But accuracy, reliability, and performance depends on the browser implementation of the required browser features, including the HTML5 element used to render PDFs in PDF.js. Later, it evolved into Mozilla Firefox’s PDF viewer, integrated first as an extension then later as the built-in viewer for Firefox versions 19+.īeing web-standard JavaScript and HTML enables PDF.js to be used in most browsers. PDF.js initially began as an experiment at Mozilla to build a full-fledged PDF viewer using JavaScript and HTML. In this blog, we detail what browsers support PDF.js, where PDF.js is less supported, and the potential implications for a project using PDF.js. PDF.js is used within Mozilla Firefox today as the built-in PDF viewer, and it works well within a website when viewed using the latest versions of Chrome and Firefox, whether through the pre-built PDF.js viewer UI or a custom commercial UI such as PDF.js Express.īut organizations who embed PDF.js within a cross-browser solution, or those whose users are restricted to work on a specific browser, may want to assess PDF.js behavior in terms of performance, reliability, and rendering accuracy on other browsers before starting projects to embed it in a website or an application.
