GmailToPDF: Desktop App That Automatically Converts Gmail to PDF!

Have you ever felt this way?

Speaking personally, I’m currently working as a freelancer.

When looking for work, I often use crowdsourcing services like Lancers and Coconala. This means that for every job I take, I need to keep the necessary emails as electronic documents, and I frequently find myself thinking, “I wish I could convert these to PDF more easily.”

To improve efficiency, I was searching for a tool to convert Gmail emails to PDF, but surprisingly couldn’t find one that met my ideal requirements, which left me frustrated.

So I thought, “Why not make it myself!” and developed the desktop application (for Windows) I’m introducing today: “GmailToPDF.”

After actually developing it, I created a truly convenient tool, so I’d like to introduce it in detail!

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What kind of app is GmailToPDF?

GmailToPDF is a modern desktop application that converts Gmail emails to PDF.

It’s built with React + Electron + Material-UI, designed to be both beautiful and extremely user-friendly.

This introduction covers the Windows version only.

Main Features and Development Focus Points

I developed this with “Vibe Coding” as the main focus, which has become popular recently.

Therefore, while I didn’t do heavy programming, I put a lot of effort into functionality and UI development. In this chapter, I’ll introduce these main features and focus points.

1. Secure Gmail Authentication System

  Feature Details

For this development, security was the top priority, so I adopted OAuth2 authentication.

At first, you might think “Isn’t authentication troublesome?”, but after a little initial setup during the first login, you can use the automatic generation function just by logging in with your Google account, so it shouldn’t be much trouble.

Moreover, it only authenticates for email reading and email sending (used only for completion notifications), so you don’t have to worry about accidentally deleting emails.

2. Advanced Email Search Functionality

  Feature Details

This is the feature I put the most effort into developing!

For example, if you want to convert only important emails from Mr. Tanaka to PDF, you can extract emails precisely by entering “Tanaka” in the sender field and “important” in the subject field.

Furthermore, you can set exclusion conditions, so you can easily exclude things like “newsletters.”

Search conditions can also be saved, so once you set up frequently used conditions, you can search with one click from next time. This saves a tremendous amount of time!

3. Flexible Email Selection System

  Feature Details

Once search results are displayed, the operation is simple – just select emails with checkboxes.

You can select multiple emails at once, so you can efficiently proceed with PDF conversion. You can also preview the content of selected emails beforehand, reducing the risk of converting the wrong emails to PDF!

By the way, very rarely, there might be emails that can’t be converted to PDF, but in such cases, it properly lists “which emails couldn’t be converted to PDF,” so you can prevent missing PDF conversions!

4. High-Quality PDF Generation Functionality

  Feature Details

I made it so that emails can be saved to PDF with their appearance preserved as much as possible, so no important information is lost. HTML decorations and images are also included, so you can keep complete records of emails.

I also included an email notification function that sends to your authenticated Google account. Therefore, even when running large-scale Gmail PDF generation, you don’t need to worry about “Is it done yet? Or still going?” You can proceed with other work while just waiting for email notifications.

Currently not included, but I plan to implement “automatic scheduled execution functionality” in the future.
App update fees are free, but as new features are added, prices are likely to increase, so if you want to get the app at a good price, early purchase is recommended!

＼ Purchase on Gumroad !! ／

5. Google Drive Integration

  Feature Details

I made it so you can save directly to cloud storage, making backup extremely easy.

You can also access it from other devices, so you can check PDFs even when out. You can also save local storage space, so it’s a win-win!

By the way, you can directly create new directories in Google Drive within the app, so you don’t need to open Google Drive each time – you can quickly create PDFs, which is also a highlight.

6. Modern User Interface

  Points

I think appearance is, in a sense, more important than functionality, so I aimed for an intuitive and user-friendly interface. It also supports dark mode, so it’s easy on the eyes even during long use.

Also, the animations are smooth and designed to feel good when operating.

7. Multi-language Support

Multi-language support is available.

Currently supported languages are:

• English
• Japanese

Only 2 languages, but I plan to add other languages in future updates.

Actual Usage Scenarios

These are the actual intended usage scenarios for this app.

Business Use

• Meeting record preservation: Convert important meeting emails to PDF for storage
• Legal document organization: Save contract-related emails as legal evidence
• Project management: Organize project-related emails chronologically

Personal Use

• Memory preservation: Save important emails as PDF
• Learning records: Organize emails from online courses and seminars
• Household management: Convert invoice and receipt emails to PDF for storage

Setup and Usage

In this chapter, I’ll briefly introduce the setup procedures required during the app’s initial startup.

If you have requests like “I’d like to know about this too!”, please feel free to contact me through the contact form.

1. Initial Setup

  Authentication Flow

For initial setup, I’ve prepared detailed procedures within the app, so please rest assured!
If you have any questions, I also accept personal support, so please feel free to contact me through the contact form!

2. Basic Usage Flow

  Basic Usage Flow

Summary

I developed GmailToPDF as an application that balances advanced functionality and usability for the demand of easily converting Gmail emails to PDF.

I particularly feel I was able to develop the following points attractively:

• Security: Secure operation possible through OAuth2 authentication and principle of least privilege
• Efficiency: Significant time savings achieved through advanced search functionality and automatic conversion
• Usability: Modern UI and intuitive operability

If you’re having trouble with Gmail email management, please give it a try! I’m sure email organization and storage will become much easier.

I also feel that I’ve created a truly convenient tool after developing it. It saves a tremendous amount of time, so I’m glad I developed it!

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In this article, I’ve explained the main features of the GmailToPDF app and its benefits in detail. I’ve also touched on detailed usage methods for each feature and actual usage scenarios, so I hope it will be helpful for those considering introducing the app.

If you have any questions, please feel free to comment or contact me!

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