Save As eBook for Firefox — Step‑by‑Step Guide & Best SettingsSave As eBook is a Firefox extension that converts web pages into EPUB files you can read offline on phones, tablets, or e-readers. This guide walks you through installation, basic usage, advanced options, recommended settings, troubleshooting, and tips to get clean, well-formatted eBooks from virtually any article or web page.
What Save As eBook does (brief)
Save As eBook converts web pages into EPUB files by extracting page content (text and images), cleaning up extraneous elements (ads, navigation), and packaging the result into a single downloadable file. It’s especially useful for saving long articles, tutorials, documentation, or blog series for offline reading.
Installing Save As eBook
- Open Firefox and go to the Add-ons page (about:addons) or visit the Mozilla Add-ons site.
- Search for “Save As eBook” or follow a direct link to the extension page.
- Click “Add to Firefox,” then confirm any permission prompts.
- After installation, the extension’s icon will appear in the toolbar or overflow menu.
Tip: Pin the icon to the toolbar for quicker access — right-click the icon and choose “Pin to Overflow Menu” or drag it to the toolbar.
Basic Usage — Create an EPUB in a Few Clicks
- Open the article or web page you want to save.
- Click the Save As eBook icon in the toolbar.
- The extension analyzes the page and presents a preview of the extracted content.
- Adjust the selection if necessary (some versions let you choose which article area to include).
- Click “Save” or “Download EPUB.” The extension will create an EPUB file and prompt you to save it locally.
Most simple pages require no adjustments — Save As eBook’s default extraction yields readable EPUBs with headings, paragraphs, inline images, and basic formatting.
Choosing Pages and Sections
- If the page contains multiple articles or comments, use the extension’s selection tools (if available) to pick the correct article block.
- For long multi-page articles, open the full version (some sites split content across pages); alternatively, save each page separately and merge later (see advanced section).
- If the extension misidentifies the article, try toggling Reader View (Ctrl+Alt+R on Windows/Linux, Cmd+Alt+R on macOS) and then run Save As eBook from that simplified view for better results.
Best Settings for Clean EPUBs
Below are recommended settings to get consistent, clean results across a variety of websites.
- Output format: EPUB (standard; most e-readers and apps support it).
- Encoding: UTF-8 (ensures correct handling of non-Latin characters).
- Include images: Enable if you want illustrations; disable for text-only reading to reduce file size.
- CSS handling: Allow the extension to strip most site CSS; keep basic formatting (headings, lists) only.
- Metadata: Fill title, author, and language fields before saving. If saving multiple pages into one book, use chapter titles for each page.
- Cover image: Let the extension auto-generate a cover from the article’s featured image, or upload a custom cover for a polished look.
- Pagination: Disable site pagination removal only if you want the original page breaks preserved; otherwise merge into continuous flow.
- Table of contents: Enable automatic TOC generation so chapters/sections are navigable on e-readers.
Advanced Options & Workflows
Merging multiple pages:
- Save each page as an EPUB, then use an EPUB editor (e.g., Calibre) to merge books or import HTML files and export a single EPUB.
- Alternatively, save each page as HTML using Save As eBook or “Save Page As,” assemble them into a single HTML file, then convert with Calibre or Pandoc.
Using custom CSS:
- If you want a consistent reading style, export the HTML and apply a custom CSS before conversion. A minimal CSS that sets font, line-height, and margins dramatically improves readability.
Converting to MOBI/AZW3:
- If you need Amazon Kindle formats, convert the EPUB using Calibre or Kindle Previewer. Keep a master EPUB for other devices.
Automating batch saves:
- Some users write small scripts with headless browsers to fetch pages and pass the HTML to an EPUB generator — useful for archiving large blogs. This requires programming knowledge and care to respect sites’ terms of use and robots.txt.
Troubleshooting Common Issues
Missing images:
- Some images are loaded lazily or require JavaScript. Enable page scripts or open the page briefly to allow images to load before saving.
- If images are hosted on a different domain and blocked, the extension may not fetch them. Download images manually or use a full-page capture tool.
Strange formatting or broken layout:
- Try saving from Firefox Reader View to remove site-specific styles.
- Disable “Include site CSS” or apply a simple custom CSS.
Long conversion times or failures:
- Very large pages or pages with many embedded resources can time out. Split into smaller sections or increase extension timeout in settings if available.
DRM or paywalled content:
- Save As eBook cannot bypass paywalls or DRM. Use legitimate access methods to obtain content.
EPUB not opening on device:
- Validate the EPUB with an EPUB validator (e.g., EPUBCheck). If invalid, open in Calibre and re-export to fix structure issues.
Tips for Better Results
- Use Reader View first on content-heavy articles — it produces cleaner, more consistent output.
- Manually set metadata (title/author) to improve organization in e-reader libraries.
- For long-form series, create a single EPUB with clear chapter titles for each installment.
- Keep images optimized — large image files increase EPUB size and slow e-reader performance.
- Regularly update the extension to benefit from parser improvements and bug fixes.
Example Workflow — Save a Technical Tutorial
- Open the tutorial page in Firefox.
- Switch to Reader View to remove sidebars and comments.
- Click Save As eBook, turn off large images if the tutorial is mostly code, and set the language to English.
- Fill Title: “Tutorial — Topic Name,” Author: original author’s name.
- Download EPUB, open in Calibre to add cover and check metadata, then transfer to e-reader.
Alternatives & When to Use Them
- Calibre: Better for heavy editing, batch conversions, and format changes (EPUB ↔ MOBI).
- Pocket/Instapaper: Good for syncing and offline reading across devices with their apps, but less control over EPUB output.
- Web to EPUB web services: Handy when you don’t want browser extensions, but may be less private and customizable.
Comparison
| Tool | Best for | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Save As eBook (Firefox) | Quick EPUB from browser | Fast, integrated, easy | Limited advanced editing |
| Calibre | Comprehensive book editing | Powerful conversion, metadata | Desktop app, steeper learning |
| Reader View + Save Page As | Simplest clean HTML | Very clean text, minimal fuss | Manual merging for multi-page |
Legal and Ethical Notes
Respect copyright and site terms. Save As eBook is intended for personal use and offline reading of freely available or personally licensed content. Do not use it to redistribute copyrighted material without permission.
Final Recommendations
- For occasional article saving: use Save As eBook with Reader View enabled, set metadata, and include images only when needed.
- For batch or heavily customized books: prepare HTML + custom CSS and use Calibre for final conversion.
- Keep your workflow simple: a clean EPUB with correct metadata and a basic TOC gives the best reading experience on most devices.
If you want, I can create a short checklist you can print and follow each time you save an article, or write custom CSS for EPUB output tailored to your preferred font and layout.
Leave a Reply