PDF.js

PDF.js or pdf.js is a JavaScript library that renders Portable Document Format (PDF) files using the web standards-compliance HTML5 Canvas. The project is led by the Mozilla Foundation after Andreas Gal launched it (initially as an experiment) in 2011.

PDF.js
The PDF Viewer in Firefox 19.0b4
Original author(s)Andreas Gal
Developer(s)Mozilla
Initial release2 July 2011 (2011-07-02)[1]
Stable release
2.3.200 / October 19, 2019 (2019-10-19)[1]
Repository
Written inJavaScript, CSS, HTML
PlatformJavaScript engine, web browser
Size3.94 MB[1]
TypePDF viewer
LicenseApache License 2.0[2]
Websitemozilla.github.io/pdf.js/

History and Application

PDF.js can work as a part of a website or of a browser. Originally created as a Firefox extension,[3] it is now included in Mozilla Firefox since 2012 (version 15)[4][5] and is enabled by default since 2013 (version 19).[6][7] It is also included in ownCloud[8], Nextcloud[9][10], and as a browser extension for Google Chrome, Chromium,[11] Firefox for Android,[12] Pale Moon[13] and SeaMonkey.[14]

Developers will also embed PDF.js in their software in order to enable PDF rendering and viewing in a web or native application, or rendering on a server. Examples of PDF.js integrations include within Dropbox (service) for PDF document previews,[15] Slack (software),[16] and Linkedin for viewing accessible course materials online.[17] Some software development products are also based on making it easier to extend PDF.js.[18][19]

Behavior

According to one benchmark, PDF.js is performant for viewing most common PDF files, while it may have some issues with large or ‘graphics-heavy’ documents. [20] Another analysis found that between 1-3% of PDFs in certain document subsets would crash or freeze the PDF.js viewer, either due to a corrupted file or a complex file.[21]

PDF.js supports most of the PDF specification, but some features have not been implemented yet, which may impact rendering behavior depending on the features the document uses.[22]

PDF features not yet added to PDF.js or incomplete:

  • Optional Content Groups (OCGs)
  • ICC Color Profiles
  • Spot colors
  • Overprint simulation
  • Transparency groups (knockout/isolation)
  • Some patterns & shadings
  • High-fidelity printing
  • Interactive and fillable forms

The PDF.js contributor community also notes that the browser behavior of PDF.js varies with browser support for PDF.js’s required features.[23] Performance and reliability will be the best on Chrome and Firefox, which are fully supported and subject to automated testing.


See also

References
  1. "Releases · mozilla/pdf.js". GitHub.
  2. "pdf.js/LICENSE at master · mozilla/pdf.js". GitHub.
  3. "PDF Viewer(discontinued)". addons.mozilla.org. Archived from the original on 5 December 2015. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  4. Parfeni, Lucian (30 April 2012). "PDF.JS and Download Manager Panel Pushed to Firefox 15". Softpedia. SoftNews.
  5. Blagoveschenskiy, Anton (29 August 2012). "Вышла новая версия браузера Firefox 15" [New version 15 of the Firefox browser released]. Rossiyskaya Gazeta (in Russian). Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  6. "Bug 773397 – Disable pdf.js prior to FF15 beta 5". bugzilla.mozilla.org.
  7. "Firefox 19.0 Release Notes". mozilla.org. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
  8. owncloud/files_pdfviewer, ownCloud, 8 February 2020, retrieved 28 March 2020
  9. nextcloud/files_pdfviewer, Nextcloud, 18 March 2020, retrieved 28 March 2020
  10. "PDF viewer - Apps - App Store - Nextcloud". apps.nextcloud.com. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  11. "PDF Viewer". Chrome Web Store.
  12. "Android PDF.js". addons.mozilla.org.
  13. "Add-ons - Moon PDF Viewer". Pale Moon - Add-ons.
  14. "PDF Viewer for SeaMonkey". Add-ons for SeaMonkey.
  15. https://dropbox.tech/application/annotations-on-document-previews
  16. https://slack.engineering/what-matters-to-you-matters-to-us-10ff49650a5d
  17. https://engineering.linkedin.com/blog/2019/04/under-the-hood--learning-with-documents
  18. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22763656
  19. https://pdfjs.express/blog/introducing-pdfjs-express
  20. https://hacks.mozilla.org/2014/05/how-fast-is-pdf-js/
  21. https://www.pdftron.com/blog/pdf-js/pdf-js-reliability-benchmark/
  22. https://www.pdftron.com/blog/pdf-js/guide-to-pdf-js-rendering/
  23. https://github.com/mozilla/pdf.js/wiki/Frequently-Asked-Questions#which-browsers-are-supported ]
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