Google Docs is altering my formatting, how can I avoid this?

Question

I don't have a printer and I need a document printed. Thus, I've shared a very basic Google Docs document with someone who does have a printer.

Over here the formatting looks fine. Tabs are correct, spaces are where they should be, etc. Over there the formatting is all out. We've all seen it before. Your once perfectly constructed document is now a sea of confusion.

Was I naive to think that such formatting issues would disappear 'in the cloud' so to speak? Shouldn't the way the text is displayed be OS/browser agnostic?

In any case, is there a way I can get my shared Google Docs document to appear the same way at both sites?

Answer 1

It's a big problem with Google docs. The new version that the Google Apps team released last week is better with formatting, but for printing purposes, I usually just export to a Word doc and work from that.

Answer 2

I realize this question is nearly 5-years-old, but since the problem still persists in Google Docs, I'll share the solution that works for me. Simply, use the “print” feature within the Chrome browser.

Rather than exporting to a PDF within Google Docs, click on the menu button in Chrome and select print. Change the destination to “save as PDF.” Formatting with this feature should be preserved.

Answer 3

If the other person your sharing with is just printing and not working on the document, your best bet is exporting as a PDF. Your formatting will be maintained for the print.