Save PDF files using JavaScript

Nutrient Web SDK includes support for client-side PDF saving using JavaScript (without a server). Edited or newly created PDFs can be saved to an ArrayBuffer, to a remote server, or to local storage.

Quick start

Export any open PDF to an ArrayBuffer with a single API call:

// Get the PDF as an `ArrayBuffer`.
const buffer = await instance.exportPDF();

Download to local file

Trigger a browser download from the exported buffer:

// Export and download the PDF.
const buffer = await instance.exportPDF();
const blob = new Blob([buffer], { type: "application/pdf" });
const url = URL.createObjectURL(blob);

const a = document.createElement("a");
a.href = url;
a.download = "document.pdf";
document.body.appendChild(a);
a.click();

URL.revokeObjectURL(url);
document.body.removeChild(a);

Send to a server

Post the exported PDF to your backend:

const buffer = await instance.exportPDF();

await fetch("/api/documents", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: { "Content-Type": "application/pdf" },
  body: buffer,
});

Add a download button to the toolbar

Combine saving with UI customization:

let instance;

const downloadButton = {
  type: "custom",
  id: "download-pdf",
  icon: "/icons/download.svg",
  title: "Download",
  onPress: async () => {
    const buffer = await instance.exportPDF();
    const blob = new Blob([buffer], { type: "application/pdf" });
    const url = URL.createObjectURL(blob);

    const a = document.createElement("a");
    a.href = url;
    a.download = "document.pdf";
    a.click();

    URL.revokeObjectURL(url);
  },
};

const toolbarItems = NutrientViewer.defaultToolbarItems;
toolbarItems.push(downloadButton);

instance = await NutrientViewer.load({
  container: "#viewer",
  document: "/path/to/document.pdf",
  toolbarItems,
});

Key capabilities

• Local storage or remote URL — Save PDF files to any location
• Incremental save — Improve performance when saving large PDFs
• Auto save — Automatically save edits to the file
• Client-side — Save PDFs directly in the browser (no server needed)
• Headless — Edited or newly created files can be saved without a UI
• Extendable — Add annotation, signing, editing, forms, and more

Guides for saving a document

Save a document to local storage
How to save a document to local storage

Save a document to an ArrayBuffer
How to save a document to an ArrayBuffer

Save a document to a remote server
How to save a document to a remote server

Save a document to Document Engine
How to save a document to Document Engine

Incremental saving
How to append changes to the end of a PDF, instead of rewriting

Auto-save
How to configure the way changes are automatically saved

Save as
How to save a document as a new file

Detect unsaved changes
How to check for unsaved changes and register state change listeners