To download all linked PDFs from a web page in Chrome, choose PDF in Simple Mass Downloader and click Scan this page. Select the documents you need in the results, choose a save mode, and click Start download. This works with accessible PDF file links, such as papers, reports and course handouts.
This workflow downloads existing PDFs. It does not convert the web page to PDF, combine documents, remove passwords or search inside their contents.
Begin with a small, accessible sample
Open one of the document links normally. Confirm that it gives you the expected PDF with your current access. If it leads to a sign-in form, a purchase page or a document viewer without an exposed file address, a whole-page scan may not find a usable PDF.
Use resources you own or are authorized to download. University portals and research repositories may impose access rules or request limits even when you can read the documents individually.
For a first test, select two or three documents. If they work, enlarge the batch. You can also try our one-page sample PDF before using your own document list.
Collect and filter the PDF links
- Open the page that lists the documents.
- Open Simple Mass Downloader, choose PDF, then click Scan this page.
- Review the Dashboard and inspect the source URLs.
- Search for words in the URL or Text columns. Use the Domain filter or Ext. header for those specific conditions.
- Select the relevant files and check the count.
- Preview names, choose a save mode and click Start download.
A keyword search matches the collected URL and link text, not the contents of a PDF. If a report title appears only inside the document, search for a filename fragment or year that is visible in the table instead.
The resource table helps spot similar-looking names. If several links represent different versions of the same report, retain the version you need rather than assuming URL deduplication compares file contents.
When the documents are one page deeper
Some indexes link to article pages, and those article pages link to PDFs. Scanning the index alone may therefore return page links.
You have two practical options. Open the relevant detail pages in tabs and scan those tabs, or select the detail-page links and use Find files in pages with a PDF extension or suitable search condition.
Find files in pages searches one level deeper. It fetches HTML without running the detail pages’ complete interactive scripts. It is not a recursive website crawler, and it cannot reveal a download URL that only appears after a protected or interactive operation.
If you already have the actual document addresses, paste or import the URL list instead.
Choose names you can recognize later
Many repositories use identifiers such as document-1847.pdf. Before downloading, consider a numbering or source-based naming rule. For a collection spread across domains, {host}-{ccc}-{name}.{ext} keeps the source and original filename visible.
Where useful link text is available, review a title-based naming preview. Do not assume every record has meaningful title metadata. Include a fallback such as the original name or a counter, and inspect two or three generated names before applying the rule to the full batch.
See the batch-renaming guide for examples and collision checks.
Save as individual PDFs or a ZIP
Standard downloads suit many separate documents and larger files. ZIP is convenient for a modest reading pack that belongs together. The archive is created in your browser; it is not a cloud compression job.
Choose a folder writes to a directory you authorize and works with free credits. Keep the Dashboard open until that mode finishes. For Default Download Folder and ZIP archive, keep Chrome running even if you close the results tab.
Credits are counted per successful PDF. An archive containing 30 successfully saved PDFs uses 30 credits. A failed document that later succeeds on retry counts when it succeeds.
Check for missing or incorrect documents
If a PDF is absent, verify the scan type, page scope and active filters. Load any additional document list entries before scanning again. If a saved file will not open, inspect the source link: an expired URL or login redirect can return HTML instead of a document.
For rate limits or transient failures, wait as appropriate and reduce concurrency before retrying failed items. Do not restart the entire successful batch automatically.
The download troubleshooting guide provides a symptom-based checklist. Once access and naming are correct, the same workflow can be reused for future handouts or report sets.
