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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsThe usual cause is not jsPDF. html2canvas can omit an image because the browser’s origin policy would taint the canvas, because the image has not finished loading, or because the capture is too large or outside html2canvas’s supported rendering model. A reliable workflow is: make the image same-origin or serve it with usable CORS headers, wait for images and fonts, capture dimensions that match the content, verify that the canvas is readable, and only then pass its data to jsPDF.
First, identify where the image disappears
There are three separate handoffs: the browser loads the image, html2canvas reconstructs your DOM into a canvas, and jsPDF converts that canvas into a PDF image. Test each handoff instead of treating every blank PDF as a jsPDF error.
- Inspect the canvas. If the image is absent immediately after
html2canvas()resolves, the problem is loading, CORS, unsupported content, or canvas size. - Test readability. If the image appears on the canvas but
toDataURL()throws aSecurityError, the canvas is tainted. - Validate the jsPDF call. If a readable data URL exists but the PDF is blank or the call throws, check the image format, coordinates, and dimensions supplied to
addImage().
Open DevTools’ Network panel for every image URL. Check the final response—not merely the URL typed in your HTML—because a redirect can move an apparently same-origin request to a CDN.
Cross-origin images: why useCORS is not a bypass
By default, html2canvas avoids drawing an image that would make the canvas unreadable (allowTaint:false). An image from another origin can taint a canvas. A tainted canvas cannot be read by script, so the normal conversion to a PNG data URL fails later.
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useCORS:true tells html2canvas to attempt a CORS request; it does not grant permission. The image server must return an appropriate Access-Control-Allow-Origin response header for the requesting page. If the server omits that header, the image may be skipped or the resulting canvas may remain unreadable.
Choose a cross-origin fix
| Fix | Server control required? | Best use | Limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serve from the application origin | Yes | First-party assets you can move or proxy into your site | Requires changing where the asset is served |
useCORS:true |
Yes, including the response header | A CDN or object store that supports CORS | Does not override browser policy; redirects and credentials still matter |
| html2canvas proxy | No for the image host; yes for your controlled proxy | Third-party images whose server cannot be changed | Adds infrastructure and must restrict which URLs it fetches |
| Inline or base64 data URI | No request during capture | Small assets you fetched and converted earlier | Increases document size and still requires a safe earlier fetch |
Do not expect allowTaint:true to repair PDF export. It permits drawing a tainting image, but it still prevents scripts from reading the canvas, which blocks the usual toDataURL() handoff.
Redirects are a common surprise
A page may reference /images/logo.png, yet the request can redirect to a different host. Inspect the final response origin and its CORS headers. A same-origin starting URL does not guarantee a same-origin final resource.
Use a diagnostic capture before calling jsPDF
This example waits for image resources and fonts, captures the element, reports failures, and verifies that the canvas can be converted before creating the PDF.
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// Wait for images that are already in the DOM.
await Promise.all([...element.querySelectorAll('img')].map(img => {
if (img.complete) return Promise.resolve();
return new Promise(resolve => {
img.addEventListener('load', resolve, { once: true });
img.addEventListener('error', resolve, { once: true });
});
}));
// Wait for web fonts when the browser supports the Font Loading API.
if (document.fonts?.ready) await document.fonts.ready;
const canvas = await html2canvas(element, {
useCORS: true,
windowWidth: element.scrollWidth,
windowHeight: element.scrollHeight,
onError: err => console.warn('html2canvas resource failed', err)
});
console.log({ width: canvas.width, height: canvas.height });
if (!canvas.width || !canvas.height) {
throw new Error('html2canvas returned a zero-sized canvas');
}
let imgData;
try {
imgData = canvas.toDataURL('image/png');
} catch (error) {
throw new Error('Canvas is not readable; check CORS, redirects, and tainted images');
}
if (imgData === 'data:,') throw new Error('Canvas conversion produced empty data');
const pdf = new jsPDF({ orientation: 'p', unit: 'mm', format: 'a4' });
const margin = 10;
const pdfWidth = 210 - margin * 2;
const pdfHeight = (canvas.height * pdfWidth) / canvas.width;
pdf.addImage(imgData, 'PNG', margin, margin, pdfWidth, pdfHeight);
pdf.save('capture.pdf');
}
exportElementToPdf(document.querySelector('#capture'));addImage() accepts a data URL or canvas (as well as an image element, byte array, or RGBA data). The format, coordinates, and dimensions must be valid. If your canvas contains transparency and the PDF result has an unexpected background, render against an explicit background or choose an image format appropriate to your document.
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Blank, partial, or clipped canvases
Canvas limits
Browsers impose maximum canvas dimensions and total pixel areas. A very long page can therefore produce a blank or partially rendered canvas even though a short test works. Capture a smaller region, split a long document into pages, reduce scale, or render sections separately. Log both dimensions; a zero dimension points to capture setup, while a huge dimension points to a browser limit.
Viewport and scroll dimensions
html2canvas uses a virtual window for layout. Fixed headers, lazy content, and horizontally clipped layouts can be affected by an undersized viewport. Set windowWidth and windowHeight from the element’s scroll dimensions when you need the complete element. For a responsive design, use the viewport width that produces the intended breakpoint rather than blindly using the full document width.
Lazy-loaded images
An image can be visible to a human after scrolling but not loaded when capture starts. Trigger the section’s loading state first, wait for img.complete && img.naturalWidth > 0, and only then capture. A completed image with a zero natural width failed to load and needs a network or URL fix.
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Timing, frameworks, and unsupported content
Capture after the framework has committed the final DOM, not during an intermediate render. In React, Vue, or similar applications, wait until data, images, transitions, and fonts are settled. Disable animations for the capture or wait for their end; otherwise you can get inconsistent full, half, or blank output.
Use html2canvas’s resource error callback and the browser’s network log together. The library’s documented imageTimeout default is 15,000 milliseconds; increase it only when slow, legitimate resources need more time, and fix failing requests rather than masking them with a longer timeout.
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html2canvas reconstructs supported DOM and CSS; it is not a pixel-perfect browser screenshot. Unsupported CSS effects may be missing. Cross-origin iframes cannot be rendered because their contentDocument is inaccessible. Content drawn by another document, browser UI, or inaccessible resource needs a different capture strategy.
A practical troubleshooting sequence
The image is missing from the canvas
- Check the image request status and final URL in Network.
- Confirm
naturalWidth > 0and that the image is not still lazy-loading. - For another origin, verify
Access-Control-Allow-Originon the actual response and keepuseCORS:true. - If the host cannot provide CORS, use a controlled same-origin proxy or pre-convert the asset to a data URI.
The canvas is visible but toDataURL() fails
- Look for any cross-origin image, canvas, SVG image, or redirected CDN request.
- Remove the offending resource or make its response CORS-readable.
- Do not rely on
allowTaint:true; a tainted canvas remains unreadable.
The PDF is blank but the data URL works
- Confirm the data URL is passed unchanged and the format string matches it (for example,
'PNG'). - Use positive, finite width and height values and coordinates inside the page.
- Check that the selected jsPDF page size can contain the calculated image; split oversized content across pages.
The result is cropped or only half the page appears
- Log canvas dimensions and compare them with the element’s
scrollWidthandscrollHeight. - Set an intentional capture viewport, reduce scale, or paginate long content.
- Ensure content is rendered before capture and that no framework transition is still running.
Performance, reliability, and document quality
Large canvases consume memory proportional to their pixel area. A high device-pixel ratio or an unnecessarily large virtual viewport can make captures slow or exceed browser limits. Start with the smallest viewport that represents the design, capture only the required element, and paginate long reports. PNG preserves sharp text and transparency but can produce large PDFs; JPEG can be smaller for photographic content but introduces compression and does not preserve transparency.
For repeatable exports, make the capture state deterministic: freeze animations, set the intended timezone and data state, wait for fonts and images, and record canvas dimensions and resource errors. Keep CORS configuration explicit in deployment rather than depending on development-server behavior.
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import requests
r = requests.get("https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot", params={"access_key": "YOUR_API_KEY", "url": "https://stripe.com"}, timeout=90)
open("shot.webp", "wb").write(r.content)Node.js:
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FAQ
Can I use an image URL with credentials?
Credentials and cookies must be configured so the response is both authorized and CORS-readable. A successful authenticated browser request alone does not make the resource readable to html2canvas.
Why does the page look correct but the PDF omit a CSS effect?
The browser paints many features that html2canvas does not reconstruct. Replace unsupported effects with capture-friendly markup or use a browser screenshot service when pixel fidelity is required.
Should I convert every image to base64?
No. Data URIs are useful for small, preprocessed assets, but they increase document size. Prefer same-origin or correctly configured CORS responses when you control the application.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use an image URL with credentials?
Credentials and cookies must be configured so the response is both authorized and CORS-readable. A successful authenticated browser request alone does not make the resource readable to html2canvas.
Why does the page look correct but the PDF omit a CSS effect?
The browser paints many features that html2canvas does not reconstruct. Replace unsupported effects with capture-friendly markup or use a browser screenshot service when pixel fidelity is required.
Should I convert every image to base64?
No. Data URIs are useful for small, preprocessed assets, but they increase document size. Prefer same-origin or correctly configured CORS responses when you control the application.
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