How to Export Text Messages from iPhone to PDF

Text messages often contain valuable memories, important information or details needed for legal proceedings. Exporting your iPhone conversations as PDFs is a convenient way to back them up, share them or print them for court or personal records.

With TouchCopy, you can easily export iPhone messages, including SMS, MMS, RCS, iMessage and WhatsApp conversations, as PDF files. This guide explains how to do it step by step.

Summary

To export text messages from iPhone to PDF, follow these steps...

1. Download and install TouchCopy.
2. Connect your iPhone to your computer via USB cable or Wi-Fi.
3. In TouchCopy, click on the "Messages" tab.
4. Browse through conversations and select the messages you wish to export.
5. Click "Save as PDF".

The PDF export created by TouchCopy includes all message details, such as sent and received timestamps, message text with emojis and reactions, and any images attached to messages, all embedded within the exported PDF.

Detailed Steps

Begin by installing and launching TouchCopy on your PC or Mac. Connect your iPhone to your computer with Wi-Fi or using a USB cable. Then, click on the "Messages" tab in the left-hand menu of TouchCopy.

TouchCopy will create a local backup of your iPhone, enabling you to browse and search through your iPhone messages from your computer. Messages are organized by type, including iMessage/SMS, WhatsApp and LINE.

If your iPhone backup is encrypted, TouchCopy may ask for your backup password to access your messages. The password is used only to unlock the encrypted backup and is never saved or shared. Learn more about backup types in TouchCopy.

Select a conversation that you wish to export and click the "Save as PDF" button at the top of TouchCopy.

Finally, TouchCopy will prompt you to choose a location on your computer to save the PDF. Select your desired folder and click "OK" to complete the export. The PDF file will be named after the contact whose conversation you selected.

Exporting Multiple Conversations as PDFs with TouchCopy

To export all your iPhone text messages, iMessages, LINE chats, and WhatsApp conversations as PDFs in one go, simply load your messages in TouchCopy and click "Save as PDF" without selecting specific conversations.

To export multiple conversations at once in TouchCopy, hold down Ctrl (on PC) or Cmd (on Mac) while selecting the contacts whose conversations you want to save. Then, click "Save as PDF" in the TouchCopy toolbar to begin exporting the chosen chats to your computer.

Each selected conversation will be exported as a separate PDF file, with the file named after the corresponding contact.

Customizing Your iPhone Message exports

TouchCopy lets you customize how your iPhone messages appear in exported PDF files.

Under Settings > Messages, you can adjust the export layout, font size and page numbering. Adding page numbers can be particularly useful for longer conversations, making individual pages easier to organize and reference.

For legal proceedings or detailed record-keeping, TouchCopy also provides forensic message export options, including Bates numbering, numeric message identifiers and extended device information.

Alternative Ways to Export Text Messages as PDF

If you're trying to export a particularly long conversation and the above methods fail to create a PDF, here are two workaround methods for Windows and Mac users.

For Windows PC Users:

1. Ensure that you have downloaded and installed the latest version of TouchCopy.
2. Open TouchCopy and connect your iPhone using a USB cable or Wi-Fi.
3. Click the "Messages" tab from the list on the left side of TouchCopy.
4. Select the messages you wish to save and "Save as HTML".
5. Then, open your copied message HTML file in your browser (e.g. Google Chrome).
6. In the browser, go to File > Print.
7. In the Print dialog, select "Save as PDF" instead of printing.
8. Click "Save" to create your PDF.

You can use this method to convert messages exported to HTML files to PDF using your browser. Below is an example of the Print window in Google Chrome:

For Mac users:

1. Open TouchCopy and connect your iPhone via USB cable or Wi-Fi.
2. Click the "Messages" tab from the list on the left side of TouchCopy.
3. Select the messages you wish to export.
4. Click "Print".
5. In the print window, click the dropdown marked "PDF".
6. Hit "Save as PDF".