Google Docs & Sheets now lets you edit your sharing link so recipients download the file as a PDF (not Google file)
Why send as a PDF? When sending to parents or community members who are likely to open on devices where Google Apps aren’t installed or accesible (some Chinese parents for example).
Open the document you want to share > click the Share button
Click the Get shareable link option
You’ll receive a link has been copied to your clipboard notification and a link sharing option.
To send a link to a PDF version of the document, you need to edit the link a bit. Open email or whatever messaging app you’ll be using to send the message, and then paste the link.
Once you’ve pasted the link, find the edit?usp=sharing at the very end of the URL.
Now, replace edit?usp=sharing with export?format=pdf
Link should look this this
Note: I’ve used bold type in the screenshots above to more easily identify the part of the URL you should edit. Don’t change this part to bold in your own URL or you’ll risk breaking the link.
Send out your link. Whoever clicks the link will automatically download the pdf version of the Google Doc and wont be required to open in Google Apps.
