Blog posts related to instar

A while ago I created a series of single-topic blog posts related to instar. I just converted the Web versions of those blog posts to PDFs (Portable Document Format).

The PDF version of each blog post is available in two “flavors”: an interactive version (with Internet access), meaning the embedded hyperlinks work as expected; and a non-interactive version. Both versions are ad-free.

• “How to estimate instar”: Web version; interactive PDF version, Apple macOS and “Safari” (119 KB); non-interactive PDF version, Apple iOS and “Safari” (533 KB).
• “How to estimate instar, revisited”: Web version; interactive PDF version, Apple macOS and “Safari” (474 KB); non-interactive PDF version, Apple iOS and “Safari” (2.5 MB).
• “How to estimate instar using Photopea”: Web version; interactive PDF version, Apple macOS and “Safari” (154 KB); non-interactive PDF version, Apple iOS and “Safari” (308 KB).
• “Determining final instar the Cham way”: Web version; interactive PDF version, Apple macOS and “Safari” (195 KB); non-interactive PDF version, Apple iOS and “Safari” (1.3 MB).

Related Resources

• How to convert a Web page to PDF – a blog post by Walter Sanford
• Another way to convert a Web page to PDF – another blog post by Walter Sanford

Copyright © 2022 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Identification guides for Sable Clubtail

Identification guides for Sable Clubtail dragonfly (Stenogomphurus rogersii) were created for both adult and larva/nymph forms. (Remember, a well-preserved odonate exuvia is a perfect model of the final instar larva.)

Sable Clubtail has a limited range and is classified as rare to uncommon.

The adult flight period is from May 21 to July 24 in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Source Credit: “CHECKLIST OF THE DRAGONFLIES AND DAMSELFLIES OF VIRGINIA, April 2017 and April 2020 updates” by Dr. Steve Roble, Staff Zoologist at the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage.

Adult

Apple macOS and Safari (interactive)

Apple macOS and “Safari” were used to convert the Web page version of “Field marks for identification of S. rogersii” to PDF (Portable Document Format). The PDF version of the same Web page is 351 KB, ad-free, and is interactive (with Internet access), meaning the embedded hyperlinks work as expected.

Apple iOS and Safari (non-interactive)

Apple iOS and “Safari” were used to convert the Web same page to PDF. The PDF version is 5.4 MB, ad-free, and is not interactive.

(See complete PDF version of “Field marks for identification of S. rogersii.”)

The preceding screenshot shows what the output looks like.

Apple “Photos” can be used to view PDFs on iOS devices. For macOS devices, Apple “Preview” can be used to open the complete PDF version; select “View / Actual Size” and resize the window as necessary. And of course PDFs can be opened using a Web browser.

Exuvia

Apple macOS and Safari (interactive)

Apple macOS and “Safari” were used to convert the Web page version of “Stenogomphurus rogersii exuvia” to PDF. The PDF version of the same Web page is 692 KB, ad-free, and is interactive (with Internet access).

Apple iOS and Safari (non-interactive)

Apple iOS and “Safari” were used to convert the Web same page to PDF. The PDF version is 4.8 MB, ad-free, and is not interactive.

(See complete PDF version of “Stenogomphurus rogersii exuvia.”)

The preceding screenshot shows what the output looks like.

Copyright © 2022 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Another way to convert a Web page to PDF

In my last blog post I explained how to use Apple macOS and “Safari” to convert a Web page to PDF (Portable Document Format).

In this post I will explain how to use Apple iOS and “Safari” to do the same thing. Well, almost. More about that later.

I use an Apple iPad mini 6 running iOS version 15.5 to convert Web pages to PDFs. Before you begin, go to Settings / Safari / Reader …

Turn on Reader for “All Websites.”

Launch Apple “Safari” and open a Web page such as Hunting spiketail dragonflies in Virginia. The page should open in the “Reader” view; if not, then tap the “Refresh” button.

Take a screenshot of the Web page by pressing the “Power” button and one of the “Volume” buttons simultaneously. (Press “Power” and “Home” simultaneously on older models.)

A thumbnail of the screenshot will appear in the lower-left corner of the screen. If you do nothing, then the thumbnail will disappear and the screenshot will be saved to “Photos.” Don’t do that!

Instead, tap the thumbnail and the following screen will appear …

Notice there are two buttons located near the upper-center of the screen: “Screen” (default); and “Full Page.” Tap the “Full Page” button. Also notice the scroll bar located on the right side of the screen. Use the scroll bar to check to see that the entire Web page was captured.

Tap the <Done> button located in the upper-left corner of the screen and select “Save PDF to Files.”

(See complete PDF version of “Hunting spiketail dragonflies in Virginia.”)

The preceding screenshot shows what the output looks like. Using Apple “Preview” to open the complete PDF version, select “View / Actual Size” and resize the window as necessary.

Pros and cons

The PDFs created using this method are relatively large files. For example, the PDF version of “Hunting spiketail dragonflies in Virginia” is 4.6 MB. [Editor’s Note: Limited testing suggests 25 MB is the maximum size that can be created.]

The PDF files are ad-free but they aren’t interactive, meaning the embedded hyperlinks don’t work. The output looks nice but larger file size and no interactivity is lose-lose, in my opinion.

In contrast, the PDF version of the same Web page, created using Apple macOS and “Safari,” is only 238 KB, ad-free, and is interactive (with Internet access).

What are the take-aways?

The method you choose to convert a Web page to PDF might depend upon the type of hardware that you own. Given a choice of either Apple macOS or Apple iOS, I think the former works better than the latter. But hey, if an Apple iPad is all you have then you can still get the job done.

Related Resources

• “Hunting spiketail dragonflies in Virginia”: Web version; PDF version, Apple macOS and “Safari” (25 MB); PDF version, Apple iOS and “Safari” (4.6 MB).
• How to take a full-page screenshot on your iPhone or iPad — Apple Support (1:23)
• Use Markup on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, by Apple Support

Copyright © 2022 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

How to convert a Web page to PDF

It’s possible to save a Web page as a PDF (Portable Document Format). Print-to-PDF, rather than print to an external printer, is a feature of many Web browsers that works well in some cases.

For example, when I pay bills online I use print-to-PDF to make electronic copies of the payment receipts from my bank.

In contrast, print-to-PDF might not work well when printing a blog post with embedded advertisements.

I tested print-to-PDF using Google “Chrome” and Mozilla “Firefox” to save a few of the posts from my photoblog. The results looked bad. I had to find a better solution.

That’s when I discovered Apple “Safari” can be used to convert Web pages to PDFs that look fairly good. Some of the Web page formatting might be lost but the PDFs are ad-free and interactive (with Internet access) — that’s win-win! Here’s how it works.

How to use Apple Safari to convert a Web page to PDF

A computer running Apple macOS is required. Step-by-step directions are as follows.

1. Launch Apple “Safari.”
2. Open a Web page in Safari.
3. Select View / Show Reader
4. Select File / Export as PDF…
5. Click the <Save> button.

The “Reader” view in Safari displays text and graphics only; advertisements are not shown.

For example, I used Safari to create a PDF version of “Collecting odonate exuviae,” one of my recent blog posts. The following graphic shows a screenshot of the first page from the PDF. A link to the entire PDF is provided in the image caption.

(See complete PDF version of “Collecting odonate exuviae.”)

Buoyed by success, I used Safari to create a PDF version of “Hunting spiketail dragonflies in Virginia,” another one of my recent blog posts. The following graphic shows a screenshot of the first page from the PDF.

(See complete PDF version of “Hunting spiketail dragonflies in Virginia.”)

If you compare/contrast the Web version with the PDF version of both blog posts, then you will see the PDF version isn’t a perfect copy of the Web version. Some PDFs will look better than others.

How to use Apple Preview to “mask” unwanted content

Some minor clean-up of the PDF output might be necessary, depending upon the Web page. Here’s how I use Apple “Preview” to “mask” unwanted content.

1. Launch Apple “Preview.”
2. Select View / Show Markup Toolbar
3. Set the border color to White. Set the fill color to White. [See the larger red rectangle that highlights these two settings, as shown in the following screen grab.]
4. To add a new all-white shape, click the Shapes icon and select the rectangle shape; click-and-drag to reposition and resize the rectangle, as necessary. [See the smaller red rectangle that highlights this setting, below.]

Screen grab showing Apple “Preview.”

In case you’re confused by what is shown in the preceding screenshot, notice you can see two iterations of the “Markup Toolbar”: the upper version is the one used to add the red rectangles to the document that appears in the “floating” window; the lower version is the one used to create three white rectangles that were placed over content that I wanted to mask. You can’t see those white rectangles but they are there.

Related Resources

• “Collecting odonate exuviae”: Web version; PDF version, Apple macOS and “Safari” (360 KB).
• “Hunting spiketail dragonflies in Virginia”: Web version; PDF version, Apple macOS and “Safari” (236 KB).

Copyright © 2022 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.