Capturing a website to view offline

  • Thread starter DaveC426913
  • Start date
In summary, Google says that you can use copy website to capture a whole website so it can be viewed offline.
  • #1
DaveC426913
Gold Member
22,483
6,148
Anyone know of a convenient way to capture a whole (flat HTML) website so it can be viewed offline? I mean, other than file by file and image by image.
 
Computer science news on Phys.org
  • #2
Google on "copy website" for options. There are applications that will crawl through entire websites and download them to your HD.
 
  • #4
If all you want is a screen image...
Use Alt-PrintScreen to copy active window.
Paste image into Paint, Imaging, Photoshop, etc.
 
  • #5
Do you use Firefox, Dave?

https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/427/
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #6
If it's a large web site, the owner may not appreciate having a robot crawl all over and suck up hundreds of megabytes of content at once. It puts a huge load spike on his server, and he may have to pay his provider based on traffic above a certain threshold.
 
  • #7
Never mind, I found WinHTTrack, a site-capture tool.

Wow, and just as well, this site is monstrous. I had no idea. It's a yearbook site, spanning 75 years. I'm over 100Mb/10,000 files so far.

All this, so my dad can look at it from a CD, rather than online...

The things I do...
 
Last edited:
  • #8
If you are using Linux you can use wget. Actually you can do this in Windows too if you download it.
 
  • #9
Phew. 700Mb, 15,800 files, 6 hours to download.

I'll bet the site owner hates me.
 
  • #10
jtbell said:
If it's a large web site, the owner may not appreciate having a robot crawl all over and suck up hundreds of megabytes of content at once. It puts a huge load spike on his server, and he may have to pay his provider based on traffic above a certain threshold.

agreed! private crawling is hated amongst webmasters because most of the time it's from a some dude trying to rip or copy the site and then put up a copy on another site. there is actually a hack in vb that let's you block 100s of common private crawlers
 
  • #11
In my case, my personal hobby site (which has a large gallery of pictures) is on one of my college's Web servers, and I don't want to impact normal academic use.

So I watch for robots and for my other pet peeve: people on forums who hotlink to several of my pictures in a single posting, which causes several hits on my server every time someone opens that thread.

To counter this, first I set up my server to examine the referring URL whenever someone fetched a picture, and if it was from one of the offending sites, I sent instead a GIF with the red-bar-in-circle logo over the word "Hotlinking", and the URL of my terms of usage below.

Then I saw that someone had started a thread titled "The scariest thing in the world!" which hotlinked directly to that GIF! So I took a thumbnail-sized JPEG of Alfred E. Neumann (the MAD magazine character) and substituted that. The thread became hilarious for a while, with new viewers seeing Alfred while previous viewers (including of course the original poster) still had my "scary" GIF in their browser caches. "What, me scary?"

Eventually someone caught on and said, "hey dudes, refresh your cache!" but it was fun in the meantime. :biggrin:
 
  • #12
jtbell said:
To counter this, first I set up my server to examine the referring URL whenever someone fetched a picture, and if it was from one of the offending sites, I sent instead a GIF with the red-bar-in-circle logo over the word "Hotlinking", and the URL of my terms of usage below.

try to hotlink on of PF's images :smile:
 
  • #13
O Yes You Cam!

:rolleyes: http://hot-text.ath.cx/img/offline.gif http://hot-text.ath.cx/img/offline1.gif
Custemize it
http://hot-text.ath.cx/img/offline2.gif http://hot-text.ath.cx/img/offline3.gif

http://hot-text.ath.cx/img/offline4.gif http://hot-text.ath.cx/img/offline5.gif
:biggrin:
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #14
How do i Delete

http://hot-text.ath.cx/img/offline-1.gif http://hot-text.ath.cx/img/offline-2.gif

http://hot-text.ath.cx/img/offline-3.gif http://hot-text.ath.cx/img/offline-4.gif
o:)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #15
DaveC426913 said:
Anyone know of a convenient way to capture a whole (flat HTML) website so it can be viewed offline? I mean, other than file by file and image by image.

mmmmmmmmm
capture a whole (flat HTML) website
  1. File
  2. Save As Type
  3. Webpage Complete (*.htm, *.html)
 
  • #16
mmmmmmmmm
capture a whole (flat HTML) website

File
Save As Type
Webpage Complete (*.htm, *.html)
 

1. How can I capture a website to view offline?

There are several tools and methods available for capturing a website to view offline. One option is to use a web scraping software or browser extension that allows you to download the content of a website for offline viewing. Another method is to use a website archiving service, which takes a snapshot of the website and saves it for later viewing. Some browsers also have a built-in feature for saving web pages for offline viewing.

2. What are the benefits of capturing a website for offline viewing?

Capturing a website for offline viewing allows you to access the content even when you do not have an internet connection. This can be useful for research, studying, or accessing important information while traveling. It also ensures that you have a copy of the website in case it goes offline or undergoes changes in the future.

3. Is it legal to capture a website for offline viewing?

It depends on the purpose of capturing the website and the website's terms of use. If you are using the captured content for personal use, it is typically considered legal. However, if you plan to redistribute or use the content for commercial purposes, you may need to obtain permission from the website owner.

4. Can I capture a website with interactive elements for offline viewing?

Yes, it is possible to capture a website with interactive elements, such as videos, games, or forms, for offline viewing. However, the functionality of these elements may be limited when viewing them offline. It is best to test the captured website to ensure all elements are functioning as intended.

5. How often should I capture a website for offline viewing?

It depends on how frequently the website's content is updated. If the website is frequently updated, it may be beneficial to capture it more often to ensure you have the most recent version. If the website's content changes infrequently, capturing it once should be sufficient for offline viewing.

Similar threads

Replies
7
Views
197
  • Computing and Technology
Replies
2
Views
851
  • Computing and Technology
Replies
10
Views
1K
  • Computing and Technology
Replies
3
Views
636
  • Computing and Technology
Replies
2
Views
1K
  • Computing and Technology
Replies
2
Views
719
  • Computing and Technology
Replies
3
Views
1K
  • Computing and Technology
Replies
11
Views
1K
Replies
7
Views
3K
  • Computing and Technology
Replies
27
Views
2K
Back
Top