Making PDF copies of webpages

You can use Chrome to make a copy of a webpage.

Chrome has the ability to save a webpage in MHTML format but it is generally better to "print" the webpage to PDF format because the date that you captured a copy of the webpage will then be printed in the header (in the top left).

To make a PDF copy of a webpage:

1. Use Chrome to find the webpage you want to make a copy of.

2.  Select the Print option.  A print panel will then appear. 

3. Select the Save as PDF option. Select Custom for Margins and drag the margins to provide one inch top, bottom and left-hand margins.

4. Tap Save and you should be prompted to specify the destination where the PDF copy of the webpage is to be created. Save the PDF with an appropriate name.

The PDF copy which Chrome produces will have the date and time you made the copy printed at the top left of every page (in British date format) and the URL of the webpage should be printed at the bottom left.

You should check that the print shows everything which is displayed on the webpage. Webpage designers may design their webpages with a stylesheet so that a slightly different format appears when printing as compared to the screen display - this is to take account of the fact that, for example, a print is divided into pages whereas a screen display is continuous. It is also possible for a webpage to be designed to detect the attributes of the display - not only the width and length of the window but also things related to hardware such as resolution - and to use that information not only to modify the display (e.g. perhaps using ordinary text where more stylish graphics might have been used for a computer display with higher resolution) but also to modify print style. Sometimes the design is not perfect and the print not only has a different format but may omit some of the text which is displayed, so do check. If the print version is significantly different from the screen display you may need to save one or more screenshots rather than doing a print-to-PDF. But before resorting to a screenshot you could try using using a different computer to see if the different hardware means that the print-to-PDF done on that computer happens to more accurately reflect the original displayed image. The advantage of print-to-PDF is that it captures the whole page even if only part of the page happens to be showing on the display whereas a screenshot only captures what is actually showing on the display at the time of the screenshot so that you have to scroll down and do more than one screenshot to capture the full page.

Disclaimer

This information page is designed to be used only by clients of John Antell who have entered into an agreement for the provision of legal services. The information in it is necessarily of a general nature and will not be applicable to every case: it is intended to be used only in conjunction with more specific advice to the individual client about the individual case. This information page should not be used by, or relied on, by anyone else.

Every reasonable effort has been made to ensure that the information is accurate and up to date at the time it was written but no responsibility for its accuracy, or for any consequences of relying on it, is assumed by me. You should satisfy yourself, before using any of the techniques, software or services described, that the techniques are appropriate for your purposes and that the software or service is reliable.

This page was lasted updated in August 2025. Disclaimer