---
title: "PDF viewer server and cloud PDF viewer | Nutrient"
canonical_url: "https://www.nutrient.io/guides/document-engine/viewer/pdf/"
md_url: "https://www.nutrient.io/guides/document-engine/viewer/pdf.md"
last_updated: "2026-07-09T00:00:00.000Z"
description: "Discover Document Engine's server-based PDF viewer, ensuring fast performance and secure document management across all devices. Try the demo now!"
---

# PDF viewer server

Document Engine offers developers a server-based cloud PDF viewer that can be used by Nutrient’s Web, iOS, Android, Flutter, and React Native frontend SDKs. Its server-side rendering guarantees consistent performance and fidelity for your users, no matter their device. It can also be used for synchronizing documents and annotations to your server and across sessions, as well as managing authentication. It can be self-hosted on your own infrastructure.

For a cross-product overview of Web SDK, Document Engine, and DWS Viewer API search and document navigation workflows, refer to the [choose the right search, bookmarks, and document navigation setup](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/document-engine/viewer/choose-the-right-search-bookmarks-and-document-navigation-setup.md) guide.

[Try for free](https://www.nutrient.io/sdk/document-engine/getting-started.md)

[Launch demo](https://www.nutrient.io/demo/)

## Key capabilities

- **Faster performance** — Server-based rendering, with pages streamed on demand

- **Self-hosted** — Maintain complete control over your data

- **MS Office and images** — Open Word, Excel, PowerPoint, TIFF, JPG, and more

- **Secure authentication** — Easy integration with existing systems

- **User permissions** — Fine-grained centralized control over documents

- **Version control** — Ensure access to the most current document

- **Document security** — Stream image tiles instead of the full document

- **Extendable** — Add annotations, forms, signatures, and more

## File type support

- PDF and PDF/A

- DOC, DOCX

- XLS, XLSX

- PPT, PPTX, PPS, PPSX

- RTF, ODT

- JPG, TIFF, PNG, HEIC, GIF, WebP, SVG, TGA, EPS

See the full list of [supported file types](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/document-engine/about/file-type-support.md).

## How it works

1. Your server uploads the PDF document to Document Engine.

2. You can display the document using the returned document ID.![Diagram showing how Document Engine rendering of Office files works](@/assets/guides/document-engine/architecture-diagrams/office-server-rendering.png)

## Supported clients

Document Engine can integrate seamlessly into the following Nutrient frontend SDKs:

- [Nutrient Web SDK](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/web.md)

- [Nutrient iOS SDK](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/ios.md)

- [Nutrient Android SDK](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/android.md)

- [Nutrient Flutter SDK](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/flutter.md)

- [Nutrient React Native SDK](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/react-native.md)
---

## Related pages

- [Document viewer server](/guides/document-engine/viewer.md)
- [Choose the right document opening and loading setup](/guides/document-engine/viewer/choose-the-right-document-opening-and-loading-setup.md)
- [Choose the right search, bookmarks, and document navigation setup](/guides/document-engine/viewer/choose-the-right-search-bookmarks-and-document-navigation-setup.md)
- [Image server and viewer](/guides/document-engine/viewer/images.md)
- [Managing multiple users](/guides/document-engine/viewer/multiple-users.md)
- [Seamless viewing of Office documents made easy](/guides/document-engine/viewer/office-documents.md)
- [User permissions](/guides/document-engine/viewer/permissions.md)
- [Real-time collaboration server](/guides/document-engine/viewer/real-time-collaboration.md)
- [Secure document sharing](/guides/document-engine/viewer/secure-document-sharing.md)
- [Document and PDF streaming server](/guides/document-engine/viewer/streaming.md)