10:54PM
Keyboard Shortcut for "Save as PDF..." in OS X
Here is one thing that has been driving me crazy for some time. I constantly find myself saving from Safari to PDF. Whether it is a utility bill or legal research, I have a fetish for saving PDF copies. The problem is that in order to do so you must click print, then the PDF button, then the "Save as PDF" button. Each step requires me to get the mouse in the right place and read the menu. Granted this is probably less than 10 seconds but I do it a lot and it makes me just a little bit nuts.
So I've been thinking about this and wondering if there is an Automator action or perhaps an Applescript that can simplify this. Well tonight I stumbled upon an excellent hint at MacOSXHints that address this very problem very easily through with a keyboard shorcut.
Here is the walkthrough.
Open your Keyboard Shortcuts tab in the Keyboard & Mouse system preference pane.
Click the "+" sign to add a new shortcut for all applications.
Then a box pops up asking for the command.
Type in the Command exactly as it appears: "Save as PDF..." For the ellipses, use the combination: option + semicolon. Don't ask me why because I have no clue. Just do it.
For the keyboard shortcut use: command + P (I know this sounds like a conflict with the print shortcut, but trust me)
Now you are done.
Now go to your favorite webpage and hold down the command key and press "P" twice.
Bingo. "Save as PDF..." lickity split.
Reader Comments (48)
I'm trying to get this to work with sending PDF's to Evernote. I press CMD P, it brings up print window, but I then have to select PDF dropdown box before the second CMD P will send the page to Evernote. CMD P P doesn't do it all it one shot. Any idea if this is possible?
Same here. It bring up the print dialog. Running 10.6.5
Now this is cool.
Awesome.
I just added 'Save PDF to Evernote' and bound it to ⌘-E
Now archiving a fulltext snapshot of a webpage to Evernote is as simple as ⌘-P then E
Love it!
Excellent tip. It works just as advertised! Thanks for sharing.
You win... +100
Thank you.
I did this some time ago, unfortunately it stopped working for me until after I click on the little PDF button, after which the shortcut works again. Does anyone have any thoughts as to what may have done this for me? (Al Macbook, 10.6.4)
The reason you have to type option + semicolon instead of three periods is that the ellipsis is a single character, not three characters. The text you enter for the menu title must match the menu text exactly, and one ellipsis character does not match three periods.
Absolutely genius - may have been posted elsewhere but I didn't see it.
It took me a couple of tries to figure out that you need to let the print dialogue come up before pressing P the 2nd time. If you do cmd-P-P too quickly, it just opens the print dialogue twice.
Doesn't work for me. 10.6.4 but still opens the print dialogue only plus the annoying sound when you hit the wrong key.
Opt+; (actually Opt+. on my keyboard) gives the ellipsis glyph. It's a single character that happens to look like three periods. Since Apple uses "real" ellipses as opposed to three separate periods, that's why you need to do the same.
Using 10.6.4. It only works if I open the dropdown menu and press Command-P again. does anyone know how to fix this?
Thanks for the post. Using this, and just wanted to give the shout out. Oh, and the download link on the Labs page points to the same place as the demo, instead of the zip file. Glad it was here too. :)
so, the default keyboard shortcut is command -P, control-command-P. This just allows your little finger to snooze? Not that big a deal in my book.
WOW ! Thanks ! So useful !!!
@Nathan, this stopped working for me too. When I looked, the shortcut had been removed from System Preferences. When I added it back, it worked again.
This is a perfect example of why I need to be reviewing the MacSparky archives.
Awesome.
This is excellent. Thanks!
This is GREAT. Thanks!
for the GERMAN readers:
es funktioniert auch auf Deutsch. Natürlich muss hier der dt. Befehl eingetragen werden: "Als PDF sichern ..." (Leerzeichen zwischen "sichern" und "...")
Thanks!
I have been listening to Mac Power Users for a month or so and have heard you mention this several times. I took the 2 minutes to set it up and it works great! Thanks.
I've heard you mention this before, but hadn't taken time to track it down until you put it into show notes for the "Paperless" MPU episode.
I _constantly_ save docs of all kinds as PDF, especially when grading papers. This shortcut is a life-changer. Thanks!
Brooke