How to save a long webpage as one continuous PDF in Chrome
Chrome's print dialog can save a webpage as a PDF, but it lays the page out on sheets of paper, so a long page is cut into many pages. To get one continuous page instead, use the Whole Page PDF extension: open the page and click its toolbar button.
- InstallAdd Whole Page PDF to Chrome from the Chrome Web Store.
- Open the pageGo to the webpage you want to save.
- Click the buttonClick the Whole Page PDF toolbar button and wait for the badge. The PDF goes to your Downloads folder.
Which method should I use?
Chrome's print dialog
Good for short pages, and when you want paper-sized pages for printing or filing. Nothing to install. Many pages print fine.
Whole Page PDF
Good for long articles and documentation when you want one continuous page with no page breaks, selectable text and clickable links.
Very tall pages
Extremely tall pages are saved as several tall pages, not one, for compatibility with PDF viewers. See very tall pages.
Why Chrome splits long pages
Chrome's print workflow lays the page out on a chosen paper size and paginates it. On a long page that means many sheets, and paragraphs, tables and images can be cut at the page edges.
Chrome's print dialog lets you choose a destination and adjust print settings. Changing the paper size, scale or margins can help in some cases, but Chrome still lays the page out on paper sheets. Many pages print fine. The splitting matters most on long articles and documentation.
How Whole Page PDF works
Whole Page PDF scrolls the page so lazy-loaded content appears, then saves it at its full height as one tall page instead of letter-size sheets. Text stays selectable and links stay clickable.
In our tests, with the current version, using Wikipedia articles (these are test results, not universal outcomes):
- The "Lighthouse" article printed as 15 letter-size pages with Chrome's default print, and saved as 1 page with Whole Page PDF.
- The "Photosynthesis" article printed as 32 pages, and saved as 2 tall pages.
Results depend on the page, and your browser may differ from our test setup.
Very tall pages
In our testing, extremely tall PDF pages could trigger an "out of range" error in Adobe Acrobat. Whole Page PDF splits very tall pages at approximately 199 inches to improve compatibility with PDF viewers. This is a practical compatibility choice for common PDF viewers.
When a page is split, content may be cut between pages, and fixed headers or footers may repeat on each page.
Limits and troubleshooting
- Saving can be slow. It can take 30 seconds or more on long pages.
- Debugging bar. Chrome shows a "started debugging this browser" bar while saving. Pressing Cancel on it stops the save and nothing is downloaded.
- Endless feeds. Pages that keep loading more content as you scroll are saved only as far as they have loaded.
- Unsupported pages. Browser-internal pages and the extension gallery cannot be saved.
- Managed browsers. Organization-managed browsers may block the extension.
Frequently asked questions
Is the text selectable?
Yes. The saved PDF contains real text, so you can select and search it.
Do links still work?
Yes. Links on the page stay clickable in the PDF.
Is anything uploaded?
No. Saving runs on your device, and nothing is uploaded.
Why does Chrome show a "started debugging this browser" bar?
The extension uses Chrome's debugging interface to produce the PDF, and Chrome shows that bar while it does. It goes away when the save finishes. Pressing Cancel stops the save and nothing is downloaded.
Why did I get several pages?
Very tall pages are split at approximately 199 inches for compatibility with PDF viewers. Content may be cut between pages, and fixed headers or footers may repeat. See very tall pages.