One of my users suddenly couldn’t print from a doc, even though they had always been able to print before.
I found that enabling “Allow copying, printing, and exporting” solves the issue — but it also allows the user to copy the entire doc to their own workspace, which I don’t want.
Has this behavior changed recently? Is there any way to allow printing while keeping doc copying/exporting disabled?
Hey @Bruno_Santos
Thanks for digging into this and for sharing what you found. You’re right: enabling “Allow copying, printing, and exporting” will restore printing, but it also opens up copying and exporting, so I understand why that doesn’t feel like the right fit for your use case.
This behavior did recently change. The intent was to make the restriction more consistent: if a doc owner disables copying, then printing and exporting are also blocked, since print-to-PDF and export can be used as alternate ways to extract the same content.
At the moment, there isn’t a separate setting that allows printing while keeping copying and exporting disabled. I realize that may be frustrating, especially if printing is part of a normal workflow and you don’t want to loosen access to the full doc.
The best way to navigate this depends on how often the user needs to print:
For a one-time print need, the safest workaround is for the doc owner or admin to export the content themselves and share a PDF with the user.
For a recurring print need, consider creating a print-specific version of the doc that contains only the sections the user should be able to print, then enable copying/printing/exporting only on that limited version.
If the content changes often, the doc owner can set a regular cadence for generating an updated PDF, so the user can still print current information without broadening permissions on the original doc.
I know this is not as convenient as a print-only permission, but it keeps the original doc’s content controls intact while still giving the user a path to print the material they need.
Thanks for the clarification @Ruggy-Joesten and for confirming this was a recent change. Hopefully, a print-only permission can be considered in the future. Thanks again!
Hi @Ruggy-Joesten,
I ran into this same issue and want to add my voice here. I understand the reasoning — printing and exporting can both be used to extract content, so bundling them under one permission is more consistent from a security standpoint.
That said, this change silently broke an existing workflow for me. Docs that had been working fine for printing suddenly stopped, with no warning or migration path. If a permissions model is going to change in a way that revokes access users already had, it would be much better to:
Grandfather in existing docs under the old behavior, or at least notify owners before the change takes effect
Offer a genuine print-only permission (separate from copy/export) instead of forcing an all-or-nothing choice
The suggested workarounds (exporting a PDF manually, maintaining a separate print-only copy of the doc) are reasonable band-aids, but they add real maintenance overhead for something that used to just work. Consistency shouldn’t come at the cost of breaking things people already depend on without notice.
I completely agree. The way my documents work has also been disrupted by these changes. I had to enable copying and printing permissions for my documents. And, to be honest, I’m now more concerned about the security of my data than I was before.
I managed to create pages with variables that work very well for invoices and commercial proposals (I’ve attached examples). Our managers print them or save them as PDFs, which was very convenient.
The options suggested above don’t really work for my case. I have already split my documents into separate modules as much as reasonably possible. Now, in order to keep my data secure, I would have to split them even further and constantly wait for data to synchronize through Cross-doc, which is simply not convenient.
This was not well thought-out.
All of our central docs disable copying, because we do not want non-canonical versions to multiply across the business. Now, in one stroke and without prior warnings, no one can download any files any more. Something that a crucial aspect of many a workflow within these central docs.
Need one toggle per feature : copying, printing, file downloads.
Same here @Ruggy-Joesten . A key Doc for a client of mine has been silently broken, and the workaround is to lower security, which is really ironic… Please revert to the initial behavior or enable the fine-tuned approach described by @Nad . Thanks in advance!
I wanted to comment on that since I strongly disagree. With printing disabled, I can still copy-paste the layout I wanted to print in a Word document for instance, so it’s not really a win for security. It’s just way less convenient than printing directly from my Doc. As long as you’re working in a browser, there’ll still be ways to “extract the same content”…
sorry to say, but this is a horrific change… on par with the “Point and Compose” feature 
no warning and highly disruptive for teams.
@Ruggy-Joesten
are we able to please revert back or rather separate the copy doc from print or export?
or is this part of bigger picture/scheme for new pricing tiers?
this is a rather big obstacle for teams and any insights would be great 
cheers!
Mel
Hey all,
Sorry for the delay, I’ve been on a short break and am just getting back in the saddle today.
I am taking all this feedback to the team now and hope to follow up soon with updates or workarounds.
Ok, drum roll please…
TL;DR: Earlier print permissions have been restored.
As you are fully aware, we recently introduced a change that originated as a particular customer request. The concept was sensible, the team recognized its value and said to themselves, “Hmm, this might be of use in a more general way.”
Then the community (that is to say, you) promptly replied, “Respectfully… no way.”
Message received.
You raised it with us. We received it. I passed the feedback on to the Product team, and they decided that the change shouldn’t be applied to all customers. Therefore, we’re withdrawing it from the general customer base and retaining it only in cases where it was specifically required.
That’s the very reason this community is so important.
The feedback you provide enables us to identify live-wire problems swiftly, test our decisions in the real world, and develop a product that better meets the needs of the people who use it every day. So please keep it coming! Including the praise, the questions, the “hmm, I’m not sure about this" comments, and yes, the “who asked for this?” ones too.
Thanks for being honest and outspoken. It makes a difference!
OH! And if you are not seeing the changes right away, refresh your page and you should be all set.
