TL;DR
"Anything to PDF" really means every file type you touch during a normal workday: images (JPG, JPEG, PNG, WebP, SVG, GIF, BMP), text and markup (TXT, HTML, Markdown, JSON, XML), spreadsheet exports (CSV), and the web page you're looking at right now. The Convert: Anything to PDF extension handles all 14 of those formats entirely inside your browser. Nothing uploads. There are no watermarks, no file-size caps, and no "3 free conversions today" nag. You can also merge a stack of mixed files into a single PDF in whatever order you choose.
If you've been round-tripping through Smallpdf, CloudConvert, or Zamzar, dragging files up to somebody else's server and back, this replaces most of that. It's Chromium-only (Chrome, Edge, Brave, Arc, Opera, Vivaldi — not Firefox or Safari), and the conversion happens locally using jsPDF for files and the Chrome DevTools Protocol for web pages. Zero network requests fire while your file is being turned into a PDF.
This guide walks through all 14 formats with a real scenario for each, then covers the one-click flow, merging, paper sizes, and how local conversion actually protects you.
What "anything to PDF" actually covers
Most tools that promise "anything" quietly mean "the six formats we monetize." Here's the honest, complete list — grouped the way you'd actually think about your files.
| Group | Formats | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Images | JPG, JPEG, PNG, WebP, SVG, GIF, BMP | Quality preserved; 300 DPI scans stay print-ready; GIF uses the first frame |
| Text & markup | TXT, HTML (local file), Markdown, JSON, XML | Rendered as real, selectable text — not screenshots |
| Tabular | CSV | Auto-formatted into a table; 6+ columns auto-switches to landscape |
| Web | The active browser tab | Captured via Chrome DevTools Protocol, styling intact |
Two things that are not on that list, so you're never surprised:
- Excel
.xlsxis not supported directly. Export to CSV first (in Excel: File → Save As → CSV; in Google Sheets: File → Download → CSV), then convert. See the CSV to PDF walkthrough for the full workflow. - No OCR. Scanned image of text goes in as an image, not as searchable text. If you need the words to be selectable, the source has to already contain text.
Now, format by format.
Images: JPG, JPEG, PNG, WebP, SVG, GIF, BMP
JPG / JPEG — the photo and scan workhorse
Scenario: A field inspector snaps 12 phone photos of a job site and needs to send the client a single, tidy PDF instead of a dozen loose attachments that clog an inbox.
Drop all 12 JPGs in, arrange them in walkthrough order, and export one PDF. Image quality is preserved, so a 300 DPI document scan comes out print-ready — no fuzzy re-compression. This is the most common single use: turning phone photos and scanner output into a clean, shareable document.
PNG — screenshots and diagrams with crisp edges
Scenario: A support engineer assembles a repro guide — six annotated screenshots showing a bug step by step — for the dev team.
PNG keeps sharp text and hard edges intact, which is exactly what annotated screenshots need. Convert the set into a single sequential PDF and attach it to the ticket. No quality loss on the arrows and callouts you drew.
WebP — the modern web image nobody else handles cleanly
Scenario: A designer saves reference images from the web, and half of them download as WebP because that's what modern sites serve now.
Plenty of older converters chokes on WebP or silently down-converts it. Here it's a first-class format. Drop the WebP files in and get a PDF moodboard without hunting for a WebP-to-PNG step first.
SVG — vector logos and icons that stay sharp
Scenario: A brand manager needs a one-page PDF of the approved logo set to send to a print vendor.
SVG is vector, so it scales without pixelation. Converting the SVGs to PDF gives the vendor a resolution-independent reference sheet that looks right whether it's printed on a business card or a banner.
GIF — grab the frame that matters
Scenario: Someone has an animated GIF chart and just needs the final frame as a static document page.
The extension uses the first frame of a GIF. Worth knowing up front: if the meaningful content is in the last frame of an animation, GIF isn't the format to feed in — export a still first. For static GIFs (still common as logos), it just works.
BMP — the legacy format that still shows up
Scenario: An engineer pulls raw bitmap output from an old instrument or a Windows utility that still exports BMP.
BMP is uncompressed and ancient, and most modern tools ignore it. It's supported here, so legacy bitmaps go straight into a PDF without a conversion detour.
Text & markup: TXT, HTML, Markdown, JSON, XML
This is where the extension pulls ahead of "image converters." These formats are rendered as real, selectable text in the output PDF — you can copy from them, and they print sharply at any zoom.
TXT — plain text, typeset properly
Scenario: A paralegal has a plain-text transcript or a log excerpt that needs to become a formal, paginated exhibit.
TXT goes in and comes out as a clean, paginated PDF with real text — not a screenshot of a text file. Good for anything where the content is words and you want an archival, printable copy.
HTML (local file) — a saved page, faithfully
Scenario: A developer has an emailed HTML report or a locally saved .html file (an invoice, a saved receipt) and needs a PDF for records.
Point the extension at the local HTML file and it renders the markup — styling, layout, tables — into a PDF. Note this is for local HTML files; for a live page you're viewing, use the web-page capture described below.
Markdown — notes and docs without a toolchain
Scenario: An engineer finishes a design doc in Obsidian and has to submit a PDF to an architecture review board that doesn't use Markdown.
Markdown converts to a properly typeset PDF — headings, lists, code blocks, emphasis — with no pandoc install, no terminal, no online paste box. If you live in Markdown (Obsidian, Notion exports, VS Code, README files), this is the fastest bridge to a shareable document. Full walkthrough in Markdown to PDF for Obsidian and Notion.
JSON — a readable snapshot of a payload
Scenario: A QA engineer wants to attach the exact JSON API response that triggered a bug to the ticket, as immutable evidence.
JSON is rendered as formatted, real text — a printable snapshot of the payload at the moment it mattered. It's far better evidence than a screenshot because the text is searchable and copyable. More on this in JSON and XML to PDF for bug reports and audits.
XML — data dumps and structured records
Scenario: A healthcare admin needs to file an HL7/FHIR XML record as a printable, archival document for a compliance audit.
XML converts to real text in a PDF, giving you an immutable, printable copy of a structured data record. For regulated environments, a local-only conversion matters — the sensitive payload never leaves the machine.
Tabular: CSV
CSV — spreadsheets become board-ready tables
Scenario: A consultant exports a QuickBooks P&L or a CRM report as CSV and needs a clean table PDF to drop into a board deck.
CSV isn't dumped as raw comma-separated lines — it's auto-formatted into a real table with rows and columns. And when a CSV has 6 or more columns, the page automatically switches to landscape so wide tables don't get crushed. That single behavior saves the usual fight with margins.
Because .xlsx isn't read directly, the workflow for Excel is: export to CSV, then convert. It's two steps, and the result is a properly laid-out table PDF. Deep dive in CSV to PDF: board-ready tables.
Web: the page you're on
The active tab — capture what you're reading
Scenario: A researcher finds a reference article, a checkout confirmation, or a documentation page and wants a PDF archive before it changes or disappears.
Hit convert on the current tab and the extension captures the live page — styling and layout intact — using the Chrome DevTools Protocol. It's the "This Page" path (more on that next), and it's how you snapshot a receipt, an itinerary, or a doc page as a real PDF without printing to a virtual printer and fiddling with dialog boxes.
The one-click flow: This Page vs Upload Files
There are two entry points, and they map cleanly to what you're doing:
- This Page — captures the tab you're currently viewing. Best for web archives, receipts, confirmations, and docs.
- Upload Files — drag in one or more local files (images, TXT, HTML, Markdown, JSON, XML, CSV). Best for turning files on disk into PDFs, and for merging.
Either path produces a finished PDF in seconds. There's no account, no email wall, no "verify you're human" gate.
Merge: one PDF from many files, in your order
You can combine multiple files — even mixed types — into one PDF, in the exact order you list them. There's no merge limit beyond your device's memory.
Scenario: A real-estate agent builds a listing packet: 3 property photos (JPG) + a pricing sheet (CSV) + a Markdown cover note. Drop all five in, arrange them cover-note-first, and export a single client-ready PDF where the CSV lands as a formatted table and the photos sit in sequence.
Each file keeps its type-appropriate behavior inside the merged document — images render as images, the wide CSV flips to landscape, the Markdown typesets. See the full mixed-file walkthrough in Merge images, CSV, and Markdown into one PDF.
Paper sizes and orientation
You're not locked to A4. Choose per conversion:
- Sizes: A4, US Letter, US Legal, Tabloid
- Orientation: portrait or landscape (and CSVs with 6+ columns auto-flip to landscape)
That's enough to match whatever standard your region or client expects — Letter for US business, A4 for most of the world, Legal for contracts, Tabloid for wide layouts.
100% local: what "no uploads" really means
Here's the part that separates this from the online crowd. Zero network requests fire during conversion. Files are processed on your machine with jsPDF; web pages are captured with the Chrome DevTools Protocol. Your file never travels to a server, because there is no server in the loop.
That matters for three concrete reasons:
- Confidentiality. A P&L, a patient record, a legal transcript, or an unreleased design doc doesn't belong on a stranger's infrastructure. Local conversion means it never leaves your device. This is the whole argument in Why a PDF converter should not upload your files.
- Speed. No upload, no queue, no download. A 200 MB stack of scans converts as fast as your machine can chew — there's no file-size limit beyond memory.
- Works offline. On a plane, in a SCIF, behind a corporate firewall — it doesn't need the internet, because it never uses it.
If privacy-first conversion is a hard requirement for your team, the privacy-first file conversion guide for 2026 covers what to look for.
How it compares to online converters
Let's be specific about the trade-offs, because "just use Smallpdf" is the reflex answer and it isn't free of strings.
| Convert: Anything to PDF | Smallpdf | CloudConvert | Zamzar | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Files uploaded to a server | No — 100% local | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Watermarks | None | On free tier features | Depends on plan | Free tier limits |
| Daily / free limits | None | Free tier caps tasks | Free minutes cap | Free conversions capped |
| File-size limit | Device memory only | Plan-dependent cap | Plan-dependent cap | Size caps on free |
| Works offline | Yes | No | No | No |
| Cost | Free | Freemium/subscription | Freemium/credits | Freemium |
| Merge mixed file types | Yes, no limit | PDF-focused | Broad, server-side | Broad, server-side |
Online converters are genuinely great at breadth — CloudConvert and Zamzar handle exotic formats this extension doesn't (and won't pretend to). If you need to convert a .heic or an obscure CAD format, those tools earn their place. But for the everyday stack — images, Markdown, CSV, JSON, XML, HTML, and web pages — sending your files to someone else's server to get a watermark-free result is a worse deal than doing it locally in one click.
For a head-to-head specifically on the PDF-editing giants, see Smallpdf vs iLovePDF vs Convert: Anything to PDF.
A note on what we don't do
We'd rather you install this knowing the edges than feel misled later:
- No
.xlsx— export to CSV first. - No OCR — scanned text stays an image; it won't become selectable.
- No reading encrypted / password-protected source files — unlock them first.
- Output PDFs are not password-protected — if you need to encrypt the result, do that in a separate step.
- Chromium only — Chrome, Edge, Brave, Arc, Opera, Vivaldi. Not Firefox, not Safari.
That's the complete boundary. Everything else on the 14-format list, it does, locally, with no watermark and no cap.
Frequently asked questions
What does "anything to PDF" actually include?
Fourteen formats: JPG, JPEG, PNG, WebP, SVG, GIF (first frame), and BMP images; TXT, HTML (local file), Markdown, JSON, and XML text/markup; CSV as an auto-formatted table; and the active web page you're viewing. You can also merge any mix of these into a single PDF.
Do my files get uploaded anywhere?
No. Conversion is 100% local — jsPDF handles files, the Chrome DevTools Protocol captures web pages, and zero network requests fire during conversion. Your files never leave your device, which also means it works offline.
Are there watermarks or file limits?
No watermarks, no daily limits, no per-file caps. The only ceiling is your device's memory, so even a large batch of high-resolution scans converts in one go.
Can it convert Excel spreadsheets?
Not .xlsx directly. Export the sheet to CSV first (Excel: File → Save As → CSV; Google Sheets: File → Download → CSV), then convert. The CSV comes out as a properly formatted table, switching to landscape automatically when it has 6 or more columns.
Does it do OCR on scanned documents?
No. Scanned images convert as images — the text inside them won't become selectable or searchable. If you need real text in the PDF, the source file has to already contain text (like Markdown, TXT, or a text-based HTML file).
Which browsers does it work in?
Any Chromium browser: Chrome, Edge, Brave, Arc, Opera, and Vivaldi. It does not work in Firefox or Safari, which use different engines.
Can I merge different file types into one PDF?
Yes. Drop in images, a CSV, a Markdown note, and more, arrange them in any order, and export a single PDF. There's no merge limit beyond memory, and each file keeps its type-appropriate rendering inside the merged document.
Bottom line
"Anything to PDF" should mean the files you actually work with, converted without a toll booth. Fourteen formats, mixed-file merge, four paper sizes, no watermarks, no limits, and — the part that matters most for anything confidential — zero uploads, because it all happens on your machine.
If you convert files even a couple of times a week, install Convert: Anything to PDF and stop round-tripping through servers. And if you'd like a second free extension that earns its keep, CineMan AI overlays IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes scores plus an AI Taste Match right on Netflix, Prime, and Disney+ — handy for the evening after you've cleared your PDF backlog.