Google exports better than most people expect, because it embeds fonts by default. Sheets is the one that still needs setting up.
The straightforward part
File → Download → PDF Document (.pdf) is the whole operation in Docs and Slides, and it is more reliable than the equivalent in Office for one specific reason.
Google always embeds fonts on export. There is no setting to forget, so a document using an unusual typeface renders identically for the recipient. That single behaviour eliminates the most common category of export problem — the substitution issues described in PDF font problems.
Print → Save as PDF also works and is slightly worse: it goes through the browser print path and can lose the document outline. Use Download.
Sheets needs page setup first
A spreadsheet has no page boundaries, so exporting is a pagination decision. Left to the default, Sheets fits what it can across the paper and orphans the remaining columns.
The settings live in the export dialog itself — choosing Download → PDF opens a preview with a sidebar rather than exporting immediately, which is genuinely better than Excel's arrangement.
- Export: current sheet, all sheets, or just the selected cells. Selection is the quickest way to avoid stray content.
- Paper size and orientation. Landscape first for anything wide, before reaching for scaling.
- Scale: "Fit to width" keeps columns together and lets rows run on. "Fit to page" crushes a long table into unreadable type.
- Headers and footers: tick "Repeat frozen rows", or every page after the first is unlabelled numbers.
- Gridlines: on for dense tables, off for anything presented.
That frozen-rows option only works if you have actually frozen the header row in the sheet, which is a separate step under View → Freeze. It is the most common reason the setting appears to do nothing.
Landscape, and the page setup that hides
Docs handles orientation under File → Page setup, which also controls paper size and margins. It applies to the whole document by default.
Google added section-level page setup, so a single document can mix portrait and landscape — select the pages, then choose "Apply to: this section" in the dialog. That is the route for a report with one wide table in the middle.
If the option is greyed out, the document is in Pageless mode, which has no pages and therefore no orientation. Switch to Pages under File → Page setup first. Pageless is pleasant for drafting and cannot export a paginated PDF sensibly.
Tables that break across pages
A table splitting mid-row is the most reported Docs export complaint, and there is a real fix.
Right-click the table, open Table properties, and there is a "Allow row to overflow across pages" option. Turning it off keeps each row intact, pushing a row that will not fit onto the next page.
For the header row repeating on each page, the same dialog has "Pin header row to top of each page". Both are off by default, which is why a long table exports as a wall of unlabelled rows with one cut in half.
Drive does not edit PDFs
Worth restating because the interface implies otherwise. Drive previews a PDF and offers "Open with Google Docs", which is a converter rather than an editor.
It discards the PDF layout and rebuilds the content as a Docs file. Columns collapse, tables break, images move. On a scanned PDF it runs OCR and produces unformatted text.
That is occasionally exactly what you want — it is a free way to pull text out of a scan. It is never what you want for a document with a layout. Your original PDF is untouched, so nothing is lost as long as you notice before working on the copy. The device-by-device picture is in editing a PDF on Mac, iPhone or Google Drive.
Sharing the export
One habit worth adopting: when replacing a PDF already shared from Drive, upload it as a new version rather than a new file.
Right-click the existing file, Manage versions, Upload new version. The link and its permissions stay the same, so anyone you sent it to sees the update. Uploading as a new file leaves everyone looking at the old one.
And check the sharing setting before sending. "Anyone with the link" is more permissive than most people intend, and links outlive the conversation they were sent in.
Frequently asked questions
How do I save a Google Doc as a PDF?
File → Download → PDF Document. It embeds fonts automatically, so the document renders identically for the recipient — there is no setting to forget, which is the main advantage over exporting from Word.
Why is my Google Sheet cut off in the PDF?
Because a spreadsheet has no page boundaries and the default fits what it can across the paper. In the export sidebar, set Scale to "Fit to width" so columns stay together while rows run on, and use landscape for anything wide.
How do I make one page landscape in Google Docs?
Select the pages, open File → Page setup, choose Landscape and set "Apply to: this section". If the option is greyed out the document is in Pageless mode, which has no pages — switch to Pages first.
How do I stop a table splitting across pages?
Right-click the table, Table properties, and turn off "Allow row to overflow across pages". While you are there, turn on "Pin header row to top of each page". Both are off by default, which is why long tables export badly.
Can I edit a PDF in Google Drive?
No. Drive previews only, and "Open with Google Docs" is a converter that discards the layout and rebuilds the content — columns collapse and tables break. It is useful for extracting text from a scan and wrong for anything designed.
Why do my repeated header rows not appear?
In Sheets, the "Repeat frozen rows" export option only works if you have actually frozen the header row in the sheet, under View → Freeze. That separate step is the usual reason the setting appears to do nothing.