PrintFriendly

Browser Extensions

What the Extension Can Do

Click the PrintFriendly button on any page and it opens over the article. Most people print or save a PDF and stop there. Everything below is available in that same window.

Changing the Page Before You Print

Everything here happens in your own browser, on your copy. The site you are reading is never touched.

  • Delete anything
    Click a paragraph, image or block to remove it. Keep clicking until only what you want is left.
  • Edit the text
    Fix a typo, shorten a passage, or write a note into the page before printing.
  • Highlight
    Mark passages so they stand out on paper or in the PDF.
  • Remove links
    Strip link styling so the text reads as text. Useful when a page is dense with them.
  • Text size and style
    Make the type bigger or smaller, and switch how headings are set.
  • Resize individual imagesNot on iPhone and iPad
    Shrink one picture without shrinking the rest, to save a page or stop an image dominating.
  • CropNot on iPhone and iPad
    Draw a box around the part of the page you want and discard the rest.

Saving and Sending

Where the finished page can go.

  • Print
    Send the cleaned-up page to your printer.
  • PDF
    Download it as a PDF.
  • Word
    Download it as a .docx you can keep editing.
  • Markdown
    Download it as Markdown, with its images saved alongside if you want them, or copy it straight to the clipboard.
  • Copy text
    Put the article on your clipboard as plain text or as Markdown.
  • Email
    Send the page to someone.
  • ZoteroNot on iPhone and iPad
    Save straight into a Zotero collection. Needs Zotero running on the same machine.
  • Dropbox
    Save the finished PDF straight to a PrintFriendly folder in your Dropbox. PrintFriendly can only see and write to that one folder, never the rest of your Dropbox.
  • Google Drive
    Save the finished PDF straight to your Google Drive. PrintFriendly can only see files it has saved there itself, never the rest of your Drive.
  • OneDrive
    Save the finished PDF straight to a PrintFriendly folder in your OneDrive. PrintFriendly can only see and write to that one folder, never the rest of your OneDrive.
  • Notion
    Save the finished PDF into your Notion workspace, using only the pages you have shared with PrintFriendly. It adds to a page called PrintFriendly by default, or you can choose a different shared page or database instead.

Tools for Any PDF

Not just the page you are on: upload a file from your device and work on it directly.

  • Convert, compress, edit and sign PDFsNot on iPhone and iPad
    Upload a PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint or image file from the toolbar and convert, compress, edit or sign it, no open page required.
  • Merge two PDFsNot on Chrome, Edge, iPhone and iPad
    Pick a PDF from the toolbar, add a second one, and combine the two into a single file.

Screenshots

For pages that are better as a picture than as text.

Reading

For getting through a page rather than keeping it.

  • Listen
    Have the article read to you, with a choice of voices.
  • Summarize
    Get a short summary of a long page before deciding whether to read it.

Where Things Work

Unless a feature says otherwise above, it works in Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari, including Safari on iPhone and iPad.

The exceptions

  • Resize individual images is not on iPhone and iPad, because it works by dragging a corner handle, and there is no reliable equivalent of that on a touch screen.
  • Crop is not on iPhone and iPad, because it works by dragging a selection box, and there is no reliable equivalent of that on a touch screen.
  • Zotero is not on iPhone and iPad, because the Zotero app for iPhone and iPad doesn't accept saves from the browser.
  • Convert, compress, edit and sign PDFs is not on iPhone and iPad, because it uploads a file from your device, and the toolbar hides that option on iPhone and iPad.
  • Merge two PDFs is not on Chrome, Edge, iPhone and iPad, because in Chrome and Edge a PDF picked from the toolbar opens in PrintFriendly's own PDF viewer, which has no merge, and on iPhone and iPad the toolbar hides the upload option.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Off until you turn them on: open Settings in PrintFriendly View, switch on Enable keyboard shortcuts on the Keyboard Shortcuts tab, and click Save. They then work on any page without opening the icon. To use different keys, change them in your browser's extension shortcuts settings. Not available on iPhone and iPad.

ShortcutAction
Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+0Open PrintFriendly View
Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+7Open PrintFriendly and print
Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+6Open PrintFriendly and save as PDF
Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+9Take a full page screenshot

Common Questions

Does any of this change the actual web page?#

No. Everything happens in your own browser, on your copy of the page. Nobody else sees your edits and the site is untouched.

Do these cost anything?#

No. The extension is free. Some features ask you to sign in, and a couple apply a daily limit. The window tells you which at the point you use one, rather than hiding it behind a price list.

A feature I read about is not in my window#

Check the list above first, in case it is one of the features that do not run on iPhone and iPad. Otherwise update the extension: the toolbar gains features over time and an old version will be missing recent ones.

If it still is not there, tell us with the browser you are using.

How do I connect or disconnect a cloud service?#

Click Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive or Notion in the Save menu and follow the sign-in prompt the first time; that connects it. To disconnect one, sign in on the website and open Settings in your account, where Connected apps lists each service with a Disconnect button.

Where does the file end up when I save to a cloud service?#

Each service has its own spot:

  • Dropbox lands in a PrintFriendly folder inside your Dropbox.
  • Google Drive saves to the top level of your Drive.
  • OneDrive lands in a PrintFriendly folder inside your OneDrive.
  • Notion adds the file to a page called PrintFriendly, or to a page or database you pick yourself.