Ability to select text on printed web pages is broken; 10x file-size bloat
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Ability to select text on printed web pages is broken; 10x file-size bloat
Starting at some point in the past weeks or months, pages that are printed to pdf from websites can no longer have their text selected. Also, the file size has increased more than 1,000% (tenfold) so that a web page that prints as one letter-sized pdf of plain black/white text (no images! no colors!) can be 300 kb now nstead of around 20kb, when I printed the same page a year or two ago. I have hundreds of webpages printed to pdf in prior years and you can select the text on them.
- Tracker Supp-Stefan
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Re: Ability to select text on printed web pages is broken; 10x file-size bloat
Hello vada,
I presume you are using the built in "print" feature inside your browser - unfortunately most modern browsers are now printing as curves rather than as actual text - and this causes the bloat and the inability to work with the printed PDF file as if it contains text.
Please take a look at this KB article which explains the issue in a bit more details:
Why can't I print PDF documents correctly from Modern Web Browsers?
Kind regards,
Stefan
I presume you are using the built in "print" feature inside your browser - unfortunately most modern browsers are now printing as curves rather than as actual text - and this causes the bloat and the inability to work with the printed PDF file as if it contains text.
Please take a look at this KB article which explains the issue in a bit more details:
Why can't I print PDF documents correctly from Modern Web Browsers?
Kind regards,
Stefan
Re: Ability to select text on printed web pages is broken; 10x file-size bloat
Thank you. I'd never have figured this out and jeezus freakin christ what kind of deranged morons invented this and what are they trying to achieve? I've saved hundreds/thousands of pages as pdfs and the number of pdfs where I've never needed to select or search for text is roughly zero. I honestly think the plan is to get rid of written text altogether so all that's left for transmitting information is emojis, Tiktok videos and Amazon Alexa. Not even exaggerating, I really think that is the actual goal.Tracker Supp-Stefan wrote: ↑Mon Nov 20, 2023 9:59 am unfortunately most modern browsers are now printing as curves rather than as actual text - and this causes the bloat and the inability to work with the printed PDF file as if it contains text.
Why can't I print PDF documents correctly from Modern Web Browsers?
- Paul - Tracker Supp
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Re: Ability to select text on printed web pages is broken; 10x file-size bloat
Hi, vada
well without getting into the motivation behind it (that discussion would be best done privately) we do also have a new option within the Editor itself to create a new document from a Web Page:
Unfortunately the Microsoft broke the "WebView" back end used for it. It does generate text selectable pages, but until they fix their bug it is missing content!
Kind regards,
Paul - Tracker Supp
well without getting into the motivation behind it (that discussion would be best done privately) we do also have a new option within the Editor itself to create a new document from a Web Page:
Unfortunately the Microsoft broke the "WebView" back end used for it. It does generate text selectable pages, but until they fix their bug it is missing content!

Kind regards,
Paul - Tracker Supp
Best regards
Paul O'Rorke
Tracker Support North America
http://www.tracker-software.com
Paul O'Rorke
Tracker Support North America
http://www.tracker-software.com