How to Save Google Docs with ‘Export Options Disabled’?

Google Docs offers the owner of the file option to disable download, printing, and copying of the file. This means the Google Docs File Shared with restricted permissions can only be viewed and cannot be copied, edited, or downloaded. The protected Google Doc file is not easy to download or save.

If you wish to save the content of the protected doc file then, there is a trick. It is not that easy as hitting a button to download the file. We will use Chrome’s Dev Tool to get a hand on Docs. Though the file is protected, the content still has to be stored inside the HTML code of the website to load the file. We will use this HTML to extract the Doc Content. The post below is a little technical and you may need a couple of attempts to successfully save the view-only restricted Google Doc File.

Steps to Save the Download Protected Google Docs

Here are the Steps to Save or Download the Google Docs File with View Only Permissions on PC

1. Open the Restricted Doc file and in Chrome Browser.
2. Now open Developer Console by pressing Ctrl + Shift + C for Windows or Cmd + Shift + C for Mac.
3. Reload the page and under the Elements Tab look for the <div> tag that covers all the content in blue shade.
   
4. Generally, you will find the <div> that covers the entire page with blue shade tag with ‘<div class=”app-container”>…</div>‘.
   
5. Now right click on the div container element and select Edit as HTML.
   
6. Now the HTML box will open.
7. Copy all the content from the container box.
   
8. Now open a new doc.
9. Here again, open Dev Tools, reload the page and look for the <div> tag with <div class=”app-container”>…</div> that covers the entire page with blue shade.
10. Again right-click on the div container element and select Edit as HTML.
    
11. Here paste the copied content, close the console. All the GDocs data will appear on the new doc created.
    
12. Done! 😄
    

Alternative Method to Copy Google Docs Using JS Script

You again need to use Google Chrome Developer Console. The file is blocked using Javascript code. You need to disable the JS and add a manual JS script to copy the Google Docs. This method was shared on Github.

1. Open the protected GDoc using Chrome. Change the end of the document URL from `/edit` to `/mobilebasic`
   https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NVbFrAinfMK9p0WkXXqQDYFyxxxxcNeN9Yu6CbUaJdA/edit
   https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NVbFrAinfMK9p0WkXXqQDYFyxxxxcNeN9Yu6CbUaJdA/mobilebasic
2. Scroll all the way down to the bottom to make sure that it is entirely loaded.
3. Now open Developer Console by pressing Ctrl + Shift + C for Windows or Cmd + Shift + C for Mac.
   
4. Open the Command Console [Ctrl+Shift+P for Windws & Cmd + Shift + C for Mac].
5. Search “javascript”, and select the option “Disable Javascript“.
   
6. Now click on the Console Tab and look for a small arrow marker.
   
7. Here paste the JS code from below and hit enter.
   
8. Do not close the Dev Console and reload the page.
9. Now you can close the Dev Tools and copy and from the document.
10. Done!😀

function rtcScript() {
    document.oncontextmenu = null;
    document.onselectstart = null;
    document.onmousedown = null;
    document.onclick = null;
    document.oncopy = null;
    document.oncut = null;
    var elements = document.getElementsByTagName('*');
    for (var i = 0; i < elements.length; i++) {
        elements[i].oncontextmenu = null;
        elements[i].onselectstart = null;
        elements[i].onmousedown = null;
        elements[i].oncopy = null;
        elements[i].oncut = null;
    }
    function preventShareThis() {
        document.getSelection = window.getSelection = function() {
            return {isCollapsed: true};
        }
    }
    var scripts = document.getElementsByTagName('script');
    for (var i = 0; i < scripts.length; i++) {
        if (scripts[i].src.indexOf('w.sharethis.com') > -1) {
            preventShareThis();
        }
    }
    if (typeof Tynt != 'undefined') {
        Tynt = null;
    }
}
rtcScript();
setInterval(rtcScript, 2000);

Conclusion

Using Dev Tools you can extract the View Only Protected Google Docs File and Save them as a Fresh Doc File. Follow the guide carefully. If you find it difficult to locate the div container tag, just reload the page and try again. I hope the post is helpful, do comment below for any assistance or support.

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