Saving a webpage as a PDF assures you can read it offline, but it is also helpful if you want to share it or see it on another device. The best part is that the entire process takes a few taps and requires only one app – Safari – that comes standard with all iPad and iPhone devices. So, how do you create A PDF of a webpage for offline reading on iPhone and iPad?
For Creating A Webpage PDF For Offline Reading On iPhone And iPad:
- Open Your Apple Safari Browser And Find A Webpage To Save
- Use The Share Button To Convert The Webpage To PDF
- Choose A Pathway To Save Your PDF For Offline Reading
- You Can Read Web Pages Offline From Your Reading List Too
1. Open Your Apple Safari Browser And Find A Webpage To Save
First, you open the Safari browser on your iPad or iPhone device and head over to the webpage you want to save as an offline PDF file. If you’re unfamiliar with Apple, Safari is the app denoted by a blue compass with a red and white needle.
2. Use The ShareButton To Convert The Webpage To PDF
The process for converting a webpage to PDF differs slightly according to your version of iOS, so we’ll cover both methods for iOS 11 and iOS 15.
For iOS 11 users, here’s what you do:
Find the Share button denoted by a square icon with an arrow. You can expect to find it either at the top or bottom of the app window, depending on whether your device is in a vertical or horizontal position.
Once you tap the Share button, Safari will open the iOS share sheet. On the bottom row, use your finger to swipe through the options and select the one titled Create PDF.
At this point, if you have the inclination, you may draw modest illustrations and highlights with iOS’s markup tools, which appear when you save a screenshot. To begin, you must first press the pen symbol in the top-right corner of the app window. Afterward, if there are no further changes to make, click Done to proceed.
If you have iOS 15 instead, follow these steps:
Once you have a webpage you want to convert to PDF, look for the Share button near the top or bottom of the app window, depending on whether your device is lying vertically or horizontally.
After tapping the Share button, Safari will open a new window; select Options at the top. From the Options menu, choose PDF and then Done.
3. Choose A Pathway To Save Your PDF For Offline Reading
After completing the conversion process and choosing PDF as the sharing format, you’ll have the opportunity to save it like any other file. Of course, if you want to share it, you can do that too! You may, for example, AirDrop it to other Apple devices, send it to yourself or someone else over iMessage, email it, or store it in your device’s Files app.
When you select Save File To, you should get a list of available destinations, including cloud services such as iCloud Drive, Google Drive, and applicable subfolders. Moreover, if you go with the cloud method, you may need to take additional steps.
For instance, Google Drive requires launching that app and expressly identifying a PDF as available offline. To view a file, you must launch a suitable program frequently determined by the destination.
4. You Can Read Webpages Offline From Your Reading List Too
If you’re unfamiliar with the Reading List feature, you can bookmark webpages for later or offline reading using Reading Lists. So, after you’ve created a list, you can read it anytime you want, even if you don’t have access to the internet.
While it’s certainly an option to add web pages to your reading list for offline reading, you won’t be able to annotate any documents. If offline accessibility is more valuable, follow these easy steps to add a webpage to your reading list.
- Launch the Safari browser on your iPad or iPhone, and navigate to the webpage that you want to be able to view offline.
- Once you have a webpage, find and tap on the same Share button that you used to convert a webpage into an offline PDF document. From the menu, select Add to Reading List.
- Your Safari browser will save the link to the webpage, granting you offline accessibility.
- To guarantee you can read the webpage offline, navigate to Settings in Safari and go to your Reading List options to ensure the Automatically Save Offline option is active.
If later comes sooner rather than later and you want to read your webpages offline:
- Tap the Bookmark button denoted by the open book icon, then select your Reading List by tapping the icon that looks like reading glasses.
- Select the webpage you want to read from your Reading List.
- After viewing the webpage, you can swipe left to delete it, or if you want to hang on to it or review it again later, swipe to the right to mark it as Unread.
Remember, the option to save your file will only appear among the share options if you choose PDF. Once you exit the sheet, the option will reset, meaning you must repeat the process if you want to convert multiple web pages to PDF.
Can You Remove Ads From Converted PDF Web Pages?
If the webpages you convert have ads or specific format styles, your converted PDF will replicate those elements. Fortunately, removing the ads and styling is possible by switching to Reader View when you do the conversion.
Here’s how to switch to Reader View:
- Launch Safari and make your way to the web page you want to convert.
- Tap the Safari Reader button in the link URL bar at the top of Safari, denoted by a hamburger menu (stacked lines). You will now be in Reader View.
- Once in reader view, hit the Sharing button, which looks like a small box with a protruding arrow.
- Top on the Print option from the Sharing menu.
- Adjust your settings in the Printer menu to your liking, and then click the Print button to print the article or web page from Reader View without any advertising or other material.
Where To Next?
This blog is a blog dedicated to using modern computing devices to run and manage a business. If you’re interested in using an iPad for your business, either as an entrepreneur, a small business owner or for your employees to use I recommend reading the following articles:
