How to Screenshot a Whole Page in Chrome

Learn how to screenshot on Google Chrome with and without extensions

By
Jonathan Terrasi
Jonathan Terrasi
Writer
  • Northwestern University
Jonathan Terrasi is a former Lifewire writer who specializes in security and digital privacy, Linux, and consumer technologies.
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Updated on September 8, 2020

What to Know

  • Hands-down easiest: Press Ctrl+-, press F11, and take a screenshot using your desired method.
  • Next easiest: Press Ctrl+P and select Print > Save As PDF to save the screen capture as a PDF file.

This article explains how to take a full-page screen capture in Google Chrome, both with and without browser extensions.  

How to Take a Screenshot of Google Chrome Without Extensions

In those cases where a web page comes pretty close to fitting within your browser window, only requiring the tiniest bit of scrolling to see the rest, you can zoom out a bit and take a normal screenshot.

  1. Press Ctrl+Minus to zoom out one increment at a time until the layout is to your liking. You can also select the three vertical dots, then select the Minus (-) to zoom out as many times as needed for the window to display the whole page.

    Chrome web browser set to 50% zoom.

  2. Next, enter fullscreen mode. Either press F11 or select the three vertical dots, then select the Fullscreen icon to the right of the zoom in/out controls.

    Google Chrome web browser in fullscreen mode.

  3. Finally, take a screenshot using whatever screenshot utility or method you generally use.

Take a Chrome Screenshot by Saving as a PDF

You can also print the screen, save it as a PDF, and either keep it in its PDF format or convert it into an image format.

Within Google Chrome's print controls, select More Settings to adjust the PDF to your liking. You can change the paper size, margins, and scale.

How to Take a Full Page Screen Capture Using a Chrome Extension

While these extension-less methods can be handy enough if you only want to capture basic web pages occasionally, it's likely not going to be enough if you need to do so frequently, especially if they're large or unwieldy pages.

If the latter is more often the case, you will probably want to enlist the aid of a dedicated screenshot extension, like Full Page Screen Capture.

  1. Navigate to the Chrome Web Store in your browser.

  2. Enter “full page screenshot” into the search box and either select the corresponding suggested search term or press Enter. 

    Google Chrome web browser on the Chrome Web Store results page for "full page screenshot" extensions.

  3. Select Add to Chrome next to the Full Page Screen Capture extension. 

    Google Chrome web browser on the Chrome Web Store, with the "add extension" dialog box surfaced.

  4. With the page open in the current tab, select the Full Page Screen Capture extension icon in the top-right of your browser.

  5. Wait for the screenshot to finish processing. 

  6. The extension will automatically open a new tab. Select the download image icon to download the screenshot.

    Screen Capture Results page for the Full Page Screen Capture browser extension for the Google Chrome web browser, with the download dialog.

    If you're asked to let the extension have access to your device’s file system, select Allow.

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