How to Save Screenshots as a PDF on Any Device

By Docmint Team · · 4 min read

Take the screenshots, then combine them into one PDF: Quick Actions on a Mac, Print to PDF on Windows, Full Page in Safari on iPhone, or an images-to-PDF tool in any browser.

To turn screenshots into a PDF, save them as image files, then combine them with a PDF tool. On a Mac, select the screenshots and choose Quick Actions > Create PDF. On Windows, select them and print to Microsoft Print to PDF. On an iPhone, Safari can save a whole web page as a PDF straight from the screenshot editor. On any device, an images-to-PDF tool lets you choose the order and page size.

Why put screenshots in a PDF?

One PDF is easier to send, print and file than a folder of PNG files. It keeps the screenshots in order, opens the same way on every device, and is accepted by support portals, expense systems and courts that ask for evidence as a single document. Bug reports, chat records, receipts and booking confirmations are the usual cases.

On a Mac

Press Shift-Command-3 for the whole screen or Shift-Command-4 to drag a selection. Screenshots are saved as PNG files on the desktop, named with the date and time, so they sort in the order you took them.

  1. Select the screenshots in Finder.
  2. Control-click and choose Quick Actions > Create PDF.
  3. For a different order, open them in Preview instead, drag the sidebar thumbnails, and use File > Print > PDF > Save as PDF.

On Windows

Press Windows+Shift+S to capture part of the screen, then click the notification to open Snipping Tool and save the image. Recent versions of Windows also save every capture to Pictures > Screenshots automatically.

  1. Select the screenshots in File Explorer, right-click, and choose Print (on Windows 11, it is under Show more options).
  2. Choose Microsoft Print to PDF as the printer and a full-page layout.
  3. Click Print and choose where to save the PDF.

On iPhone and iPad

For a web page, there is a shortcut. Take a screenshot in Safari, tap the thumbnail, and choose Full Page at the top. Tap Done, then Save PDF to Files. You get the whole page as a PDF, not just the visible part.

For screenshots of apps, save them to the Files app (Share > Save to Files), select them there, tap the ⋯ button and choose Create PDF.

On Android

Open a screenshot in your gallery app, tap Share or the ⋮ menu, and choose Print. Set the printer to Save as PDF and tap the download button. Some gallery apps let you select several images first; if yours does not, use an images-to-PDF tool in the browser.

In any browser, with control over the layout

Docmint's Images to PDF takes PNG, JPG and WebP screenshots, lets you drag them into order, and builds one PDF. Choose Fit to image so each page matches its screenshot exactly, with no white bands, or A4 or Letter with a margin if the PDF will be printed. Everything runs in your browser, which matters when the screenshots show private messages, account numbers or medical details.

  1. Drop all the screenshots in at once.
  2. Drag them into order. Files named by date already sort correctly.
  3. Choose Fit to image for reading on screen, or A4 or Letter for printing.
  4. Click Create PDF and download.

Before you share it

Screenshots often show more than you meant to: notification banners, other open tabs, names in a chat list. Crop each image before converting. If the PDF needs to be searchable, for example for a long chat record, run OCR on it afterwards so the text can be found and copied. And if it is too large to email, compress it; screenshots of text compress very well.