Create a PDF from a Web Page in Acrobat – Instructions

by Joseph Brownell / Monday, April 01 2019 / Published in Acrobat, Latest

Create a PDF from a Web Page in Acrobat: Video Lesson

This video lesson, titled “Creating PDFs from Web Pages,” shows you how to create a PDF from a web page in Acrobat Pro DC. Alternatively, to see how to create a PDF from a web page if using Acrobat XI Pro, please watch our other video titled “Creating PDFs from Web Pages,” instead. These video lessons are from our complete Acrobat Pro tutorial, titled “Mastering Acrobat Made Easy.”

Create a PDF from a Web Page in Acrobat: Overview

You can create a PDF from a web page in Acrobat. Acrobat can convert a web page or an entire website into a PDF file. This can help you work on content offline, email it, or simply save it for archival purposes. Because of Acrobat’s conversion settings, the resulting PDF document behaves similarly to the original web page. Unlike the web page, however, you can easily print, email, or save the PDF.

To create a PDF from a web page in Acrobat, open the Acrobat application. If using Acrobat Pro DC, then click the “Create PDF” button in the Tools Center. Then click the “Web Page” option at the left side of the “Create a PDF from any format” screen to show your options at the right side of the screen. If using Acrobat XI Pro, then select “File| Create| PDF from Web Page” from the Menu Bar, instead, to open the “Create PDF from Web Page” dialog box.

Then enter the URL of the web page from which to create a PDF into the “Enter URL or Select File” field. Alternatively, to create a PDF of a locally-saved website, click the adjacent “Browse” button. Then choose the web page to convert in the “Select File to Open” dialog box and click the “Open” button.

To specify the number of levels of site hierarchy from the URL or page to convert, check the “Capture Multiple Levels” checkbox or click the same button if using Acrobat XI. To enter the number of levels of the website to convert to PDF, type a number into the “Get (number) level(s)” field. The top level includes the page for the specified URL. The second level consists of all the pages linked to that page, and so on.

Create a PDF from a Web Page in Acrobat – Instructions: A picture of a user creating a PDF from a web page URL in Acrobat Pro DC.

Be careful converting multiple website levels, because downloading it can take a long time and make a huge PDF. It is not recommended to select the “Get entire site” option button, as many websites are too large to convert to a single PDF. Most often, you’ll use the “Get (number) level(s)” option button and enter “1” into the adjacent field.

Checking the “Stay on same path” checkbox only converts pages subordinate to the URL. Checking the “Stay on same server” checkbox only downloads pages on the same server as the URL.

To set advanced conversion options if using Acrobat Pro DC, click the gear-shaped “Advanced Settings” button. Doing this then opens the “Web Page Conversion Settings” dialog box. Its “General” tab lets you use the drop-down and checkboxes to set options for the file type, bookmark creation, headers and footers, and PDF tags. The “Page Layout” tab lets you adjust PDF settings like page size, margins, page orientation, and scaling. After adjusting any settings, click “OK” to apply them.

To then create the PDF in both versions of Acrobat, click the “Create” button. Acrobat converts the website and displays the “Download Status” dialog box. When it is finished, the dialog box closes, and the new PDF appears. Occasionally, the “Error” dialog box may appear onscreen if errors were encountered. You can read the error message and click “OK” to dismiss it.

By default, Acrobat applies the name of the converted website to the new PDF. You can change the name of the PDF when you save the file. If you’ve captured multiple website levels, Acrobat displays the website hierarchy in the Bookmarks panel in the Navigation Pane. You can then edit the PDF further or save it to your computer.