MotionShine01 / Open
The email is read here
The .eml file is split into its header, body, pictures and attachments in your browser. Scripts in the email never run.
Free tool
EML to PDF, open the email, then save it.
Drop an .eml file and see the email as a mail app shows it: from, to, date and subject, the body with its inline pictures, and the attachments with a Save button each. Then save it as a PDF, with the full layout through your browser's print window, or as a simple PDF file made here. Pictures from the web are blocked until you allow them. Nothing is uploaded.
- Save as PDF opens your browser's print window. Choose Save as PDF as the destination. The layout, colours and pictures stay as shown, and the text can be selected.
- Download simple PDF writes a real file here: the header, the plain text, pictures and the attachment names. The layout of a styled email is not kept.
Settings
Dates are shown in your time zone. Your paper choice is remembered in this browser.
The email is opened in your browser. Nothing is uploaded.
How it works
Open, check, save as PDF.
02 / Check
See it before you save
The email shows in a frame. Pictures from the web stay blocked unless you turn them on. Save any attachment on its own.
03 / Save
Two kinds of PDF
Save as PDF keeps the full layout through the print window. Download simple PDF gives a file at once, with text and pictures.
Guide
How to convert an EML file to PDF, and what each way keeps.
An EML to PDF converter opens an email that was saved as an .eml file and saves it as a PDF, a file that looks the same everywhere and is easy to keep, print or send to a lawyer or a client. This one runs in your browser. The email is opened on your computer, shown the way a mail app shows it, and saved as a PDF in one of two ways. Neither way uploads the message.
How to convert EML to PDF
- Drop the .eml file on the box, or click it to choose the file.
- Check the email in the frame. The top shows From, To, Cc, Date and Subject. Below it is the body, with any pictures that came inside the file.
- Press Save as PDF for the full layout, or Download simple PDF for a file made at once. Both are explained below.
- Save an attachment with the Save button on its row, or press Save all as ZIP.
Save as PDF or Download simple PDF
| Save as PDF | Download simple PDF | |
|---|---|---|
| How | Your browser's print window, with Save as PDF as the destination | A PDF file written by this page |
| Layout | As shown: fonts, colours, tables and pictures | Not kept. Plain text in one column |
| Text | Can be selected and searched | Can be selected and searched |
| Pictures | As shown, including pictures from the web if you allow them | Pictures that came inside the email, listed after the text |
| Other alphabets | Whatever your browser can draw | Latin, Greek and Cyrillic; other letters show as a question mark |
| Download link | No. The browser saves it | Yes |
For a styled email such as a receipt, a newsletter or a booking, use Save as PDF. For a plain message you want as a file in one click, the simple PDF is exact, since the text is the whole message. The simple PDF uses the plain text part of the email. If the email has only an HTML part, the page turns that into text.
Where to find Save as PDF in the print window
| Browser | In the print window |
|---|---|
| Chrome | Set Destination to Save as PDF, then press Save |
| Edge | Set Printer to Save as PDF, then press Save |
| Firefox | Set Destination to Save to PDF, then press Save |
| Safari | Open the PDF menu at the bottom left and choose Save as PDF |
Pictures from the web
Many emails load pictures from a web server when they are opened. That tells the sender that the email was read, and it can show your approximate place. So this page blocks every picture that is not inside the file. A dashed box shows where one was. The line under the frame says how many were blocked. Tick Show pictures from the web only if you trust the sender. Pictures that came inside the email, which are the ones the sender attached to the body, always show.
Safe to open
The email is shown in a frame that has scripts switched off, and the page removes scripts, forms, embedded frames and automatic redirects from the HTML before it is shown. Links are drawn but do not open from the frame. Attachments are only saved, never run.
What is not supported
- Outlook .msg files. In Outlook, save the message as .eml, or use Save as PDF from the print window of the mail app.
- .mbox files, which hold many messages. This page opens one .eml at a time.
- Encrypted (S/MIME) messages. They cannot be decrypted here, so the content shows as an attachment, not as text.
- The browser's print window is not something this page can control, so the page margins and the header and footer line come from your browser settings. The paper choice sets the page size the frame asks for.
Getting an .eml file
In Gmail, open the message, choose the three dots next to Reply and then Download message. In Apple Mail, drag the message from the list to the desktop or a Finder window, which saves it as an .eml file.
To take a PDF attachment apart afterwards, see split PDF. To turn a Word document into a PDF, use Word to PDF, and for a web page saved as HTML use HTML to PDF.
Questions
Good to know.
Is my email uploaded?
No. The file is read in this tab and nothing is sent anywhere. The PDF is made by your browser.
Why do I have to press Save as PDF in a print window?
A web page cannot write a PDF of styled HTML by itself, but a browser can print it to PDF. That gives the most faithful result. Download simple PDF writes a file here instead, with text and pictures only.
Why are pictures missing from the email?
Pictures loaded from the web are blocked by default, because they tell the sender you opened the email. Tick Show pictures from the web to load them.
Are the attachments in the PDF?
Their names and sizes can be listed at the end. The files themselves are not put inside the PDF. Save them with the Save button or as one ZIP.
Can I open a .msg file from Outlook?
No. Only .eml files are read. Save the message as .eml in your mail app first.
Why does the date show a different time zone?
The date is converted to the time zone of your computer. The sender's own time zone may differ.
Can I convert many emails at once?
Not here. One email is opened at a time. Open another with the button under the settings.
Is it safe to open an email file from someone I do not know?
Scripts in the email never run, forms and embedded frames are removed, and attachments are only saved, not opened. Treat anything you save the way you would treat any download.
The simple PDF shows question marks.
The simple PDF can write Latin, Greek and Cyrillic letters. Other alphabets, such as Chinese or Arabic, are shown as a question mark. Use Save as PDF for those.