Screenshots Without Extensions

Screenshot extensions are among the most commonly installed browser add-ons, and among the least necessary. Both the browser and the operating system can already do it, including the full-page capture that most people install an extension to get.

Full-page screenshots in the browser, no extension

Chrome and Edge:

Open developer tools with F12. Press Ctrl, Shift and P to open the command menu. Type "screenshot". Choose Capture full size screenshot.

The whole page is saved, including the part below the fold. There are also options for capturing just the visible area or a single selected element.

Firefox:

Right-click anywhere on the page and choose Take Screenshot. Then choose Save full page or Save visible.

Firefox's version is the most convenient of the three because it requires no developer tools.

Safari:

Developer menu must be enabled first in Settings, Advanced. Then the Web Inspector allows element capture. For full-page, the simpler route is printing to PDF.

Capturing a single element

In developer tools, select an element in the inspector, then use the command menu's Capture node screenshot. This gives you exactly that component with no cropping.

Useful for documentation, bug reports and design review.

Operating system capture

Windows: the Snipping Tool, opened with the Windows key, Shift and S. Rectangle, freeform, window or full screen. Recent versions also record video and include text extraction from the captured image.

macOS: Command, Shift and 5 opens the capture toolbar with screenshot and screen-recording options, area selection and a timer. Command, Shift and 4 goes straight to area selection; pressing space then captures a whole window with its shadow.

Linux: varies by desktop environment; most have a capture tool bound to the Print Screen key.

Screen recording

Windows: the Snipping Tool records, and the Game Bar, opened with Windows key and G, records any application window with audio.

macOS: the same Command, Shift and 5 toolbar records the full screen or a selection. QuickTime also records screen and camera.

In the browser: any web application using screen capture — including video-call tools — can record a tab, a window or the whole screen, because the capture API is built into the browser. For a quick screen recording with no software at all, starting a call with yourself and recording it works.

Printing to PDF

Ctrl and P, then choose Save as PDF as the destination.

This is frequently better than a screenshot for a long page: the text stays selectable and searchable, and the file is smaller. For archiving a receipt, an article or a confirmation page, it is the right choice.

Use the print preview to check that the page has a sensible print stylesheet — some sites do not, and the result is unusable. In that case, the browser's reader mode before printing usually fixes it.

Why to avoid screenshot extensions

A screenshot extension needs permission to read the content of every page you visit. That is the broadest permission a browser grants, and it is being granted for a capability the browser already has.

Several popular capture extensions have changed ownership and subsequently been found injecting affiliate links or collecting browsing data. The pattern is well documented across the extension ecosystem: an extension acquires a large user base, is sold, and the new owner monetises the access.

Given that the built-in tools cover full-page capture, element capture, recording and PDF export, the trade is poor.

When an extension is justified

Annotation workflows where you capture, mark up and share in one step, and you do this many times a day.

Scrolling capture inside a scrollable element rather than the page, which built-in tools handle poorly.

Integration with a specific tool your team already uses.

If you install one, restrict it to specific sites rather than all sites, and prefer one published by an organisation you already trust with your data.

A quick reference

Whole page including below the fold: Firefox's right-click menu, or Chrome's command menu.

One element cleanly: developer tools node capture.

Area of the screen: the operating system shortcut.

Long document for archiving: print to PDF.

Video: operating system recorder.

None of these requires installing anything.

Mistakes people make

Installing a screenshot extension. It requires read-and-change access to every site, for a capability the browser already has. This category has been repeatedly implicated in extensions changing hands and turning bad.

Screenshotting a long article instead of printing to PDF, which keeps the text selectable and produces a smaller file.

Not knowing about full-page capture. Firefox has it in the right-click menu. Chrome has it in developer tools' command menu.

Cropping a component by hand when developer tools can capture a selected element exactly.

Forgetting what is on screen. Notifications, other tabs and open documents all appear in a full-screen capture.

The short answer

Full page: Firefox's right-click menu or Chrome's command menu. One element: developer tools node capture. Part of the screen: the operating system shortcut. Long document: print to PDF. None of it needs an extension.