merge them onto the end of the email PDF. That produces one file containing the message and everything it carried — which is what an auditor or a solicitor actually wants.
Saving a whole thread
For a long exchange, print each message separately and merge them in date order. It is more work than printing the collapsed thread view, but the result reads cleanly and nothing is hidden behind an expander. Number the pages afterwards so the sequence can be referred to.
On a phone
In the iOS Mail app, use the share sheet, choose Print, then pinch outwards on the print preview — that gesture turns the preview into a PDF you can save or share. On Android, Gmail's overflow menu has a Print option that offers Save as PDF.
Do it now
Merge PDF
Combine multiple PDFs into a single file. It runs in this browser tab — your file is not uploaded anywhere.
Open Merge PDFFrequently asked questions
Does printing an email to PDF include the attachments?+
No. Save and convert them separately, then merge them onto the end of the email PDF.
How do I include the full headers?+
Print from the open message rather than the list view. For technical headers such as message IDs, use your client's "show original" view and print that as well.
Can a PDF of an email be used as evidence?+
It is commonly accepted as a record, and its weight depends on completeness — full headers, full timestamps, unedited content. For formal proceedings, ask what format is required.
How do I save a whole conversation?+
Print each message, then merge them in date order and add page numbers.