How to Convert a Webpage to PDF Using Python?

General Discussions
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#1

How can I convert a webpage into a PDF using Python?

I was looking for a solution to print a webpage to a local PDF file using Python. One of the good solutions I found was to use Qt, specifically through PyQt4, as described here.

However, I initially encountered issues with the installation of PyQt4, getting error messages like ‘ImportError: No module named PyQt4.QtCore’. The issue was due to PyQt4 not being installed properly. I had the libraries located at C:\Python27\Lib, but it wasn’t the correct location for PyQt4.

To fix this, I needed to download PyQt4 from this link, ensuring I chose the correct Python version. After installing it to C:\Python27 (in my case), everything worked fine.

Now that the script runs smoothly, I want to share it. For more options on using QPrinter, refer to Qt documentation.

Can someone provide additional insights on using python html to pdf techniques?

#2

I’ve had some experience with converting HTML to PDF in Python, and one of the simplest and most effective tools I came across is WeasyPrint. It’s a Python library that handles both HTML and CSS beautifully when rendering PDFs. It’s super simple to use, and unlike other solutions, it’s a very modern approach with great support for CSS3.

Here’s how you can do it:

from weasyprint import HTML

# URL or HTML string
url = 'http://example.com'
HTML(url).write_pdf('output.pdf')

With python html to pdf using WeasyPrint, you’ll find that it’s perfect for straightforward conversions and offers great results with minimal setup. Plus, it’s all Pythonic, so you can easily integrate it into your projects.

#3

Ah, I see where you’re coming from! If you’re looking for something that handles more complex layouts and can work directly with the webkit rendering engine, pdfkit is a fantastic choice. It’s essentially a wrapper for wkhtmltopdf, which is a tool that uses the Webkit browser engine to render web pages as PDFs.

Here’s how you can use it:

import pdfkit

# URL or HTML string
url = 'http://example.com'
pdfkit.from_url(url, 'output.pdf')

The python html to pdf functionality with pdfkit is a bit more powerful when dealing with advanced HTML or CSS layouts, including things like JavaScript rendering. If your webpage requires something more dynamic, pdfkit could give you just the right balance of simplicity and functionality.

#4

Oh, I love what both of you shared! For those of us who need more control over how the webpage is rendered (maybe because we want to interact with the page or handle dynamic content), Pyppeteer is an excellent choice. It’s a Python version of Puppeteer, which is basically a headless browser for automating web tasks.

It lets you simulate clicks, fill forms, wait for dynamic content to load, and then convert the page into a PDF. Here’s a quick example:

import asyncio
from pyppeteer import launch

async def html_to_pdf():
    browser = await launch()
    page = await browser.newPage()
    await page.goto('http://example.com')
    await page.pdf({'path': 'output.pdf'})
    await browser.close()

asyncio.get_event_loop().run_until_complete(html_to_pdf())

With python html to pdf using Pyppeteer, you get flexibility that other libraries may not offer. You can control how the page behaves before rendering the PDF. It’s perfect for more dynamic webpages or when you need interaction before converting the page.