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html2canvas

Why html2canvas Renders the fi Ligature Incorrectly and How to Fix It

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If html2canvas turns words containing fi into missing, distorted, or incorrectly shaped text, test the font’s standard ligature feature first. Apply font-feature-settings: "liga" 0 to the element being captured, or set it in html2canvas’s onclone callback so only the render copy changes. This is a community-reported workaround, not a universal guarantee: verify it with your exact font, browser, and html2canvas version.

What the fi problem actually is

Fonts can replace character sequences with designed glyphs. The OpenType standard ligature feature, commonly identified as liga, may substitute a single combined glyph for f followed by i. The same feature can affect ff and fl.

A reported html2canvas issue describes those combinations disappearing or rendering incorrectly in an exported JPEG. A separate Stack Overflow answer to the exact fi question suggests disabling standard ligatures before capture. These reports establish a reproducible diagnostic path, not a claim that every html2canvas installation has the same defect.

First, reproduce the exact failure

Do not start by changing several text styles at once. Capture a minimal element containing the failing word and record the environment:

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  • The exact phrase, including capitalization and punctuation.
  • The computed font-family, weight, style, and whether the font is web-hosted or local.
  • Browser name and version.
  • The installed html2canvas version.
  • Output format and scale settings.

Compare the generated canvas with the browser’s normal DOM rendering. If the browser itself displays the wrong glyph, fix font loading or CSS first; html2canvas cannot faithfully reproduce a font that the browser has not loaded correctly.

Quick workaround: disable standard ligatures

Change the live element

The shortest reported workaround sets fontFeatureSettings immediately before the html2canvas call:

const el = document.getElementById('myElement');
el.style.fontFeatureSettings = '"liga" 0';

html2canvas(el).then(canvas => {
  document.body.appendChild(canvas);
});

The declaration tells the browser not to apply the standard ligature feature while html2canvas paints the element. Keep the change limited to the target rather than applying it globally; other text on the page may intentionally rely on ligatures.

Use a stylesheet class

A class is easier to inspect and remove than an inline declaration:

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.html2canvas-no-ligatures {
  font-feature-settings: "liga" 0;
}
const el = document.querySelector('#myElement');
el.classList.add('html2canvas-no-ligatures');

html2canvas(el).then(canvas => {
  // Use the canvas here.
  el.classList.remove('html2canvas-no-ligatures');
});

Restore the class after the promise resolves if the live page should continue using its original typography. If the capture can fail, use try/finally so cleanup still runs.

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Safer approach: apply the fix in onclone

html2canvas documents onclone as a callback for modifying the cloned document used for rendering without changing the original DOM. This is preferable when users must not see a temporary font change.

const source = document.getElementById('myElement');

html2canvas(source, {
  onclone: (clonedDocument) => {
    const clonedElement = clonedDocument.getElementById('myElement');
    if (clonedElement) {
      clonedElement.style.fontFeatureSettings = '"liga" 0';
    }
  }
}).then(canvas => {
  const link = document.createElement('a');
  link.download = 'capture.png';
  link.href = canvas.toDataURL('image/png');
  link.click();
});

Use a selector that is unique in the cloned document. If your target is generated dynamically, assign a stable ID or class before calling html2canvas. Confirm the callback behavior against the version installed in your project.

Choosing between live CSS and onclone

Approach Advantages Risks and checks
Set fontFeatureSettings on the live element Smallest change and easiest first test The page is temporarily modified; restore the original style after capture
Set it in onclone Keeps the visible page unchanged and isolates the capture fix Requires a version that supports the documented callback behavior; verify the cloned selector

When disabling liga does not fix the image

Confirm the font is loaded

Capture only after the intended web font has loaded. In modern browsers, wait for document.fonts.ready:

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await document.fonts.ready;
const canvas = await html2canvas(document.getElementById('myElement'), {
  onclone: (doc) => {
    doc.getElementById('myElement').style.fontFeatureSettings = '"liga" 0';
  }
});

Also check the browser’s computed style and network panel. A fallback font can make the problem appear to be an html2canvas ligature bug when the intended font never arrived.

Test the smallest failing string

Reduce the content to words such as “office”, “final”, or “fluffy”, then add surrounding text back gradually. This distinguishes a glyph-substitution problem from layout, clipping, or missing-font problems.

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Inspect spacing styles

Negative letter-spacing has its own reported rendering issue in Chrome on Windows 10. That report also says letterRendering: true did not resolve the symptom. Do not treat that option as the proven fix for fi, and do not assume a spacing bug and a ligature bug share one cause.

Check the current option list

The current html2canvas configuration reference documents onclone but does not list letterRendering. Historical releases may differ, so inspect the documentation and package version used by your application before adding undocumented options.

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Fonts, browser differences, and output formats

Font-specific behavior

Ligature design is part of the font. One family may have a visible fi ligature while another uses separate glyphs, and variable-font settings can change the result. Test every production font and weight that appears in your capture.

Browser and platform differences

Text shaping is performed by the browser and operating-system font stack before html2canvas paints the cloned DOM. A workaround that succeeds in one browser may produce a different result elsewhere. Include at least the browsers used by your users in visual regression tests.

PNG, JPEG, and scale

PNG is useful for inspecting glyph edges because it is lossless. JPEG compression can make a correct glyph look damaged at small sizes, so compare PNG output while diagnosing. A high scale improves detail but increases canvas memory and encoding time; it does not repair incorrect shaping.

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Production capture checklist

  1. Load the exact production font and wait for document.fonts.ready.
  2. Reproduce the failing fi, ff, or fl string in a minimal element.
  3. Try font-feature-settings: "liga" 0 on that element.
  4. Move the declaration into onclone when the visible page must remain unchanged.
  5. Compare PNG output with the browser’s DOM rendering.
  6. Test each supported browser, font weight, viewport, and html2canvas version.
  7. Remove unrelated spacing or experimental options while isolating the cause.
  8. Keep a visual regression sample so a font or browser upgrade does not silently reintroduce the defect.

Performance and reliability considerations

Changing one font feature has negligible cost compared with cloning a large page and rasterizing images. The expensive operations are usually full-page layout, large images, high scale factors, and canvas encoding. Capture the smallest required element, avoid unnecessary scale increases, and release references to canvases after uploading or downloading them.

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For long pages, lazy-loaded images may not exist in the DOM at capture time. Wait for the page’s own loading state and verify that every required asset is available. Cross-origin font or image restrictions can also produce missing content; configure assets for browser access rather than trying to mask a shaping issue with CSS.

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Or skip the browser setup

If you need a rendered image or PDF from a URL rather than a client-side canvas, ScreenshotNeo provides a website screenshot API and MCP server. It accepts cookie and consent banners before capture and removes more than 60 known consent platforms, newsletter popups, and chat widgets; each step can be disabled. Bot checks, CAPTCHAs, blank pages, timeouts, failed loads, and cache hits are not billed, and the response identifies the page verdict and billing status in X-Page-Verdict and X-Billed headers.

A one-call capture with cURL:

curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://stripe.com -o shot.webp

Python:

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:

const q = new URLSearchParams({ access_key: 'YOUR_API_KEY', url: 'https://stripe.com' });
const res = await fetch(`https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot?${q}`);
const data = Buffer.from(await res.arrayBuffer());

See the ScreenshotNeo documentation for the full API. Its options include full-page capture with lazy images loaded, CSS-selector element capture, dark mode, device presets and custom viewports, retina scale, PDF paper settings and page ranges, custom CSS and JavaScript, click and wait rules, request blocking, headers, cookies, user agents, authorization, timezone, geolocation, transparent backgrounds, resizing, configurable caching, signed image links, asynchronous webhooks, bulk capture for up to 100 URLs per call, a usage API, and an OpenAPI specification. An MCP server exposes take_screenshot, get_page_info, and capture_pdf to Claude, Cursor, and other MCP clients.

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FAQ

Is this a confirmed html2canvas bug?

The symptom has been reported, but the available issue description does not identify a universal browser and version range. Treat the ligature declaration as a testable workaround and validate it in your environment.

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Should I disable all OpenType features?

No. Disable only the standard ligature feature for the affected capture unless your design requirements call for another change. Broadly disabling typography features can alter appearance and readability.

Can this fix missing web fonts?

No. It changes ligature shaping after the font is available. Wait for the font to load and correct font-loading or cross-origin problems separately.

Will the workaround change copied or accessible text?

No. It changes glyph selection during rendering; the underlying DOM text remains the same. Using onclone also leaves the live document untouched.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Does setting fontFeatureSettings guarantee correct fi rendering?

No. It is a community-reported workaround. Test the exact font, browser, and html2canvas version used by your application.

Is onclone supported in html2canvas?

The current configuration reference documents onclone for modifying the cloned rendering document. Verify behavior against your installed version.

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