pdfjs-dist vs react-pdf vs ng2-pdf-viewer vs ngx-extended-pdf-viewer vs ng2-pdfjs-viewer
PDF Viewing Libraries for Web Development Comparison
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pdfjs-distreact-pdfng2-pdf-viewerngx-extended-pdf-viewerng2-pdfjs-viewerSimilar Packages:
What's PDF Viewing Libraries for Web Development?

These libraries provide tools for rendering and interacting with PDF documents in web applications. They cater to different frameworks and offer various features for displaying PDFs, managing user interactions, and customizing the viewing experience. By leveraging these libraries, developers can integrate PDF viewing capabilities seamlessly into their applications, enhancing user engagement and functionality.

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pdfjs-dist3,412,71349,85237.4 MB4192 months agoApache-2.0
react-pdf1,262,6639,848552 kB322 months agoMIT
ng2-pdf-viewer215,384-282 kB-3 months agoMIT
ngx-extended-pdf-viewer94,58850943.5 MB4012 days agoApache-2.0
ng2-pdfjs-viewer29,22223410.8 MB5724 days agoApache
Feature Comparison: pdfjs-dist vs react-pdf vs ng2-pdf-viewer vs ngx-extended-pdf-viewer vs ng2-pdfjs-viewer

Framework Compatibility

  • pdfjs-dist:

    Framework-agnostic, allowing integration into any JavaScript project, but requires manual setup.

  • react-pdf:

    Optimized for React, offering a component-based approach for easy integration.

  • ng2-pdf-viewer:

    Designed specifically for Angular applications, providing a seamless integration experience.

  • ngx-extended-pdf-viewer:

    Built for Angular with advanced features, making it suitable for complex applications.

  • ng2-pdfjs-viewer:

    Also tailored for Angular, focusing on a lightweight wrapper around PDF.js.

Feature Set

  • pdfjs-dist:

    Core functionality for rendering PDFs, but lacks built-in UI components or features.

  • react-pdf:

    Supports basic features like page rendering and navigation, with a focus on React component integration.

  • ng2-pdf-viewer:

    Offers basic features like page navigation and zooming, suitable for simple use cases.

  • ngx-extended-pdf-viewer:

    Includes a comprehensive set of features such as text selection, annotations, and printing options.

  • ng2-pdfjs-viewer:

    Provides essential PDF viewing capabilities without advanced features.

Customization Options

  • pdfjs-dist:

    Offers extensive customization possibilities, but requires more development effort to implement.

  • react-pdf:

    Allows for customization through React props, enabling tailored PDF viewing experiences.

  • ng2-pdf-viewer:

    Limited customization options, primarily focused on standard viewing features.

  • ngx-extended-pdf-viewer:

    Highly customizable with options for theming, toolbars, and user interactions.

  • ng2-pdfjs-viewer:

    Minimal customization; suitable for straightforward PDF displays without additional features.

Performance

  • pdfjs-dist:

    Highly efficient rendering capabilities, suitable for performance-critical applications.

  • react-pdf:

    Performance depends on the implementation; generally efficient for standard use cases.

  • ng2-pdf-viewer:

    Good performance for basic PDF viewing, but may struggle with large documents.

  • ngx-extended-pdf-viewer:

    Optimized for performance with large documents and complex features.

  • ng2-pdfjs-viewer:

    Lightweight and performs well for simple use cases.

Ease of Use

  • pdfjs-dist:

    Requires more setup and understanding of PDF.js for effective use.

  • react-pdf:

    Easy to integrate into React applications with a clear API and documentation.

  • ng2-pdf-viewer:

    User-friendly with straightforward implementation for Angular projects.

  • ngx-extended-pdf-viewer:

    More complex due to its extensive features, but well-documented for ease of use.

  • ng2-pdfjs-viewer:

    Simple to use for basic PDF viewing needs, but lacks advanced features.

How to Choose: pdfjs-dist vs react-pdf vs ng2-pdf-viewer vs ngx-extended-pdf-viewer vs ng2-pdfjs-viewer
  • pdfjs-dist:

    Use pdfjs-dist if you want direct access to the PDF.js library for custom implementations or if you are not tied to a specific framework. It provides the core functionality for rendering PDFs but requires more effort to integrate into your application.

  • react-pdf:

    Choose react-pdf if you are developing a React application and need a library that simplifies the process of displaying PDF documents. It offers a declarative API and is well-suited for projects that require integration with React components.

  • ng2-pdf-viewer:

    Choose ng2-pdf-viewer if you are working with Angular and need a straightforward solution for displaying PDF files with basic features like zoom and navigation. It is easy to implement and integrates well with Angular applications.

  • ngx-extended-pdf-viewer:

    Opt for ngx-extended-pdf-viewer if you need a robust Angular solution with extensive features like text selection, annotations, and advanced rendering options. It is ideal for applications that require a rich user experience with PDFs.

  • ng2-pdfjs-viewer:

    Select ng2-pdfjs-viewer if you require a lightweight Angular wrapper around PDF.js, focusing on simplicity and basic functionalities. It is suitable for projects where minimal customization is needed.

Similar Npm Packages to pdfjs-dist

pdfjs-dist is a popular library for rendering PDF documents in web applications using JavaScript. It is built on top of Mozilla's PDF.js project, which allows developers to display PDF files directly in the browser without needing any external plugins. With pdfjs-dist, you can easily integrate PDF viewing capabilities into your applications, making it a go-to choice for projects that require PDF manipulation and rendering.

While pdfjs-dist is a robust solution for PDF rendering, there are alternatives that offer different functionalities and use cases. Here are a couple of notable alternatives:

  • pdf-lib is a powerful library for creating and modifying PDF documents in JavaScript. Unlike pdfjs-dist, which focuses on rendering existing PDFs, pdf-lib allows developers to create new PDF documents from scratch or modify existing ones. You can add text, images, and shapes, as well as manipulate pages and metadata. If your project requires generating or editing PDFs programmatically, pdf-lib is an excellent choice due to its comprehensive API and ease of use.

  • pdf-parse is a lightweight library designed for extracting text and metadata from PDF files. It is particularly useful for server-side applications where you need to analyze or process PDF content. pdf-parse focuses on parsing PDF documents and returning their textual content, making it ideal for applications that require text extraction rather than rendering. If your goal is to extract information from PDFs rather than display them, pdf-parse is a suitable alternative.

For a detailed comparison of these packages, check out the following link: Comparing pdf-lib vs pdf-parse vs pdfjs-dist.

Similar Npm Packages to react-pdf

react-pdf is a popular library for rendering PDF documents in React applications. It allows developers to display PDF files directly in their web applications without the need for external plugins or viewers. With react-pdf, you can easily load and render PDF documents, manage page navigation, and customize the appearance of the PDF viewer. This makes it an excellent choice for applications that require document viewing capabilities, such as e-commerce platforms, educational tools, or any application that needs to display reports or invoices.

An alternative to react-pdf is @react-pdf/renderer. This library is designed for generating PDF documents using React components. Unlike react-pdf, which focuses on rendering existing PDF files, @react-pdf/renderer allows developers to create PDFs from scratch by defining the document structure using React components. This can be particularly useful for applications that need to generate reports, invoices, or any other documents dynamically based on user input or data from APIs.

Both libraries serve different purposes within the PDF ecosystem in React. If your goal is to display existing PDF files, react-pdf is the way to go. On the other hand, if you need to create and generate PDF documents programmatically, @react-pdf/renderer is the better choice.

To explore the differences and features of these packages, check out the comparison: Comparing @react-pdf/renderer vs react-pdf.

Similar Npm Packages to ng2-pdf-viewer

ng2-pdf-viewer is an Angular component that allows developers to easily embed and display PDF documents within their applications. Built on top of the popular PDF.js library, ng2-pdf-viewer provides a straightforward way to render PDF files, enabling features such as zooming, navigation, and text selection. While ng2-pdf-viewer is a solid choice for Angular applications, there are several alternatives available that cater to different needs and frameworks. Here are a few noteworthy options:

  • ng2-pdfjs-viewer is another Angular component that utilizes PDF.js for rendering PDF documents. It offers a similar feature set to ng2-pdf-viewer but may provide different customization options or performance characteristics. If you are looking for an alternative that also leverages PDF.js but with a different implementation, ng2-pdfjs-viewer is worth considering.

  • ngx-extended-pdf-viewer is an advanced PDF viewer for Angular applications that builds on PDF.js. It offers a wide range of features, including support for annotations, form filling, and a customizable toolbar. If you need a more feature-rich PDF viewer with extensive capabilities, ngx-extended-pdf-viewer is an excellent choice for Angular developers.

  • pdfjs-dist is the core library of PDF.js, which provides the underlying functionality for rendering PDFs. While it is not a component like ng2-pdf-viewer, it can be used to build custom PDF viewers in any JavaScript framework, including Angular. If you prefer to have more control over the rendering process and are willing to implement your own components, pdfjs-dist is a powerful option.

  • react-pdf is a popular library for rendering PDF documents in React applications. It provides a set of components that allow developers to easily display PDF files with features such as pagination and text selection. If you are working with React and need a PDF viewer, react-pdf is a great alternative to consider.

For a comprehensive comparison of these packages, check out the following link: Comparing ng2-pdf-viewer vs ng2-pdfjs-viewer vs ngx-extended-pdf-viewer vs pdfjs-dist vs react-pdf.

README for pdfjs-dist

PDF.js

PDF.js is a Portable Document Format (PDF) library that is built with HTML5. Our goal is to create a general-purpose, web standards-based platform for parsing and rendering PDFs.

This is a pre-built version of the PDF.js source code. It is automatically generated by the build scripts.

For usage with older browsers/environments, without native support for the latest JavaScript features, please see the legacy/ folder. Please see this wiki page for information about supported browsers/environments.

See https://github.com/mozilla/pdf.js for learning and contributing.

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