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Open and save PDFs in OneDrive or Google Drive

Sign in to OneDrive or Google Drive, open a PDF from it, and save your changes back.

Monstera can open PDFs from OneDrive and Google Drive, upload the open document, and save your changes back to the cloud copy.

Steps

  1. Open the File menu at the top of the window and choose Cloud storage….
  2. Under the provider's name, choose Sign in. Your web browser opens so you can sign in there.
  3. Choose Show my PDFs, then Open beside a file. It downloads and opens in a tab.
  4. Under Google Drive you can also choose Choose a file…: your browser shows Google's own file chooser, and the PDF you pick opens in a tab. It signs you in if you are not signed in yet.
  5. To put the open document in the cloud, choose Upload this document.
  6. After making changes, open the File menu and choose Save back to cloud. A message says Saved to cloud storage.

Good to know

  • Each provider shows Signed in, Not signed in, or Not available in this build beside its name. Sign out is at the end of a signed-in provider's row.
  • Show my PDFs lists only the Google Drive files Monstera put there, or that you chose before. To open any other PDF in your Google Drive, use Choose a file… under Google Drive. Monstera can then see that one file and no others.
  • If the file changed in the cloud since you opened it, Monstera does not overwrite it. Your changes are saved on this computer.

Files shared with you as view-only

Someone may share a file with you so that you can read it but not change it. When you open such a file, Monstera says Shared with you as view-only straight away, before you edit.

  • You can still edit the file in Monstera. Your changes are saved on this computer.
  • Save back to cloud cannot change the original, because the owner did not allow it. Monstera does not ask you to sign in again, because signing in would not change that.
  • Choose the button that saves a copy to your own Google Drive or OneDrive, to put your version in your own storage. After that, Save back to cloud sends your changes to your copy. The original stays as it is.
  • If the provider refuses a change without saying so first, Monstera explains it the same way and offers the same copy.
  • Every cloud problem is written to the diagnostics log, with the provider's own reason, in case you need to report it. The log is in the Help menu, as Reveal diagnostics log.
  • Save back to cloud works only for a document opened from, or uploaded to, cloud storage.
  • Sign out signs out on this computer only; nothing in your cloud storage changes.

This is the article from Monstera's built-in Help centre. In the app, press F1 to open the article for where you are. All help articles