Print text messages from Android
2doc prints a whole text conversation from your Android phone, with no screenshots and no computer. It makes a PDF of the thread for the days you pick, every message dated and timed, and hands it to your printer through Android's own print dialog.
What the printout shows
A printed thread reads like a document, not a pile of screenshots:
- The conversation under the name your phone has for the contact.
- A date line for every day, and the time on every message.
- Your messages and theirs on their own sides, so the reader sees who said what.
- MMS photos and attachments in place, when you choose to include them.
- Page numbers on every page, so a missing page shows. The free version adds a "Created with 2doc" line in the page footer.
A screenshot shows one screen, and most of its messages carry no date. The printout covers every message in the period you choose, because 2doc reads the phone's own message store, not the screen. If the pages are for a court or an official body, the guide to a complete record covers what to add and what to check first.
Print a text conversation, step by step
- Install 2doc from Google Play, open it and tap Create Document.
- Tap Messages and allow 2doc to read your messages. They are read on the phone and stay there.
- Select the conversation. If a thread you expect is not listed, tap Missing texts? to see why.
- Pick the period: Today, 7 days, 30 days, or Custom with a start and an end date.
- Tap Generate Document. The PDF is written on the phone.
- Open the document and tap Print.
Every screen of steps 1 to 5, with the options for photos and links, is in the text messages to PDF guide.
In the print dialog
Print opens Android's own print dialog, the one other apps use too. At the top, pick your printer, or Save as PDF to get a file instead of paper. Below that are the number of copies, the paper size and the pages to print.
For a long thread, print a page range if only part is wanted, and keep the full document in the app. 2doc hands the file only to the print service you pick; it does not pass through a server of ours.
If the phone finds no printer
Android prints through print services. Many phones come with one that finds printers on the same Wi-Fi network. If your printer is not in the list, install your printer maker's print app from Google Play; it adds itself as a print service.
Some phones cannot print at all, and on those 2doc says "Printing is not available". The conversation can still reach paper, because the document is a regular PDF:
- Share it to your email and print it from a computer.
- Save it to Google Drive and print it from any device signed in to that account.
- Send it to a print shop or a library that prints from email.
Print only some days
The period decides what goes on paper. Under the period, each selected conversation shows how many of its messages fall inside it, so you know how much will print before you generate. Longer ranges are a Pro feature.
To print another stretch of the same thread, change the section's period and generate again. You do not start over.
What is free
Everything on this page, printing included. Pro is a single one-time purchase, with no subscription and no ads in either version. It unlocks longer date ranges, several conversations in one document, extra image layouts, and removes the "Created with 2doc" page footer.
What can be missing
A printout is only as complete as what the phone lets 2doc read. Apps that are not your default SMS app do not see everything:
- Internet chats (RCS "chat features") are not SMS and can show up only partly, or not at all. Texts sent as plain SMS always do.
- Texts deleted in your SMS app, including auto-deleted verification codes, are gone from the phone for every app.
- Blocked or spam-filtered senders, and conversations that newer Android versions flag, can be held back from apps that are not the default SMS app.
2doc explains each case on the phone, behind the Missing texts? button, and the text messages to PDF guide lists what it can do about them.
Questions
Can I print the whole conversation at once?
Yes, for the period you pick. Every message of the thread in that period goes into one document, which prints as one job. Longer ranges are a Pro feature.
Does it print my replies too?
Yes. Sent and received messages both print, each on its own side of the page.
Do I need a computer?
No. The messages are read on the phone, the document is made on the phone, and the phone sends it to the printer you pick. A computer only helps when the phone cannot reach a printer.
Will a court accept the printout?
That is for the court or body and your adviser to decide, and it differs by country. 2doc gives you a complete, dated record of what is on your phone; it does not certify anything. The guide to a complete record covers what to add and what to check.