Wednesday 4 January 2012

Convert web pages to PDF files from laptop or iPad to save for later - 2 tools

As I am using my iPad more and more often, if I want to archive a site and keep a copy of it, it is difficult to copy the text and pictures out and put it into a word document - which is what I would do on my laptop. 
 
  1. Use http://www.web2pdfconvert.com - simply enter the URL of the page you would like a PDF from and it will convert for you (I have had some problems getting the PDF back using this method from my iPad)
  2. Web2pdfconvert has an email option. Simply send an email to submit@web2pdfconvert.com with convert as the subject and the URL in the body of email. The PDF of the web page gets emailed back to you within a couple of minutes (this is good for storing them in the archive of a gmail account, or to review later when you get to a laptop and access your email. You can also use the "open in..." function as described below)  
  3. There is an iOS app that simplifies the process. Url2pdf is a very simple app and only includes a field to enter the PDF and a button to start the convert. It opens the pdf in safari once it has converted it.  
 
 
I then save these files to Dropbox. Dropbox is online storage. You can access files directly from your mac, pc, iOS or android device. You can also seamlessly transfer files between these platforms. You get 2GB for free. 
 
 
If you don't have a Dropbox account, click here to sign up (you also give me a small amount of extra space if you use this link)