How to save images from Google Docs and Google Slides and use them elsewhere

I love Google Docs – I mean, I seriously love it. Ever since Google added Smart Canvas and Pageless view mode completely reinventing its web-based word processor, I’ve started using it for journaling among other things that I probably would have kept in Google Keep in the past. Anyway, despite singing its praises, there’s one thing Docs has always kind of sucked at, and I’m not sure why.

For some reason and out of alignment with modern standards, you can’t just copy and paste images or right-click them to download them from within a document. Regardless, I’m going to teach you how to free your images from their web-based prison in both Docs and Slides so you can use them in other applications and projects as you see fit!

Download your Doc as HTML

First, download the entire document or presentation as a web page. This is the most reliable method, as it will ensure that you get all of the images, even if they are embedded in other objects, such as tables or charts. To do this, open the file for editing via Google Drive and go to File > Download > Web page (.html). This will create a folder on your computer (likely in your downloads folder) containing the document, as well as all of the images found therein. You can then open the folder and extract the images to use them however you wish!

1. Open the Google Doc or Slide that contains the images you want to save.
2. Navigate to the top-left corner of the screen and click on the “File” menu.
3. From the drop-down menu, select “Download” and then choose “Web page (.html).”
4. Open the zip file from the Downloads section of Chrome or your computer – it contains a dedicated folder with the document or presentation and all its accompanying images.
5. From there, you can easily extract the images and use them in any way you desire.

Publish your Doc to the web

Another method is to publish the document or presentation and then to right-click on images and choose ‘Save as’. This will let you save pictures the same way you would anywhere else on the internet – you know, like you do in 2023 (Are you listening, Google?). To use this approach, open the Doc and go to File > Share > Publish to web. Once complete, you will be given a link to the published content.

1. Open the Google Doc or Slide that contains the desired images.
2. Access the “File” menu in the top-left corner of the screen.
3. From the drop-down menu, select “Share” and then click on “Publish to web.”
4. Once the document or presentation is published, you’ll receive a link to access the published version.
5. Right-click on the provided link and select “Save image as…”
6. Enjoy!

As I said, the exact reasons behind this restrictions Google has placed on its editing tools in relation to images are unclear, but one can speculate that it may be intended to maintain the integrity of the document or to ensure proper image attribution. Google Docs are traditionally designed as permanent storehouses of information, especially in corporate environments, but with the modern collaborative and fluid nature of documents as well as the addition of Smart Canvas, my hope is that this tradition dies a swift death.

Is there a simple or important aspect to this whole thing that I may be overlooking? As a millennial, it just doesn’t make sense to me, so drop a comment if you know something I don’t know! In the meantime, I hope this helps you out in a pinch. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve needed access to an image in a Doc or Slide that, to my surprise, was locked in place.