PDFWebViewer.NET

Introduction

PDFWebViewer.NET allows the ASP.NET developer to display server-side PDF documents as images in the web browser. A typical use case includes showing only parts of a PDF document to the user without allowing the user to save the PDF document to its local disk.

Feature highlights

  • Compatible with Internet Explorer 7.0, Internet Explorer 8.0, FireFox 3.6, Opera 10.10, Chrome 3.0 and Safari 4.0.
  • AJAX-enabled.
  • 100% server-side processing so no client-side plug-ins required.
  • Pan and zoom pages. Instant client-side response. Updated images are retrieved asynchronously.
  • PDF thumbnails list. Images are displayed lazy.
  • Fully customizable toolbar (through CSS and custom button images).
  • Customize look and feel through CSS.

Asynchronous update

The viewer allows the user to navigate pages using a thumbnail strip of the document and to pan and zoom pages. Client-side actions result in server-side regeneration of images that are sent to the browsers asynchronously. This provides the same user interface experience as a PDF reader plug-in.

Customize look and feel

The component includes a number of standard ASP.NET controls such as the page viewer, a thumbnail viewer and a toolbar. All controls can be customized through CSS and custom images.

Client-side JavaScript

The control also provides client-side JavaScript methods that can be used to retrieve document properties and initiate actions such as navigating to a given page or pan and zoom. This way, the developer can develop its own client-side UI and hook into the PDFWebViewer.NET control.