When you are sharing a file using your Google Drive on the internet, there are different kinds of link sharing or permission that you can give to that particular file. These are the following:

a. Anyone with the link can edit
b. Anyone with the link can comment
c. Anyone with the link can view
d. Anyone on the internet can find and view

It is very frustrating that when you access a file with the link sharing permission of "Anyone with the link can view", and the uploader also disabled the options to download, print, and copy for commenters and viewers of the file, then you cannot copy any texts from that file at all because you can only view it. The only way you can do is to manually type the texts that you needed from that file to be able to have a copy of it or print screen the file to have an image copy of it.

But what if the file is too long and you are not a fast typist? Is there anything you can do to be able to just copy and paste the text from that particular file from Google Drive? The answer is yes! Just follow the simple tutorial below to be able to copy and paste texts from View Only file from Google Drive.

NEEDED:

a. Google Chrome browser

STEPS:

1. Find the file that you wanted to copy. For this tutorial I will use my own file which is a pdf. You can access the file here. I intentionally set the link sharing of that file to Only View, and disabled the options to copy, print, and download it from my viewers as well as the commenters.


2. Access the file and see it for yourself. The only thing that you can do is to select the texts but you cannot copy it.

3. Now, here is the trick. Assuming that you are currently viewing the file that I gave, click Google Chrome Menu (3 dots located in the upper right corner of your screen, near the exit button). Once inside the menu, find and click More tools > Save page as... (Ctrl + S). Just click the Save button to save the html file.


4. After saving and downloading the file, open it using your Google Chrome browser. Once opened, try to select any of the texts and paste it in a Notepad. And there you have it. You can now easily copy and paste the text from that file into anywhere you want it without the need to type it manually.

If you have something to share or ask regarding this tutorial, please do not hesitate to leave a comment below. Thanks!