gdoc2pdf

Tool for converting Google Docs to PDF via Markdown. Along the way, it allows replacing variables in the document (indicated by {{VARIABLE_NAME}}) with values from another Google Doc.

Installation

First, make sure you have a recent version of node installed. It works on node v15.0.1 but may not work on older versions.

Before installing, you'll need credentials to run the application. These credentials need to be stored in the file ~/.config/gdoc2pdf/credentials.json.

First, you need to enable the Google Docs API, if it is not already enabled.

Go to your Google Cloud Console and go to APIs and Services.
Go to the API Library and search for Google Docs
Click on the Google Docs API.
Turn on the API (you may have to click a button like Manage).

To obtain this file, use the instructions from Google and create credentials for a desktop app. You want to "Create Desktop application credentials," so follow the appropriate section! Once downloaded, copy them in the appropriate folder:

mkdir -p ~/.config/gdoc2pdf
mv ~/Downloads/client_secret_<STUFF>_apps.googleusercontent.com.json ~/.config/gdoc2pdf/credentials.json

Make sure that the first redirect_uri in the file is something like urn:ietf:wg:oauth:2.0:oob.

Now, install and run!

npm install
npm run build
npm link
gdoc2pdf

Note that on the first run, it will ask for authorization on Google Drive's API. This will happen once every 7 days.

Converting to PDF or Markdown

To convert a Google Doc to PDF or Markdown, you can do this out of the box by running gdoc2pdf. Then, when the interface prompts you for the google doc file, input the Google Doc URL. Input the output file you want to create at the prompt. For everything else, use the default settings.

To do this quickly, you can set the flags:

gdoc2pdf -f <GOOGLE_DOC_URL> -o output.pdf

Adding in variables

To use variables, in the document, write {{VARIABLE_NAME}} wherever you want a variable piece of text.

Then, make a separate Google document with the corresponding values. The document should have the following structure:

## {{VARIABLE NAME}}

Value for the variable.

It can have multiple lines with line breaks in between, but it will ignore
trailing whitespace.

## {{ANOTHER_VARIABLE_NAME}}

### Comments I don't want in the form as values

This is the value for this other variable

In this secondary doc, you should set the headings Heading 2 and Heading 3 for your variable names. That is, do not actually write ##, set the heading level in Google Docs instead.

Now, use the URL of the secondary doc when prompted with "What file has values for variables in the doc?"

To do this quickly, you can set the flags:

gdoc2pdf -f <GOOGLE_DOC_URL> -v <SECONDARY_GOOGLE_DOC_URL> -o output.pdf

Showing changes compared to a template doc

To highlight every sentence not present in a separate document (for instance, a template document), you simply need to set the flag -t.

gdoc2pdf -f <GOOGLE_DOC_URL> -t <SECONDARY_GOOGLE_DOC_URL> -o output.pdf

All flags

Note that if required flags are not included, the GUI will display for choosing options.

Flag	Description	Default	Required
`-f`	The URL of the Google Doc to convert	N/A	Yes
`-o`	The path to the output `.pdf` or `.md` file	N/A	Yes
`-v`	The URL of a Google Doc with variables to insert in the document	`'none'`	No
`-t`	The URL of a Google Doc which has template phrases not to highlight	`'none'`	No
`-c`	A custom `.css` stylesheet for the output PDF.	`'default'`	No
`-s`	Whether to include strikethrough text	`'no'`	No

Support notes

Does not support tables
Does not support images
The conversion strips out all formatting except bold, italic, heading, strikethroughs, and lists.
Only one line will ever be placed between two lines of text. To add more lines, enter a new line with only a single space.

Troubleshooting

If you have issues with authentication, make sure your Google account has permission to access the files used.
If you do already have permissions, make sure you enable the Google Docs API (as described in Installation). Then, delete the ~/.config/gdoc2pdf/token.json file and retry.

gzinck/gdoc2pdf