Google offers numerous options for file owners to keep their data safe and protect sensitive information while sharing Google Docs/Slides/Sheets with others. If someone has protected their Google Document, you’ll only be able to view the file and cannot make copies. Of course, you’ll also have the option to ask them to give you permission to copy the document. But what if you’re not able to contact the file owner? There is still a way to make a copy of protected Google Docs or Google Sheets.
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How to make a copy of protected Google Docs
On your PC, open the protected Google Document in the browser. If you try copying the text from the protected document (CRTL + C), you’ll get a warning message saying –
Options to download, print, and copy have been disabled on this file. Learn more.
- In the address bar, you’ll see the end of the document URL to be /edit
- Change/edit the URL in the address bar to /mobilebasic
- Then, press CTRL + SHIFT + C keys together to launch the Developers tools
- After that, press CTRL + SHIFT + P keys and you’ll get a prompt Run -> Command on the console window
- Type “JavaScript” and then click the option “Disable JavaScript”
- Now, you’ll get a new icon with a small Red X on the address bar
- Moving the mouse over that will give you the message “JavaScript was blocked on this page
- Without closing the window, click the Refresh icon on the page or press F5
- After that, press CTRL + A for selecting all the data and then press CTRL + C for copying all the data to the clipboard
- Lastly, open a new Google Document and press CTRL + V for pasting the data and start editing the document
How to make a copy of protected Google Sheets
- Open the Google Sheet on your PC and in the address bar, the URL will end with /edit followed by alphanumeric characters
- Delete the “edit” part and all other characters
- Then, type “preview” after the / symbol
- Now, press CTRL + A, followed by CTRL + C for selecting all the data and copying it
- Open a new Google Spreadsheet and then click Edit -> Paste from the menu
- That’s it, now you can edit and save the new sheet as you like
With the help of Dev Tools, you can extract and save the View Only Protected Google Docs File. Be sure to pay close attention to the instructions in the manual. Reload the page and try again if you’re having trouble finding the div container tag. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to leave a comment below.
