And keep all the images, maps, and forms all together…

Often you would like to save a webpage on your computer (or in a cloud location) for future reference.

Bookmarks and Favorites are nice – but you prefer the more hierarchical, organizational environment of your Windows computer’s file system!  The ability to easily access important info in the future is a significant benefit of saving a webpage as a document.

In addition, the ability to quickly print the pages of your saved file is a huge advantage.

We have all experienced badly printed web pages where vast portions of the content fail to print or the entire project fails to print.  What to do?!

Saving Web Pages as a PDF

Windows computer browsers – Microsoft Internet Edge, Mozilla Firefox, and Google Chrome – each offer the means to save a webpage as a “PDF” file.

Portable Document Format (PDF), once an exclusive tool of Adobe Acrobat, is now an open standard, royalty-free format that saves documents,  images, web pages and forms in a compressed file.

PDF’s are an easy way to share information; they can be added as attachments to an email.

Printing Your PDF

To save a webpage as a PDF file, navigate to the Print function using the keyboard shortcut, CTRL + P.

Each of the three internet browsers offers ‘Print’ as a menu function. However using the keyboard shortcut will provide the most effective means of getting to the ‘Print Options Menu’.

Once at the Print Menu, the ‘Print’ option will likely point to your default printer.

• Change the print settings from the Default Printer;
• Choose ‘Save as PDF’ using the Change button.
• After changing the Print option to ‘Save as PDF’, the Print option becomes Save.
• Select Save.
• Choose the location to Save the file on your computer.
• Navigate to the computer or cloud location to store your PDF file – it will be available to print or access later.
• The Print option setting will remain as ‘Save As PDF’ – until you change the option back to Print and selecting the default or desired printer.

Accessing the PDF File

The PDF file is now saved to your computer hard drive; or to the cloud location of your choice.

Your pdf file will now be available for use without an Internet connection. It is complete with the text, images, and any forms associated with the web page converted to pdf.

Also, the PDF file will be smaller in size than saving a web page; which requires less storage space. This is a distinct benefit when sharing the pdf file as an email attachment.

Identical to other content management strategies (photographs, images, videos, logos, forms) – saving internet-based content as PDF files for future reference, collaboration, and access can be important for both personal and professional information needs.

It is so easy – once you know how!