Description
PDF Snapshot adds a “Download PDF” button to your posts and pages. When a visitor clicks it, the plugin captures the page, converts it to a PDF, and either shows a preview popup (with Print and Download buttons) or downloads it immediately — your choice.
Key features
- Two capture modes: the full themed page (with excluded sections removed), or just the title and post content.
- Choose exactly which sections to exclude: header, navigation, footer, sidebars, comments, and any CSS selector you specify (e.g.
.newsletter-signupor#related-posts) to identify additional elements to remove from the PDF. - Preview popup with Print and Download actions, or immediate download — configurable.
- Available as a shortcode (
[pdf_snapshot]), a Gutenberg block, and optional automatic injection into all posts and/or pages. - PDF-native running header (page title) and footer (page numbers), independent of the page’s own HTML header/footer.
- Configurable paper size and orientation.
- Automatic image downscaling to keep generation fast.
- Built-in caching: a page’s PDF is only regenerated when its content actually changes.
- Access control (public or logged-in users only) and a configurable rate limit to prevent abuse.
How it works
Version 1.0 generates PDFs entirely on your own server using the open-source Dompdf library — no external service, no added monthly cost, works on ordinary WordPress hosting. This means very JavaScript-heavy embeds (like some interactive maps or live widgets) may not appear in the PDF exactly as they do on screen; ordinary text, images, and layout convert reliably.
Third-Party Libraries
PDF Snapshot bundles Dompdf (LGPL-2.1) to generate PDFs entirely on your own server, along with its own dependencies (php-svg-lib, php-font-lib, php-css-parser, masterminds/html5, thecodingmachine/safe — all LGPL/MIT licensed). No external service or API call is used for PDF generation.
Blocks
This plugin provides 1 block.
- PDF Snapshot Button A button that lets visitors download or print the current page as a PDF.
Installation
- Upload the
pdf-snapshotfolder to/wp-content/plugins/, or install it through the Plugins screen directly. - If installing from source (not a release zip), run
composer installinside the plugin directory to fetch the Dompdf library. - Activate the plugin through the “Plugins” screen in WordPress.
- Visit Settings PDF Snapshot to configure capture, delivery, layout, and access settings.
- Add the
[pdf_snapshot]shortcode to a page, insert the “PDF Snapshot Button” block, or enable automatic injection in the settings.
FAQ
-
Yes. Version 1.0 uses a pure-PHP PDF library (Dompdf) with no external dependencies beyond what Composer installs — no Node.js, no headless browser, no server configuration needed.
-
Will embedded videos, maps, or interactive widgets show up in the PDF?
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Not reliably. The PDF engine does not execute JavaScript, so content that depends on it (some embeds, live widgets) may appear blank or be omitted. Ordinary content — text, images, tables, links — converts well.
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Can I control what’s included in the PDF?
-
Yes. Settings PDF Snapshot lets you exclude the header, navigation, footer, sidebars, and comments, plus specify additional CSS selectors (e.g.
.newsletter-signup) to identify any other elements that should be removed from the generated PDF. These selectors only pick which elements to strip — no CSS, JavaScript, or PHP code is ever saved or executed. -
Where are generated PDFs stored?
-
In
wp-content/uploads/pdf-snapshot-cache/, if caching is enabled. Cached PDFs are automatically cleared when the source post is updated.
Reviews
There are no reviews for this plugin.
Contributors & Developers
“PDF Snapshot” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.
Contributors
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Interested in development?
Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by RSS.
Changelog
1.0.1
- Moved the settings screen’s button-style toggle and color-picker initialization out of an inline
<script>block into a properly registered/enqueued admin script, per WordPress.org plugin guidelines.
1.0.0
- Initial release.