What you should know
HTML to PDF turns a saved web page (an .html file) into a fixed document: an invoice generated by software, a help page, a saved article, an exported email.
Rendering is done by Chromium, Chrome's engine, on FileXvert's server: the PDF looks like the page shown in a browser. The file is sent to our server over an encrypted connection, after a notice shown before upload, converted in an isolated service with no Internet access, then deleted as soon as the result is returned.
Strengths
- Same rendering as Chrome: layout, embedded stylesheets, tables
- Images embedded in the page (as data URIs) kept
- JavaScript disabled: a booby-trapped page cannot run anything
- File deleted from the server as soon as the PDF is returned
Limitations to know
- Only the .html file is sent: external images and stylesheets, or ones in a folder next to it, are not loaded
- Content generated by JavaScript does not appear
- For a live page, save it first or use your browser's Print to PDF
- 25 MB maximum per file
When to use it
Convert an HTML file to PDF to archive an invoice, a receipt or a documentation page in a form that will not change. For a page that is still online, your browser's Print then Save as PDF is often the simplest option.
Quality, size and compatibility
Chromium applies the CSS styles contained in the file and lays the page out on A4. External resources are deliberately not loaded: the service has no Internet access. A page that depends on JavaScript or remote images will therefore look incomplete.
Frequently asked questions
- Why do my page's images not appear?
- Because they are hosted elsewhere or in a separate folder, and only the .html file is sent. Images embedded directly in the page (data URIs) do appear.
- Is the page's JavaScript run?
- No: it is disabled, for security. The PDF shows the HTML content as written in the file.