How to: Capture complete web pages

Capturing complete web pages – that is, from top to bottom – can be somewhat annoying. Most webpages don’t fit in your browser’s window and you need to scroll down in order to view all of their content.

So you only have two options left: either you go through the process of capturing the area displayed in your browser bit by bit and then reconstruct the whole website on your favorite graphic editor, or you make use of one of these special capturing tools I’m going to tell you about.

If you use Firefox, you’ve got two alternatives, both in the shape of a browser plug-in. One is Screengrab, which features three possible capturing methods: the complete page, only the visible portion or a user-selected area. Plus, you can choose between copying the image to the Clipboard for further editing in an image editor and saving it as a PNG file. The other Firefox extension you can use to obtain complete web captures is Save as Image. This one adds a new command to the browser’s File menu, enabling you to save the whole website as a JPG or PNG file and in four different quality levels.

If you use Internet Explorer, there’s also a plug-in for you. It’s called IE Screenshot and it allows you to capture the page you’re viewing in your browser from top to bottom. Simply click on the IE Screenshot icon on the toolbar and save it as BMP.

Finally, if you prefer to take snapshots with a third-party application instead of just a browser plug-in, your best choice is IE Snapshot. Don’t be misled by the name: this program is not just a screen capturing tool for Internet Explorer. In fact, it’s an independent software app that provides you with an embedded browser, which you can use to load the web page you want to capture. Then save it as JPG, GIF, BMP or even PDF, and you’re ready to go.