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How Do I Convert MHTML to PDF?

G. Wiesen
G. Wiesen

There are a few different ways to convert MHTML to PDF, and the best choice for you often depends on how much experience you have using conversion software. One of the simplest ways to make this conversion is to download a program that can be used as a PDF, or portable document format, printer. There are a number of different programs that can be used this way, including freeware and commercial software, and this allows you to use the software as a virtual printer, which converts the file to a PDF during the “printing.” You can also use two different programs together to convert MHTML, or MIME HyperText Markup Language, to PDF, using one to convert from MHTML to standard HTML and then to convert from HTML to PDF.

It can seem a bit complicated to convert from MHTML to PDF, but that is largely due to the differences between these file types. An MHTML document is simply a file that acts as an archive in which the various images, text, animations, and other aspects of a webpage are kept together. These files are often used by certain operating systems (OS) and web browsers for keeping a record of sites and making them load faster in the future. The MHTML file format is not fully standardized across multiple platforms, however, making its use more difficult in some settings, in which case a PDF file that is standardized and easy to work with is often preferable.

Woman doing a handstand with a computer
Woman doing a handstand with a computer

To convert MHTML to PDF, you either need a single program that you can use as a PDF printer, or you need two different converters. A PDF printer is a file converter that you install onto your computer, at which point it becomes a virtual printing server on your computer. You can then open any file that is printable, including an MHTML file, through a compatible web browser and choose to print that file. When you print, however, you choose the PDF printer program as the printer, rather than an actual printer. Once you do this and choose to print, then the PDF printer converts the MHTML to PDF and saves a new file for you.

This is a fairly simple way to convert MHTML to PDF, but the use of a PDF printer may seem a bit strange. You can also perform this conversion through a two-step process in which you first convert the MHTML file to a more standard HTML file type. Different programs can be used for this conversion, and the resulting HTML file may be useable by a number of different programs and browsers in which an MHTML file is not.

Once you have the HTML file, then you can use another converter program to turn that into a PDF. There are several HTML to PDF converters that you can use more easily than PDF printers. Some of these programs may act the same way as PDF printers, however, in which case you can use them to convert directly from MHTML to PDF and skip the other conversion.

Discussion Comments

Soulfox

@Melonlity -- A PDF printer will usually work just fine. But there are times when the document you are trying to print simply won't fit on the page. That is when it is time to use a converter to try to recreate the document and take care of those problems.

By the way, a PDF printer is great because it can handle documents in all kinds of formats, allowing documents to be emailed rather than printed and mailed. Very convenient.

Melonlity

The easier of these two methods, by far, is to use an application that lets you print to a PDF file just as you would a printer. The advantage is that you don't have to worry about standards, converting stuff or any of that. If the document is formatted OK, it will print.

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      Woman doing a handstand with a computer