Typically, when you want to save a Web page for future reference, you bookmark it. But what happens if that site gets taken down? Or the content of the page gets changed? Or you want to actually preserve that page in a format that doesn’t require a Web browser?
All good questions. The simplest answer: Save important Web pages as PDFs. That gives you a much more permanent solution for storing, sharing, printing, and otherwise manipulating important Web content.
There are a number of ways to do this, but I’m partial to Web2PDF. There are actually three ways to use this handy free service: Copy and paste the URL of the page you want to convert; e-mail the URL of the page you want to convert to submit@web2pdfconvert.com; or install the Web2PDF bookmarklet.
I like this last option the best, as it’s literally a one-click solution. (Well, sort of. Read on.)
To add it to your browser (any browser — it works with all of them), click the PDF Button option on the Web2PDF site, then click the first of the two links you see: …browser and convert web pages to PDF files with one click using…
Next, click Bookmarklet, then drag the actual bookmarklet to your browser’s favorites bar.
Now, whenever you’re viewing a Web page you want to convert to PDF, click that bookmarklet (which is labeled Save page as PDF). That’ll pop open a new tab, and in a few seconds you’ll see “PDF successfully created” followed by three options: Download PDF, Save to Google Docs, and Store and Share PDF (which takes you to free file-sharing service FileJumbo).
So, technically, there’s a second click involved, but ultimately it doesn’t get much easier than that.
Contributing Editor Rick Broida writes about business and consumer technology. Ask for help with your PC hassles at hasslefree@pcworld.com, or try the treasure trove of helpful folks in the PC World Community Forums. Sign up to have the Hassle-Free PC newsletter e-mailed to you each week.