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30

How To Download Scribd Documents For

Free
Posted by Jamie on March 27, 2019
Originally marketed as the “YouTube” for documents, Scribd began its operation as a
way for anyone to publish and host their documents and writing online. Born out of
the need for one of the site’s creators to host his father’s medical research without
having to pay for publication and wait over a year for the documents to be
published, the site gained notoriety in 2009 after signing a deal with several
publications, including The New York Times, Huffington Post, TechCrunch, and
several other blogs and publications to host their documents, as well as for their
Scribd Store, which allowed users to sell digital copies of their work online.

Since then, Scribd has morphed into an online subscription service, built to read
millions of eBooks, comics, and more online with a Netflix-like subscription service.
Despite this refocus on more mainstream titles and novels, Scribd is still used by
millions of people daily to host and share online documents using the platform built
by the site itself. In the site’s documents section, you’ll find historical papers,
political documents, poll results, and plenty of other information for use in your
college assignments, term papers, or just as a general document of interest. And
while viewing these articles is free by itself, albeit with some limitations on certain
documents, downloading this information to your computer is limited for often than
not.

While you should avoid downloading and using others’ documents without paying
for a monthly Scribd decision, at the end of the day, certain users—students
specifically—may find it difficult to pay for the research and other documents
provided on the website. Luckily, there are some ways around these restrictions.
Though the three methods outlined below are both occasionally hit or miss, they
often can be used to bypass the Scribd security and subscription measures, making
it easy to view the documents necessary for your next project or paper. Here’s what
to do.

METHOD ONE: UPLOADING DOCUMENTS

First, it’s important to note that this is method one for a reason. Although we have
three methods on this list, this is the one that we’ve had the most luck with, and as
of March 2019, it’s still the one that works reliably. However, it’s not perfect, so if
this method ever goes down, let us know in the comments and try our other two
methods below.

Our first method for downloading Scribd documents on the web today relies on
uploading a document of your own to a Scribd account, in order to gain access to the
document you want to download. We’ll be performing our test in Google Chrome,
though you should be able to accomplish this in any modern browser, including
Firefox, Safari, and Microsoft Edge. Start by heading over to Scribd.com and signing
up for a new account. Alternatively, if you already have an account with Scribd, you
can use your existing account by logging in. Scribd supports accounts with both
Facebook and Google sign-ins, so starting a new account is as easy as clicking a
button and linking your account. Once you’ve signed in, find the document you want
to download and copy the URL down to an outside source, like a Google Keep note
or Word document.

From here, you’ll want to click the “Download” option on the right side of your
display. This will automatically redirect you to a page designed to help you set up
your Scribd subscription, complete with a 30-day trial. Above this page, however,
you’ll see an option to upload files from your computer, with a button that reads
“Select Files to Upload.” Click this button and, on your computer, prepare any kind of
document. If you have a word processor installed on your computer, like Word or
Apple Pages, you can use that to create a short, meaningless document. Alternately,
you can use Google Docs to create a free document on your computer, and download
it to your device. The document can contain anything, including straight gibberish;
we recommend using a Lorem Ipsum generator if you’re having trouble figuring out
what to write. When your document is uploaded, provide a title for the new file and
hit “Save.”

Now, grab that URL we saved earlier in this process and paste it into the address bar
at the top of your web browser. A download button should load on your device, and
you’ll be able to save the Scribd document to your computer. However, we should
mention that, thanks to recent updates from Scribd, we ‘ve had some difficulties
performing this without first editing the HTML code using the inspect button on
your browser. It’s not a perfect solution, but once you edit the HTML for the View
button to lead to your device, you can download an HTML version of the page,
allowing you to take the document offline. If you have access to Adobe Acrobat Pro
(check with your school or teacher), you can convert the HTML document to a
PDF.

METHOD TWO: USING THE PAGE SOURCE CODE

The second of two methods used for viewing Scribd documents, this involves using
Mozilla Firefox to view the page’s source code to gain access to the page’s info. As
mentioned above, we’ve experienced some hit or miss results with this method, but
since it only takes a couple minutes of your time to try, it’s worth trying anyway.
You’ll know this method has failed if you receive a message that announces an
invalid key error. Otherwise, let’s get going with your Scribd document. This was
originally our top-recommended way to download Scribd documents without
paying for a membership, but we’ve heard from enough users having difficulty with
this process to demote it to a backup method.
Start by navigating Firefox (we can’t suggest using Chrome, as Chrome generates a
.swf file that never manages to download) to the Scribd document you’re looking to
save to your computer. Though Scribd also carries full-length novels and other
works of fiction, we recommend only using this for nonfiction documents and other
sources for your projects, papers, and research. Inside your document’s preview,
right-click the document and select “View Page Source” from the menu. This will
open a new tab in your browser, displaying the source information for your Scribd
target.

In this new page, hit Ctrl+F to open the Find in Page UI in Firefox. In this field, enter
the phrase “access_key,” and upon finding the result in the Scribd source code,
highlight and copy the code to your computer. It should be an alphanumerical code,
and appear as ‘key-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.” Now head back to the original document
page in your browser and look at the URL in the top of the browser. This time, we’re
looking for the document ID number in the URL of your specific page. Unlike the
access key, the document ID is listed in the URL, and consists of several numbers.
The URL should appear as “‘https://www.scribd.com/read/NUMBER/DOCUMENT
TITLE.” We’ll be using the number portion of that link in a moment.

Now, open up a new tab in Firefox. We’re going to create a new URL using the
information provided us by both the access key, the document ID number, and the
following partial URL:
“http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf?document_id=NUMBER&access_key
=key-ACCESS_KEY”. When you’ve pasted this URL into your new tab, replace the
number section with the document ID and the access key area with the access key
you grabbed earlier. Following this, you’ll have to wait a few minutes for the page to
load as your documents begins to download from the Scribd servers. Once your
document has finished loading, use the print option to print to PDF, and your
document will be saved to your computer.

If this method doesn’t work for you, and you receive some form of error message
from Scribd, retry using the first method listed above. Users have reported to us that
their preferred method uses the document upload method listed above.

METHOD THREE: GREASEMONKEY SCRIPTS

For this next step, you’ll need to use one of multiple different Greasemonkey scripts
to download your document, in addition to using Firefox. This has been hit or miss
with us as well, especially as extensions and plugins age and Scribd continues to
update their site. Still, it’s worth mentioning if only for the sake of completion. The
first thing you’ll need to make sure you have is Firefox. Greasemonkey is a Firefox-
only extension, and though Tampermonkey exists for Chrome, we’re going to need
to use Firefox for this one. Install Greasemonkey from the Firefox plugin store, and
head over to this site to install the Scribd Greasemonkey extension. There are
actually several of these that exist online, and each may be worth trying until you
find the correct one for you.

With your Greasemonkey script installed, you should be able to download Scribd
documents within your browser using the download key that appears on the top of
the page. That said, because Scribd is constantly changing their site, we can’t always
guarantee that you’ll be able to find a script that works. In our tests, we found
success using the script here, along with some of the scripts on GreasyFork, which
also include options to de-blur documents on Scribd.

***

Unfortunately, the nature of Scribd means that these methods are far from perfect.
Scribd doesn’t want users to access their document collection for free, and
therefore, these methods are always up in the air for whether or not they’ll work.
Typically, trying to force Scribds hand will get you somewhere, from a full-blown
document downloaded from their servers to a saved and converted HTML
document that can be used for PDF files. As always, we update this article once
every couple months with the newest information we can, and our comment section
is a great way to see who else is having success downloading from Scribd. None of
the methods performed here are by any means perfect, but with enough time,
energy, and effort, making progress within Scribd to gain access to documents for
your homework or studying isn’t too far away.

30 thoughts on “How To Download Scribd Documents

For Free”

Gordon Ramsay

October 29, 2019 at 12:39 pm

Method 1 has been patched
REPLY

Favour

October 9, 2019 at 4:09 pm

Hi there…
Method 1 worked for me. I am using Microsoft’s edge browser (if you find that relevant).
REPLY

Rhea

October 2, 2019 at 8:31 pm

Method 1 no longer works
REPLY
 Mackenzie

September 5, 2019 at 1:58 pm

method one worked for me! thanks for saving me from buying an 800$ textbook!
REPLY

Dongerino Frapuccino

September 3, 2019 at 3:36 pm

Worked like a charm, thank you! 😀
REPLY

hinami

August 27, 2019 at 7:31 pm

28th Aug 2019: Method 1 no longer works as there is no Download link anymore, only a link to sign
up for the trial.

Unknown

August 29, 2019 at 2:09 am

As of 29th Aug 2019 the download link is there
REPLY

Pete

August 3, 2019 at 12:26 pm

Method 1 still works, August 3rd 2019 (Downloaded Charisma on Command by Charlie Houpert).
Fun fact: I actually uploaded something useful instead of garbage. Method 2 on FireFox gave me the
same .swf file as on Chrome.

Test

August 12, 2019 at 12:46 pm

I use to get Method 1 to work… now I can not. It does not give me a “download” option anymore
before I upload… Just 30 day trial button

helda luz barrientos

August 22, 2019 at 9:43 am
no tengo targeta de credito

Sahil

July 24, 2019 at 9:23 am

Didn’t bother with the 1st method. Tried the 2nd method, but didn’t work for me. The third method
worked brilliantly. Installed lots of un-blur script at once, so don’t know which one worked, however
now I have access to the document I wanted. So, thank you so much for the hack. Loved it!
REPLY

Matheus Justino

July 7, 2019 at 1:20 pm

#1 worked! Thanks a lot! <3
REPLY

Mark

June 30, 2019 at 7:32 am

Method #1 Worked perfectly ! Thanks !
REPLY

Alex

June 10, 2019 at 6:02 am

#1 is Excellent! It worked for me. Thanks!
REPLY

Rex

June 5, 2019 at 12:09 am

June the 5th 2019
Didn’t try Method 1 as it asks me to put my payment info (and I won’t)
Method 2 didn’t work
Method 3 worked partially, had to download GreaseFork unblurring add-ons to GreaseMonkey to
make it work (tried different ones, some didn’t work)
REPLY

Wibble

May 10, 2019 at 8:41 am

Method 1 (upload any document) working May 2019. Thanks.
REPLY

Kemmler

May 3, 2019 at 2:49 am

Thanks dude! It works perfectly! May 2019
REPLY

Lomo

April 13, 2019 at 3:21 am

Yes…. It’s work for me April 2019
REPLY

BT

April 4, 2019 at 2:58 pm

Thanks, works on april 2019 :))
REPLY

Prince Daniels

April 3, 2019 at 2:51 pm

Method 1 worked perfectly. Thanks so much.
REPLY

Kurt

March 27, 2019 at 5:19 pm

I have a subscription to scribd. I have also 5 Greaseonkey downloaders. How do I actually save a
document to my PC? (and not as a swf.)
REPLY

kaiki

March 9, 2019 at 1:45 am

method 1 is still working..its great
REPLY

Downloader
February 19, 2019 at 8:07 am
Method 1 still works on 19, Feb 2019. Thank you !
REPLY

Bob Loblaw

February 16, 2019 at 5:09 pm

First still works – Feb 19, 2019. Generated a Lorem Ipsum doc, saved it as html, opened it in Word,
saved as a .docx then uploaded it and downloaded the file I needed
REPLY

Krong

December 10, 2018 at 5:02 am

Thank you so much! 1st Method works hehe
REPLY

Tine

November 26, 2018 at 8:42 pm

AS OF NOV 27, 2018
Method 1 still works.
REPLY

larrybud

November 26, 2018 at 8:22 pm

The lack of knowledge in this thread is amazing. Method 1: When you paste a link into your browser,
it doesn’t matter what page you’re currently on, or if you uploaded or anything, it’s a new web
request to download. So if the document is free to begin with, it will download. If it’s not free, it won’t
download.

Nothing magical or “hackish” about it.

REPLY

Jim

November 10, 2018 at 6:31 am

10. 11. 2018 Method 1 still works 😀
 Emre

November 12, 2018 at 7:54 am

Yes, still working and it’s the easiest method. 😀
Thanks Jamie.
REPLY

SC

October 18, 2018 at 4:30 am

Method 1 worked as of 18 Oct 2018. Thanks for the tip. Not sure why this is not publicised on Scribd
itself at the point of download
REPLY

Willi Stoph

September 30, 2018 at 10:03 pm

as of 2018-10-01 methode #1 still works, thankyou for sharing !
REPLY

Dainty

September 29, 2018 at 4:53 am

Method 1 works like magic!! You are amazing. Thank you for this
REPLY

tytechjunkie

September 17, 2018 at 7:12 pm

Method 1 works for textbooks. They rearranged the format so now the upload link is at the bottom.
REPLY

Danz

September 10, 2018 at 8:36 pm

IT WORKS! Method 1 Works! Thanks!
REPLY
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