How to convert an email to PDF on Windows 10

Emails can be forwarded and sent as attachments. This is the preferred method for sending/sharing an email since it preserves header information which can be used to verify the authenticity of the message. That said, many people prefer to convert email to PDF format. It’s a simple way to share a message, archive important correspondence, and it may be easier to read on any device without needing an email client.

How to Convert Email to PDF

There are three methods we’re going to cover for converting an email to a PDF; one that works for email in your browser with a focus on Gmail and Outlook, and one that works with the Outlook desktop app. All three methods rely on your operating system’s built-in PDF printing feature, so no third-party software is required.

Quick method that works almost everywhere

No matter which email client or platform you’re on, the core process for converting an email to PDF is the same: open the message, choose Print (usually found in a menu or via Ctrl+P on Windows or Cmd+P on Mac), change the printer or destination to Save as PDF or Microsoft Print to PDF, then save the file to your chosen location.

A few platform-specific notes worth knowing before you dig into the steps below:

• Mac / Apple Mail: Open the email, go to File > Print, then click the PDF dropdown in the bottom-left corner of the print dialog and choose Save as PDF.
• iPhone / iPad Mail: Open the email, tap the Reply/Share button, then tap Print. Pinch outward on the print preview thumbnail to expand it into a full preview, then use the Share icon to save or share it as a PDF.
• Android / Gmail app: Open the email, tap the three-dot menu, select Print, and choose Save as PDF as the destination before tapping the download button.

1. Gmail: Email to PDF

This method relies on Gmail’s ‘Print message’ function. Most email web portals will have one, but if the one you’re using doesn’t, opt for the Outlook method. You can always connect your email to Outlook and use the Outlook web portal. Gmail makes it especially straightforward to convert email to PDF with just a few clicks.

1. Open Gmail.
2. Select the email message that you want to convert to a PDF.
3. At the top (at the very end of the message line), click the printer icon.
4. The browser print dialog will open.
5. Make sure ‘Adobe PDF’ or ‘PDF’ is selected as the ‘Destination,’ and then click Print.

2. Outlook web: Email to PDF

Make sure you’ve added your email account to Outlook before following these steps. The Outlook web portal supports the same browser-based print function, making it easy to convert email to PDF directly from your browser without installing any additional tools.

1. Visit Outlook and sign in.
2. Double-click the email you want to convert to a PDF.
3. Click the Print button at the top.
4. Click Print.
5. The browser print dialog will open.
6. Make sure PDF or Adobe PDF is set as the destination and click Print.

3. Outlook desktop app: Email to PDF

Configure your email in the Outlook desktop app before proceeding. This method uses Windows’ built-in ‘Microsoft Print to PDF’ printer, which is available on Windows 10 and Windows 11 by default. You don’t need Adobe Acrobat or any other PDF software installed to complete this process.

1. Open Outlook.
2. Double-click the message you want to save as a PDF, and it will open in its own window.
3. Tap the Ctrl+P keyboard shortcut.
4. Make sure ‘Microsoft Print to PDF’ is selected under Printer.
5. Click the Print button.
6. Select where you want to save the file, and the message will be converted to PDF.

How to Convert EML or MSG Files to PDF

If you already have an email saved as a file on your computer rather than a message open in a live mailbox, the process is a little different. The two most common formats you’ll encounter are .eml and .msg. EML files are commonly exported by Thunderbird, Windows Mail, and Apple Mail, while MSG is Outlook’s native message format. You may also come across .mht files, an older export format that some clients still produce.

There are two straightforward paths for converting these files to PDF:

1. Open the file in a compatible mail app and print to PDF. Double-clicking an EML file will usually open it in your default mail client (such as Thunderbird, Apple Mail, or Windows Mail). An MSG file opens in Outlook. Once the message is open, use the same Print > Save as PDF approach described in the methods above.
2. Use a reputable online converter if the file won’t open locally. A number of web-based tools can convert EML and MSG files to PDF without requiring a mail client. Before uploading anything, check that the service clearly states it deletes files after conversion and uses encryption in transit. Avoid uploading messages that contain sensitive, personal, or confidential information unless you fully trust the service’s privacy and data handling policies.

One additional advantage of dedicated converters — whether desktop apps or web tools — is that they often let you choose exactly what to include: the message body only, attachments only, or both combined into a single PDF. This level of control isn’t available through the standard print dialog, so it’s worth considering if you need a specific output format.

Tips for a Better PDF Output

Before you convert email to PDF, there are a few things worth keeping in mind to ensure the output looks exactly how you want it. First, check whether the email contains embedded images. If you have images blocked in your email client, they will not appear in the final PDF. Enable image loading before printing if you need them included.

Second, consider the page layout settings in the print dialog. You can often switch between portrait and landscape orientation, and adjust margins to ensure the email content fits cleanly on the page. This is particularly useful for emails with wide tables or formatted content.

Finally, if the email thread is long, the resulting PDF may span multiple pages. Review the print preview before saving to confirm the output is complete and properly formatted.

What your PDF will — and won’t — include

It’s worth knowing exactly what makes it into the final file before you save it, especially if you’re archiving for record-keeping or legal purposes.

• What is usually included: Visible header fields such as From, To, Cc, Subject, and Date are printed as part of the message view and will appear in the PDF.
• What is not included: Bcc recipients and server-level metadata (such as routing headers and message IDs) do not appear in a standard print-to-PDF copy, because they are not displayed in the visible message view.
• Attachments are not automatically embedded. Printing an email to PDF captures the message body only. Any attachments must be opened, saved, and printed or converted to PDF separately. Some dedicated EML/MSG converters do offer the option to include attachments in the same PDF output, but the standard print dialog does not.
• Thread vs. single message: If the email is part of a conversation thread, expand or collapse the thread before printing to control whether earlier replies appear in the PDF. Printing a collapsed thread may only capture the most recent message; printing an expanded thread will include the full reply chain.

Conclusion

The PDF will include the subject and email addresses of the sender and recipient. Your email may also span several pages, even if it appears to be a small message in your browser or in Outlook. This has to do with various HTML elements in the email that will be incorporated in the document. That said, you do have some control over the output: print dialogs often let you hide browser-added page headers and footers, adjust the scale, or change the margins before saving. Once the PDF is saved, it can also be cropped, edited, or redacted using a PDF editor if you need to remove sensitive information. If you want a cleaner document without any email chrome, another option is to copy just the email body text into a word processor and export that as a PDF instead.

If you choose to block images in an email, the PDF will be saved without them. Once you convert email to PDF and have it saved, you may want to sign a PDF after converting it for official documentation purposes. Lastly, if you decide to print the PDF, be mindful that you’re not printing it needlessly.

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Fatima Wahab

Fatima has been writing for AddictiveTips for six years. She began as a junior writer and has been working as the Editor in Chief since 2014. Fatima gets an adrenaline rush from figuring out how technology works, and how to manipulate it. A well-designed app, something that solves a common everyday problem and looks

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