Just like the preview feature on Amazon books, the preview pages on Google Books cannot normally be downloaded directly.
Besides Google Books, many readers also want to copy text from Amazon's "Read sample" pages. You can follow this tutorial: How to copy text from Amazon book preview pages.
However, books labeled "Full View" or "Read" can usually be downloaded directly from Google Books.
I explained that process in this guide: How to download full view books, magazines and newspapers in Google Books.
Many users want to save preview pages for research, note-taking, or rewriting small excerpts for personal use.
Unfortunately, Google does not provide a direct download button for preview pages.
One manual method is taking screenshots page by page, but that approach is slow and inconvenient.
A better workaround is to use a small tool called Google Books Downloader Lite, which can download preview pages as image files.
Why downloading Google Books preview pages is restricted
Google Books protects copyrighted content by limiting how much of a book can be viewed or downloaded.
You may see one of these viewing modes:
- Full View – entire book available for download.
- Preview – selected pages available for reading.
- Snippet View – only small sections are visible.
The method in this tutorial works only for books labeled Preview.
How to download preview pages of Google Books
Below is a step-by-step tutorial showing how to download preview pages from Google Books using Google Books Downloader Lite.
I also include a very detailed final step also explains how to convert the downloaded pages into editable text.
STEP #1: Download Google Books Downloader Lite
1. Download the tool from: Google Books Downloader Lite 1.0
2. Click the green download button on the page.
3. It will open a new page, and followed with a pop-up box.
4. Click the "Save File" button.
5. Another box pops up, to let you select where you want to save it.
6. Choose where you like to save "google_books_downloader_lite-1.0-installer_f6aL-G1.exeoogleBookDownloder.exe" file.
7. Click the "Save" button.
STEP #2: Install Google Books Downloader Lite
1. Locate the downloaded file and double-click it to run the installer.
2. Follow the installation prompts, until the program is installed on your computer.
3. Once installed, launch Google Books Downloader Lite.
4. As you can from the interface, the first option is "Google Book URL".
5. This is where you paste the book URL taken Google Books site.
6. The second one is "Output Folder".
7. This is where you want to save your downloaded Google book preview pages.
8. By default, it is set as "Desktop".
9. If you want to change to another location in your computer, click on the "small box with three dots" above the "Download" button.
10. A box pops up and from there you can make your selection, as to where you like to save the downloaded PNG file.
11. Then click the "OK" button.
12. Ignore the "FULL VERSION" button.
STEP #3: Download the Google Books preview pages
Now let’s see how to download preview pages of Google Books.
1. Go to the Google Books website and search for a book.
2. Make sure the book shows the label Preview under the title.
3. If the book shows only Snippet View, the preview pages cannot be downloaded.
4. Remember, you can only download the preview pages, if the book featured in Google Books, has the word "Preview".
5. Right click on the word "Preview" or the book title.
6. A context menu pops up, click on "Copy link address".
7. Paste the book URL onto the space below "Google Book URL:"
8. Then click the "Download" button.
9. You can see the green color gradually filling up the horizontal bar above the words "FULL VERSION".
10. Once it has finished downloading, a small box pops up with the word "Done".
11. Click "OK".
12. You can close the "Google Books Downloader Lite" interface by clicking on the "X" icon.
13. Now you should find the just completed download book folder with a random name at the place where you have set to save in your computer.
14. You can change the random name to other name of your own choice.
15. To view all the preview pages, double click on the folder.
16. Now you can read all the images of preview pages of that particular book in PNG format.
NOTE: At this point, all these preview pages CANNOT be edited, as they are actually images in PNG format.
STEP #4: Convert Google Books preview pages to editable text
This step is for those who want to edit the text from these preview pages.
You need to convert them to PDF or Word format to be editable.
You can do it with the free online OCR software.
OCR stands for "Optical Character Recognition".
Here is how you do it.
Go to the free online OCR tool.
First you select the language to be used and for the "Output formats", choose "Microsoft Word (docx)".
Now you upload your file by clicking on the blue button "Select file...".
A box pops up, and you locate your folder (with files of downloaded book preview pages).
Click it, and then click the "Open" button.
Now you can see all the downloaded preview pages in PNG format.
Click the one which you would like to edit.
Next click "Open" button.
It goes back to the OCR site.
Then click on the blue color "CONVERT" button.
The buttons shows: "waiting"...."processing"...and then back to "CONVERT".
You can see the text from the downloaded file below "Download Output File".
Move your mouse cursor over the text and click on it. It is just like the normal Word format.
Now you can edit the text from the book which you have downloaded from Google Books site.
After you've edited the test, you save the document by clicking on the "Download Output File".
A box pops up and you click the "OK" button.
Another box pops up and choose where you want to save the edited document in your computer or an external drive.
That's all.
Tips for working with downloaded Google Books preview pages
- Use high-resolution downloads for better OCR accuracy.
- Convert several pages into a single PDF for easier reading.
- Always double-check OCR text for errors.
- Only use small excerpts according to copyright rules.
Other methods to download Google Books preview pages
If this tool does not work on your system, you can try these alternative methods:
These guides provide alternative tools and scripts that may work if Google Books Downloader Lite stops functioning.