To print an entire HTML page with jsPDF and html2canvas, render the page element at its full scroll size, scale the canvas to the PDF page width, then slice the resulting image across multiple PDF pages. Setting windowWidth and windowHeight to the element’s scroll dimensions prevents the usual bottom clipping. The complete implementation below also handles margins, long documents, cross-origin images, and page slicing.
What this method actually does
html2canvas rebuilds the selected DOM in a canvas in the browser; it is not a native browser screenshot engine. Unsupported CSS can therefore look different from the live page. Its documentation describes the result as a screenshot based on the DOM, “not 100% accurate to the real representation.” The canvas is then passed to jsPDF.addImage(), which places it at coordinates and dimensions measured in the PDF’s units.
This produces a visual PDF. Text in the captured page is generally part of the image rather than selectable PDF text. If selectable text, semantic headings, links, and print-specific CSS are more important than a pixel-like snapshot, the browser’s native print dialog is often a better fit.
Prerequisites and a suitable capture target
- A browser page containing the content you want to export.
html2canvasandjspdfinstalled in your JavaScript project.- A dedicated container is preferable to
document.documentElement: it avoids capturing browser-only UI, sticky navigation, and unrelated widgets. - Images must be same-origin or served with CORS headers. Cross-origin iframes cannot be read because browser security blocks access to their content documents.
Install the libraries with your project’s package manager, for example:
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npm install html2canvas jspdfGive the content a stable background and width before capturing. Hide controls that should not appear with a capture-only class, and expand accordions or lazy sections that must be included.
Basic full-page capture
The following module captures a container at its full scroll dimensions and puts the complete image on one PDF page. It is useful for short pages; a pagination-safe version follows.
import html2canvas from "html2canvas";
import { jsPDF } from "jspdf";
const element = document.querySelector("#print-area");
if (!element) throw new Error("#print-area was not found");
const canvas = await html2canvas(element, {
windowWidth: element.scrollWidth,
windowHeight: element.scrollHeight,
scale: window.devicePixelRatio,
useCORS: true,
backgroundColor: "#ffffff"
});
const pdf = new jsPDF({ orientation: "p", unit: "pt", format: "a4" });
const pageWidth = pdf.internal.pageSize.getWidth();
const imageHeight = canvas.height * pageWidth / canvas.width;
pdf.addImage(canvas, "PNG", 0, 0, pageWidth, imageHeight);
pdf.save("full-page.pdf");The aspect-ratio calculation is essential: imageHeight = canvas.height * pageWidth / canvas.width. Using an arbitrary height stretches or squashes the page.
Correct pagination for long pages
An A4 page has finite height. Adding a very tall image at y = 0 does not create extra pages; the lower part simply falls outside the page. Slice the canvas into page-sized sections instead. This implementation keeps a 36-point margin on every side and creates a new page for each slice.
import html2canvas from "html2canvas";
import { jsPDF } from "jspdf";
export async function printFullPagePdf({
selector = "#print-area",
fileName = "full-page.pdf"
} = {}) {
const element = document.querySelector(selector);
if (!element) throw new Error(`Element ${selector} was not found`);
// Ensure lazy content and fonts have finished before rendering.
if (document.fonts?.ready) await document.fonts.ready;
const images = [...element.querySelectorAll("img")];
await Promise.all(images.map(img => img.decode?.().catch(() => undefined)));
const canvas = await html2canvas(element, {
windowWidth: element.scrollWidth,
windowHeight: element.scrollHeight,
scale: Math.min(window.devicePixelRatio || 1, 2),
useCORS: true,
backgroundColor: "#ffffff",
// Keep fixed-position site chrome from being mistaken for document content.
scrollX: 0,
scrollY: 0
});
const pdf = new jsPDF({ orientation: "p", unit: "pt", format: "a4" });
const margin = 36;
const pageWidth = pdf.internal.pageSize.getWidth();
const pageHeight = pdf.internal.pageSize.getHeight();
const usableWidth = pageWidth - margin * 2;
const usableHeight = pageHeight - margin * 2;
// PDF points per source pixel after fitting the canvas to usableWidth.
const pointsPerPixel = usableWidth / canvas.width;
const sliceHeightPx = Math.floor(usableHeight / pointsPerPixel);
let sourceY = 0;
let pageNumber = 0;
while (sourceY < canvas.height) {
const currentSliceHeight = Math.min(sliceHeightPx, canvas.height - sourceY);
const slice = document.createElement("canvas");
slice.width = canvas.width;
slice.height = currentSliceHeight;
const context = slice.getContext("2d");
context.drawImage(
canvas,
0, sourceY, canvas.width, currentSliceHeight,
0, 0, canvas.width, currentSliceHeight
);
if (pageNumber > 0) pdf.addPage();
const renderedHeight = currentSliceHeight * pointsPerPixel;
pdf.addImage(slice, "PNG", margin, margin, usableWidth, renderedHeight);
sourceY += currentSliceHeight;
pageNumber += 1;
}
pdf.save(fileName);
}
// Example button handler:
document.querySelector("#download-pdf").addEventListener("click", () =>
printFullPagePdf({ selector: "#print-area", fileName: "article.pdf" })
);Why the scroll dimensions matter
Viewport dimensions describe only what is currently visible. element.scrollWidth and element.scrollHeight describe the complete laid-out content. Passing them as windowWidth and windowHeight gives html2canvas a rendering area large enough for the full page. This is the primary fix for PDFs that stop at the viewport or omit the bottom of a document.
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Choosing a scale
window.devicePixelRatio improves sharpness on high-density displays, but it multiplies memory use. The example caps it at 2 to reduce the risk of “canvas too large” failures. For very long pages, use a dedicated print container, lower the scale to 1, or capture sections separately.
Margins, orientation, and page breaks
Change format: "a4" to another jsPDF format, or use orientation: "l" for landscape. The slicing calculation must always use the actual page dimensions returned by pdf.internal.pageSize; never hard-code A4 measurements when allowing other formats.
Image slicing can cut a paragraph or card in half. If clean semantic breaks matter, split the HTML into page-sized sections before capture, or capture each section independently and add it to its own PDF page. That approach requires more layout work but avoids splitting important components.
Using html2pdf.js instead
html2pdf.js wraps html2canvas and jsPDF in one configuration object. It supports margins, image type and quality, html2canvas settings, jsPDF settings, and page-break modes. It is convenient for common exports; direct html2canvas plus jsPDF gives finer control over slicing, custom pagination, and recovery from unusually tall content.
Images, fonts, iframes, and other browser limits
Cross-origin images
A cross-origin image can taint the canvas, preventing it from being exported. useCORS: true works only when the image server sends an appropriate Access-Control-Allow-Origin header. Otherwise configure a same-origin proxy, self-host the asset, or omit it. Setting useCORS does not bypass server policy.
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Cross-origin iframes
html2canvas cannot render the content document of a cross-origin iframe. Capture a same-origin iframe from its own document, replace the embedded content with an image, or use a server-side/browser automation screenshot service.
Lazy loading and dynamic content
Scroll through or otherwise initialize lazy sections before calling html2canvas. Wait for network requests, images, and web fonts. A page that is still changing can produce missing images, fallback fonts, or different heights between measurement and capture.
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Because the library reconstructs the DOM, browser effects and unsupported CSS may differ. Test gradients, filters, transforms, sticky elements, pseudo-elements, animations, and complex blend modes. Disable animations during capture to prevent inconsistent frames.
Troubleshooting a cut-off or broken PDF
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Only the visible viewport appears | Default viewport dimensions were used. | Set windowWidth: element.scrollWidth and windowHeight: element.scrollHeight. |
| Bottom content is missing from the PDF | A tall image was placed on one page. | Slice the canvas and call addPage() for each slice. |
| Images are blank or export throws a security error | Cross-origin assets tainted the canvas. | Use CORS-enabled image URLs, a proxy, or same-origin assets; useCORS: true alone is not sufficient. |
| A remote embed is empty | It is a cross-origin iframe. | It cannot be read by browser JavaScript; capture it separately or use a server-side renderer. |
| Text or cards are blurry | Canvas scale is too low or the image was enlarged. | Use a scale near the device pixel ratio, cap it around 2 for long pages, and preserve the aspect ratio. |
| The browser tab freezes or crashes | The canvas is too large for available memory. | Reduce scale, capture sections, simplify the DOM, or move rendering to a screenshot service. |
| Content shifts between runs | Fonts, images, animations, or network data were not ready. | Await document.fonts.ready, decode images, wait for data, and disable animations. |
| Fixed header repeats over every slice | Positioned UI is being rendered with document content. | Hide it in a capture-only stylesheet or use a dedicated print container. |
Performance, reliability, and cost considerations
Canvas memory grows with pixel count: page width multiplied by page height and then by the square of the scale factor. A long, high-density page can exceed browser canvas limits even when the DOM itself is modest. A lower scale, narrower capture target, or section-by-section export is usually more reliable.
Client-side output depends on the visitor’s browser, fonts, network, CORS configuration, and device memory. For batch jobs, untrusted URLs, scheduled captures, or consistent rendering, a remote browser service avoids shipping this work to each user’s tab. Native print remains preferable when selectable text and print CSS are requirements rather than visual fidelity.
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FAQ
Can jsPDF create selectable text from html2canvas?
Not with this image-based workflow. The page is rasterized into a canvas before it is inserted into the PDF. Use native browser printing or a DOM-to-PDF approach designed to preserve text when selection and accessibility are required.
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Why does increasing scale not restore missing content?
Scale changes pixel density, not the captured layout area. Missing bottom content usually means the capture used viewport dimensions or the PDF image was not paginated. Correct those first.
Should I use PNG or JPEG?
PNG preserves sharp text and flat UI graphics but can create large files. JPEG is smaller for photographic pages but introduces compression artifacts around text. Choose the format according to the page’s content and the quality requirements of the export.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I capture a page wider than the viewport?
Yes. Capture a dedicated element and set html2canvas’s windowWidth to that element’s scrollWidth; then fit the resulting canvas to the PDF’s usable width while preserving its aspect ratio.
What is the safest way to export extremely long pages?
Capture logical sections separately or reduce canvas scale. One enormous canvas can exceed browser memory limits even when pagination code is correct.
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