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How to Turn Any Webpage Into a PDF on iOS

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Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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On iOS devices, there's a feature that lets you save any webpage as a PDF, so you can add edits, annotate it, read it offline, share it with friends, and more. Saving a webpage as a PDF is simple enough to do, but if you haven't done it before, you might not know the feature exists.


Here's how to do it:
  1. Open up Safari.
  2. Navigate to the webpage you want to save.
  3. Tap on the Share button, which is the square with the upwards arrow.
  4. On the bottom bar, swipe to the left several times until you see "Create PDF."
  5. Tap "Create PDF."
From there, you can choose to edit the PDF using markup tools by tapping on the pen icon on the top right of the screen, or you can print it, save it, or share it by using the Share icon at the bottom of the screen.

Article Link: How to Turn Any Webpage Into a PDF on iOS
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/how-to/turn-a-webpage-into-a-pdf/
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This feature has been available since at least iOS 9. When in Safari/share/Save pdf to iBooks. But iBooks is a prison, so from there you need to email it to yourself, then download the attached pdf to another app. Typical iOS runaround.
 
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now i see it said:
This feature has been available since at least iOS 9. When in Safari/share/Save pdf to iBooks. But iBooks is a prison, so from there you need to email it to yourself, then download the attached pdf to another app. Typical iOS runaround.
Click to expand...
Seems like the process that is described doesn't have some sort of a "runaround".
 
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It's been possible for a while now to create a PDF from Safari, Mail, or pretty much any other app that can print from iOS. Choose the "Print" option in the app, then pinch to expand the resulting print preview. From there, the resulting PDF can be sent to any number of apps.
 
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There are heaps and fairly obscure or hidden features in iOS, and macOS for that matter, so keep the tips coming!
 
JGoodish said:
It's been possible for a while now to create a PDF from Safari, Mail, or pretty much any other app that can print from iOS. Choose the "Print" option in the app, then pinch to expand the resulting print preview. From there, the resulting PDF can be sent to any number of apps.
Click to expand...

true but now it is a bit streamlined and allows for easy markup

however for email conversion to pdf, it looks as if you still have to do the "print" option
 
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This is nice and I didn't know about this particular feature. Just tested it out on a rather "tall" webpage and the result was spot on. Saved the entire "tall" page to PDF!

Like others have said, I use the iBooks app more like a folder for my PDF files. No complaints as I can open up, edit (to an extent) and if need be email the file to myself or to someone else.
 
jayducharme said:
That's one of the things I love about Apple devices -- that ability to create PDFs from almost anything. I didn't know iOS allowed that with web pages. Thanks for the tip.
Click to expand...
I didn't know for iOS but I have always used the option on me Mac. Print then save as pdf for pretty much anything.
 
Anything that can be printed on iOS can be converted to PDF. In the print preview window, zoom into the preview using two fingers and then tap the share button.
 
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Act3 said:
true but now it is a bit streamlined and allows for easy markup

however for email conversion to pdf, it looks as if you still have to do the "print" option
Click to expand...

As far as I know, the "Create PDF" option isn't present in all apps. The "print preview" trick will work with any app which supports the "Print" function.


JKG
 
Very cool.

Great tip, thank you. Next time I want to share something I read, I can circle what I want someone to read, instead of typing it out!
 
This is actually awesome and it seems to the job "properly", instead of printing to a PDF which would divide it into multiple pages.

Great way to archive a web page.
 
It’s a great feature. It is actually possible to get the PDFs out of the iBooks app locally (i.e. without emailing) by dragging them into another app’s folder in the Files app, for those concerned about that. From there you get more share options than in iBooks. It’s not the most intuitive process IMHO, but that’s another debate on the implementation of multi-tasking in iOS...
 
I tried it on the article page and got:

Unsupported file format
Data

iOS 11.2.2, iPad Pro 10"

Then tried another page and Safari crashed. Tried restarting Safari, same sequence of behavior.

Restarted iPad and it worked . . . . the first time, but then reverted to previous behavior.

Restarted again (hard reset) same results.

I'm a developer and it's getting bloody tiresome dealing with the endless ratholes on iOS and Mac OS. Safari seems to be the least reliable browser of the big 3.
 
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The best thing is that I was able to covert into pdf THEN save it in notes app. That’s how I kept record of it and easily sync across the iOS devices and Macs.
 
Works most of the time, but not always. Happened to me a few times that iOS cuts off second half of the web page. Incredibly annoying when you're in apples walled garden and alternative solutions are restricted.
 
Thanks for the "reverse pinch" to convert to pdf tip! I would NEVER have stumbled across that by accident, and it's unbelievably useful. FWIW, the things the original article is talking about require iOS 11, but this reverse pinch thing works on iOS 10.
 
MacRumors said:



On iOS devices, there's a feature that lets you save any webpage as a PDF, so you can add edits, annotate it, read it offline, share it with friends, and more. Saving a webpage as a PDF is simple enough to do, but if you haven't done it before, you might not know the feature exists.


Here's how to do it:
  1. Open up Safari.
  2. Navigate to the webpage you want to save.
  3. Tap on the Share button, which is the square with the upwards arrow.
  4. On the bottom bar, swipe to the left several times until you see "Create PDF."
  5. Tap "Create PDF."
From there, you can choose to edit the PDF using markup tools by tapping on the pen icon on the top right of the screen, or you can print it, save it, or share it by using the Share icon at the bottom of the screen.

Article Link: How to Turn Any Webpage Into a PDF on iOS
Click to expand...
what are you talking about. There is no bottom bar.
 
jayducharme said:
I don't see how. I treat it more like a folder (and actually keep frequently used PDFs there). If I create a PDF on iOS, all I have to do is go to iBooks on my Mac and I can drag that PDF anywhere I want, including into the Files folder for access by other iOS apps.
Click to expand...

Agree, iBooks is amazing. A really nicely designed folder where all my documents, books and PDF’s can reside. I can print, send to other apps and use directly in app.

It’s probably the best in built Apple App.
 
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