PDF.js

PDF.js or pdf.js is a JavaScript library that renders Portable Document Format (PDF) files using the web standards-compliant HTML5 Canvas. The project is led by the Mozilla Corporation 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
2.10.377 / 25 July 2021 (2021-07-25)[1]
Preview release
2.11.338 / 24 January 2021 (2021-01-24)[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 included in Firefox since 2012 (version 15)[4][5] and is enabled by default since 2013 (version 19).[6][7] It is also included in Thunderbird,[8] ownCloud,[9] Nextcloud,[10][11] and as a browser extension for Google Chrome, Chromium,[12] Firefox for Android,[13] Pale Moon[14][15] and SeaMonkey.[15][16]

Developers will also embed PDF.js in their software to enable PDF rendering and viewing in a web or native application or rendering on a server. Examples of PDF.js integrations include Dropbox (service) for PDF document previews,[17] Slack (software),[18] and Linkedin for viewing accessible course materials online.[19] Some software development products are also making it easier to extend PDF.js.[20][21]

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.[22]

PDF.js supports most of the PDF specifications (including form support or XFA[23]) , but some features have not been implemented yet, which may impact rendering behavior depending on the features the document uses.[24]

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

The PDF.js contributor community also notes that the browser behavior of PDF.js varies with browser support for PDF.js's required features.[25] 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. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  2. "pdf.js/LICENSE at master · mozilla/pdf.js". GitHub. 17 February 2022.
  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. "810815 - Integrate pdf.js to Thunderbird". bugzilla.mozilla.org. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  9. owncloud/files_pdfviewer, ownCloud, 8 February 2020, retrieved 28 March 2020
  10. nextcloud/files_pdfviewer, Nextcloud, 18 March 2020, retrieved 28 March 2020
  11. "PDF viewer - Apps - App Store - Nextcloud". apps.nextcloud.com. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  12. "PDF Viewer". Chrome Web Store.
  13. "Android PDF.js". addons.mozilla.org.
  14. "Add-ons - Moon PDF Viewer". Pale Moon - Add-ons. Archived from the original on 3 January 2020. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  15. "IsaacSchemm/pdf.js-seamonkey: SeaMonkey fork of pdf.js". GitHub. Archived from the original on 6 December 2020. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  16. "PDF Viewer for SeaMonkey". Add-ons for SeaMonkey.
  17. Lauraharrisneal. "Annotations on Document Previews". dropbox.tech. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  18. "What matters to you, matters to us. - Slack Engineering". Slack Engineering. 16 November 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  19. "Under the hood: Learning with documents". engineering.linkedin.com. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  20. "Show HN: Pdf.js Express – PDF annotation, e-signatures, and form filling | Hacker News". news.ycombinator.com. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  21. "Introducing PDF.js Express". pdfjs.express. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  22. "How fast is PDF.js? – Mozilla Hacks - the Web developer blog".
  23. "1706133 - (pdf-xfa) [meta] XFA support". bugzilla.mozilla.org. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  24. "Guide to Evaluating PDF.js Rendering". PDFTron. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  25. "Frequently Asked Questions · mozilla/pdf.js Wiki". GitHub. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
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