If the section is one element on the page, such as an article, a table or a pricing block, Chrome's developer tools can save exactly that element however tall it is, with Capture node screenshot. Otherwise capture the full page and crop it. Pulse Extractor's Smart Range does it directly: mark a start, scroll, and mark an end, and Pulse captures only that range.
When an ordinary region screenshot is not enough
A region screenshot, from your operating system or a snipping tool, stops at the edge of the screen. A full-page capture includes everything you did not want. The section you need sits in between: taller than one screen, shorter than the page.
Method 1: capture one element with Chrome developer tools
- Right-click inside the section you want and choose Inspect.
- In the Elements panel, hover over the elements above the highlighted one. The page highlights each in turn; stop at the one whose highlight covers exactly your section.
- Right-click that element and choose Capture node screenshot.
- Chrome saves a PNG of that element, top to bottom, even the part below the screen.
It is exact when the section is one element. When it spans parts of several, use Method 2.
Method 2: capture the whole page, then crop
- Capture the full page: Chrome's Capture full size screenshot in developer tools, Firefox's Save full page, or Pulse's Capture Full Page as PNG.
- Open the image in any editor (Photos on Windows, Preview on a Mac) and crop to the section.
Very tall images can be slow to open. If the result is for print, a PDF capture paginates more sensibly.
With Pulse Extractor
- Smart Range (Scroll Range in the Smart Snip bar): mark where it starts, scroll, mark where it ends, and Pulse captures only that range.
- For a section that fits on one screen, Smart Snip captures just that region, and Smart Snip Studio crops, annotates and redacts it before export.
- Capture Full Page saves the whole page as PNG or PDF.
Which method to use
| Your section | Good choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| One element: an article, a table, a block | DevTools Capture node screenshot | Exact, free, any height |
| A span across several elements | Full-page capture, then crop | Works on any page |
| A region that fits on screen | A region screenshot or Pulse Smart Snip | Fastest |
When Pulse is not the right tool
- The section is one element. DevTools' Capture node screenshot is exact and free.
- The range is a whole page. Capture Full Page is simpler than marking a start and an end.
- Anything outside Chrome. Use your operating system's screenshot tool.
Limitations to know
- Sticky headers can repeat inside element screenshots; scroll to the top first or hide the header in DevTools.
- Inner scrolling panels. A few app-style pages, such as dashboards, web mail and chat apps, scroll inside an inner panel rather than the page itself. On those, Pulse currently captures what is on screen rather than the whole panel. Ordinary websites, including very long ones, capture top to bottom. Grow the panel first; see how to capture a scrolling div.
- Protected browser pages. Chrome does not let extensions run on its own protected pages, such as browser settings or the Chrome Web Store, so Pulse is unavailable there. That is a browser restriction, not a Pulse setting.
Questions
Can Smart Snip select more than one screen of a page?
Yes. Switch Smart Snip to Scroll Range, mark where it starts, scroll, and mark where it ends. This is Smart Range.
Does Capture node screenshot work in Edge?
Edge uses the same developer tools as Chrome, so the same command is available there.