How to save a web page as a PDF
Updated
Contents
To save a web page as a PDF, open Webpage to PDF, paste the page's full address, choose a page layout if you want one, and press Render PDF. A copy of Chromium, the engine behind Chrome and Edge, loads the page, lets its scripts run, and prints it to a PDF whose text you can search and copy.
The page is fetched by pdf.xyz's secure server, not by your browser. The job carries only the address you typed, sent over an encrypted connection, and the site sees a signed-out visitor with none of your cookies, so members-only pages and paywalls come out as a stranger would see them.
For an HTML file on your computer rather than a live address, HTML to PDF renders it with the same engine and the same layout options. Either way, the download link stops working after 60 minutes.
Open Webpage to PDFStep by step
- 1Open the Webpage to PDF tool.
- 2Select everything in the address field, which starts with https://, and paste the full link from your browser's address bar over it. Only http and https links are accepted.
- 3Under Page layout, pick a Page size (A4, Letter, Legal, A3, or A5), Portrait or Landscape, the Margins, a Screen width, or tick One long page. Left as they are, the page's own print settings decide the layout.
- 4Press Render PDF. The address is uploaded to our secure server over an encrypted connection, and Chromium opens and prints the page.
- 5When “Your PDF is ready.” appears, press Download. The link stops working after 60 minutes, so save the PDF right away.
Page size, margins, screen width and one long page
Yes, under Page layout: Page size (A4, Letter, Legal, A3, or A5), Orientation, Margins (None, Small, or Normal), Screen width and One long page. Leave Page size on As the page sets it and a page size the site's print stylesheet sets still decides the paper, US Letter when there is none; choose a size, a screen width or One long page and your choice decides it instead. Screen width lays the page out as on a 1280, 768, or 390 pixel wide screen and scales it to fit the paper. One long page prints the whole page on a single page as tall as its content, up to 200 inches; anything longer continues on more pages.
One long page suits a long article or a receipt you want to scroll through without page breaks; a screen width suits a site whose print layout hides things you want, because it lays the page out as on that screen and scales it to fit the paper.
What ends up in the PDF
The PDF carries the page and nothing else: pdf.xyz adds no date, title, address or page-number lines. Backgrounds are printed, and a site that ships a print stylesheet gets that layout. Words a site draws as a picture or on a canvas stay pictures.
Nothing scrolls the page, and its scripts run within a fixed budget of time, so an endless feed prints only what it loads unscrolled, and images that load only as you scroll can be missing. Cookie notices and adverts shown to a new visitor can appear too.
Converting an HTML file instead
HTML to PDF takes one .html or .htm file instead of an address. Drag it onto the drop zone, set the same Page layout options, and press Render PDF; the PDF is named after your file. Leave Page size on its default and a CSS @page rule in your file decides the paper.
Common questions
Can I convert a members-only or paywalled page?
No. Our server receives only the address, never your cookies, so a members-only or paywalled page comes out as the screen a signed-out stranger gets, or as an error. For those, open the page yourself and use your browser's Print dialog with Save as PDF.
Can I choose the page size, margins or orientation?
Yes, under Page layout: Page size (A4, Letter, Legal, A3, or A5), Orientation, Margins (None, Small, or Normal), Screen width and One long page. Leave Page size on As the page sets it and a page size the site's print stylesheet sets still decides the paper, US Letter when there is none; choose a size, a screen width or One long page and your choice decides it instead. Screen width lays the page out as on a 1280, 768, or 390 pixel wide screen and scales it to fit the paper. One long page prints the whole page on a single page as tall as its content, up to 200 inches; anything longer continues on more pages.
Is the text in the PDF selectable?
Yes. It is a printed PDF, not a screenshot, so words can be selected, copied and found with Ctrl+F. Words a site draws as a picture or on a canvas stay pictures.
Why was my address refused?
It must begin with http:// or https://. Addresses on your own computer or a private network, such as localhost or 192.168.1.1, are refused, and while rendering our server fetches only public addresses, so a link that leads into a private network ends with an error instead of a PDF.
How do I convert an HTML file on my computer?
Use HTML to PDF: drop one .html or .htm file, choose the layout, and press Render PDF. It runs on the same secure server, which deletes your file when the job finishes.