A PDF that still looks like the page, with the links still working
Free, real selectable text, and your choice of paper size.
Chrome can already print to PDF, and the result is usually a disappointment. Background colours vanish, the layout reflows into something nobody designed, and page breaks land in the middle of things.
This renders the page as it actually looks and keeps the links clickable, which matters if the PDF is going to somebody who will want to follow them. The text stays real text too, so it is searchable and selectable rather than a picture of words.
How to use it
- Open the page.
- Click the icon, pick paper size, orientation and margins.
- Strip the clutter first if you only want the content.
- Save, and open it straight away if you asked it to.
What it can access, and why
| Permission | Why it needs it |
|---|---|
| Reads the current tab | Only when you click the icon. |
| Chrome's debugger interface | What renders a faithful PDF. The print dialog cannot be driven programmatically, so this is the route. Attached for the render, detached after. |
| Runs a script on the page | To load lazy images before rendering, so they are not blank in the PDF. |
| Downloads | To save the PDF, and to open it afterwards if you chose that. |
Full detail in the privacy policy.
FAQ
Are the links really clickable in the PDF?
Yes, because the PDF is generated from the live page rather than from an image of it. Anything that was a link is still a link, which is the main reason to use this instead of a screenshot.
Why is my PDF missing background colours?
Some sites explicitly hide backgrounds in their print stylesheet, which the browser honours. That is the site telling the browser what a printed version should look like. Turning on the clutter-stripping option usually gives a better result than fighting it.
Can it do multiple pages into one PDF?
No, one page at a time. Merging is a different job and there are good free tools for it, including on ToolBreezy.
Does the text stay searchable?
Yes. It is real text with real fonts, not a rendered image, so search and copy both work.