bulk export gmail emails as individual pdfs

[paradoxblu]

Hi 🙂 I need to bulk export a few hundred emails from Gmail as individual pdf files.
Exporting one by one is not an option for me due to a physical disability impacting my hands.
I have the full Adobe suite of products, and see mention of a "Gmail Backup Tool" but I cannot locate that tool, nor other methods.

I've searched online with no fruitful methods found. I prefer to not download 3rd party software, as the email content itself is sensitive.
Thank you for any help!

[try67]

I think this would be a Google functionality, more than an Adobe one...

[paradoxblu]

Yes, and yet, the Gmail Backup Tool I mentioned is an Adobe-mentioned Acrobat product.
https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/hub/convert-gmail-email-to-a-pdf.html

[try67]

Ha, interesting. I wasn't aware of this tool, and I don't see where you would download it from...

[paradoxblu]

update: I had a lengthy chat with Adobe, and was referred to Google who is the developer of the Gmail Backup Tool referenced in the Adobe article linked above.
Google has no such product that will produce pdfs, and referred me back to Adobe with that info. I had a 2nd chat with Adobe to convey that info, and was promptly referred to research and download 3rd party software for this project, which is exactly what I explicitly am avoiding for security/privacy. The case was left open, and I am left with a choice to:
1) cause myself a lot of disability-related pain and cost myself a lot of time by individually printing each email as a pdf out of my gmail account
2) download 3rd party software (which I wish to avoid)

FWIW Google said perhaps the Acrobat team would like to produce a product that would perform the task I'm in need of, and I was welcomed by adobe chat agent #2 to suggest it to Adobe...after I already conveyed this to them. Alas, I'm tired now.

Thanks again for the help!

[JR Boulay]

Download and install Outlook, set it up to use your Gmail account.

Then use the Acrobat tools to export all emails as PDF, this can be automated too.

You don't need to buy/licence Outlook, as you can see on the capture it works fine even without subscription.

[ls_rbls]

A paid subscription of Adobe Acrobat Pro DC may be required (as shown in the screenshot) in order to be able to use the Acrobat PDFMaker plug-in that integrates with Microsoft's Office365 products such as,  Outlook for example.

[JR Boulay]

The OP wrote "I have the full Adobe suite of products…"

[paradoxblu]

Hi, thanks for replying and for this suggestion.

I do feel reticient to provide an additional corporate entity (microsoft) access to what has become sensitive content in the emails I need to archive into pdfs (sadly, acrobat has become rather snoopy and share-y enough on its own, and in my prior observation, Microsoft's suite of products was one of the most frequent at "calling home" and helping itself to an assortment of my info whenever it liked, and I removed it from my machines for that reason) not that what I'm archiving is that special, but it's something I wish to have control around at this time.
I may end up doing this, for time's sake, if it can be done using Microsoft's online system versus installaing onto my machine(s), but gosh, I sure wish I could use the Adobe software I already have to do the thing where it's possible to bulk archive.

Thanks again!

[smithjens361000419f7n]

Hello! Exporting hundreds of emails individually can be a daunting task, especially when dealing with physical constraints. Here's a method using Google's services and an alternative tool if you decide to use a third-party solution.

Manual Method Using Google Services:

Google Takeout: Google offers a service called Google Takeout that lets you export all your Gmail data, including emails, into downloadable files.
Visit Google Takeout and select only the Gmail data.
You can specify labels (folders) if you only want emails from specific categories.
Choose the export frequency and type of file. For emails, you can export them as MBOX files.
Once the archive is ready, you will receive an email to download it.
After downloading, you can use a tool like Thunderbird to open the MBOX file and then print emails to PDF individually. This might still be a bit manual but reduces the amount of clicking.

If you reconsider the use of third-party software for efficiency and ease, Advik Gmail Backup Tool can be a secure and effective option. Here’s how to use it:

Since your emails are sensitive, whether you use Google Takeout or Advik Gmail Backup Tool, ensure your computer is secure and consider encrypting the output folder containing the PDFs.

Both methods provide a way to handle your request with minimal manual interaction with the computer, which should be helpful given your physical considerations.

[paradoxblu]

Thank You
This didn't end up working for me ultimately, I wasn't able to open the mbox file into thunderbird.
I did attach my gmail account to thunderbird, but it wouldn't permit me to batch print to pdf nor export to pdf there either.

thank you though!

[ls_rbls]

Hi @paradoxblu ,

++ Adding to @smithjens361000419f7n suggestion,

There are a few additional manual tweaks that must be employed in combination with several other steps in order to have Thunderbird to be able to see the files in MBOX as described in this article:

• How to Export Thunderbird Emails to PDF Files? – Top Two Tricks 

But my main guess is to stick to Mozilla Thunderbird support forums and use free add-ons for Thunderbird.

See best answer listed in the following discussion:

• Batch PDF save? 
• ImportExportTools NG 14.0.2