How To Take Screenshots In The Browser Using JavaScript

You can capture a screenshot of the webpage or a specific part by using HTML5 and the Canvas API. Taking screenshots is quite easy for web apps that require visual documentation, debugging, or sharing content. We will discuss some methods to do this without any extension or software in this blog.

Table of Contents:

Why Take Screenshots in the Browser?
Method to Take In-Browser Screenshots
Limitations of Each Method
Conclusion

Why Take Screenshots in the Browser?

Reporting Bugs: By taking screenshots, you can report bugs in the UI.
Data Visualization: You can take screenshots of charts and graphs and save them as images.
HTML to Image Conversion: You can get the web content in the image format.
Documentation: You can store the visual elements.

Method to Take In-Browser Screenshots

You can use libraries like the html2canvas, dom-to-image, and the MediaRecorder API for taking in-browser screenshots. Let’s discuss these methods below.

Method 1: Using the html2canvas Library

You can use the html2canvas JavaScript tool to take a screenshot of the webpage. You can take HTML content or create a canvas and then save it as a PNG or JPEG file. It does not require any extra permissions.

Example:

Html

Output:

Explanation: You can use this code to take a screenshot of a specific part. You can use html2canvas to capture the content inside the #screenshot-area, followed by converting it to an image.

Method 2: Using dom-to-image for More Accuracy

It is an alternative method to html2canvas tool. The dom-to-image tool is used to take screenshots, and it also supports SVG elements and CSS styles. It is more accurate than the html2canvas tool in generating images from HTML elements.

Example:

Html

Output:

Explanation: You can use this code to capture a specific part of the image. You can use dom-to-image to convert the content inside the #screenshot-area into a PNG image and add it to the webpage.

Method 3: Using MediaRecorder API for Full-Screen Capture

You can use the MediaRecorder API for capturing screens. Therefore, you can use this method for the purpose of sharing your entire screen.

Example:

Html

Output:

Using MediaRecorder API for Full-Screen Capture

Explanation: You can use this code to share your entire screen. When you click on the button, it uses the MediaRecorder API to get access to your screen. After 5 seconds, the recording is stopped, and the document.body.appendChild(video) method is used for printing the canvas on screen. You can also add the canvas to your webpage or download it to save it to your computer.

Limitations of Each Method

Every method has its own limitations. Let us discuss them all one by one:

html2canvas:

No Support for Cross-Origin Content: if your page loads images or content from another domain without proper CORS headers. Then those may not load correctly.
Limited CSS Support: It may not render some advanced CSS properties like filters, shadows, and pseudo-elements accurately.

dom-to-image:

Memory-Heavy: This library can consume a large amount of memory for large DOM elements.
SVG Compatibility is Better, But Not Perfect: It supports SVGs better than html2canvas. but still rendering some abnormalities.

MediaRecorder API

Requires User Permission: It asks for user permission before doing a screen recording.
Cannot Capture Certain Browser UI Elements: Browser toolbars, pop-ups, and context menus cannot be captured.

Conclusion

The above-discussed methods are the most efficient approach to taking in-browser screenshots. You can use libraries like html2canvas and dom-to-image, and use the MediaRecorder API for this purpose. The libraries are used to take screenshots of the specific area, and MediaRecorder is used to record the screen. Screenshots can capture content that isn’t easily saved, such as data visualizations, styled elements, or interactive components.