JavaScript PDF viewer library

Nutrient Web SDK provides a powerful JavaScript PDF viewer with client-side rendering support for PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, JPEG, PNG, and TIFF files directly in any modern browser — without requiring external dependencies or MS Office licenses. Developers can seamlessly embed a customizable PDF viewer into any JavaScript-based web application, ensuring high performance and flexibility.

Try for free Launch demo

Limitations and known issues

  • Browser support: Requires modern evergreen browsers with WebAssembly and worker support; legacy browsers and older embedded WebViews aren’t supported.
  • Large file performance: Very large PDFs or Office files can take longer to load and render; initial render time grows with page count, images, and complex vectors.
  • Memory usage: Rendering is client-side, so large documents or multiple instances can consume significant RAM and may cause tab reloads on memory-constrained devices.

For detailed workarounds, see troubleshooting.

Essential guides

Performance

Viewing options

Fonts

Rendering

Additional viewer features

File type support

Nutrient Web SDK enables you to load, save, convert, and edit 15 different PDF, document, Office, and image file types.

Opening MS Office and image files requires the Office Files and Image Documents components to be enabled in your license.

PDF documents
  • PDF
  • PDF/A
Images
  • PNG
  • JPEG
  • JPG
  • TIFF
  • TIF
Office documents
  • DOCX
  • DOC
  • DOTX
  • DOCM
  • XLSX
  • XLS
  • XLSM
  • PPTX
  • PPT
  • PPTM

Framework support

The document viewer is compatible with any JavaScript framework, including React, Angular, Vue.js, Svelte, Blazor, Next.js, TypeScript, Nuxt.js, and jQuery. It’s also compatible with Electron, ASP.NET, PHP, Laravel, Rails, and HTML5.

Open and view PDFs with Nutrient Web SDK

To load PDFs, use the load method, which takes a Configuration object as its parameter. This object specifies where the document is loaded on the page, the path to the source document, the license key, and more. For more information, see the guides on loading a document.

NutrientViewer.load({
  container: "#pspdfkit",
  document: "source.pdf",
  licenseKey: "YOUR_LICENSE_KEY"
});

FAQ

What is Nutrient Web SDK?

Nutrient Web SDK is a powerful JavaScript PDF rendering engine that offers a customizable and responsive PDF viewer for web applications.

What file types does Nutrient Web SDK support?

Nutrient Web SDK supports PDF, PDF/A, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, TIFF, PNG, and JPG file types for seamless viewing.

Is Nutrient Web SDK compatible with all browsers?

Yes, it’s fully compatible with all modern browsers and devices.

Can I customize the UI of Nutrient’s PDF viewer?

Absolutely! Adjust buttons, layouts, and the design to suit your application’s needs.

Do I need a server to use Nutrient Web SDK?

No, Nutrient Web SDK can run locally in the browser, eliminating the need for server dependency. If you want more enhanced functionalities, you can combine Nutrient Web SDK with Document Engine — either self-hosted or managed — to offload document storing, rendering, and editing from the browser, streaming only essential data to the web viewer.

Start your free trial for unlimited access and expert support.

Powering industry leaders