Adobe has released a PDF Embed WordPress plugin that enhances the ways PDFs can be displayed online, making them more user-friendly, interactive, and useful.
The new plugin makes PDFs more usable on the web, offering four different ways to view a file without the usual inconveniences.
Adobe’s plugin page explains:
"Adobe Embedded PDF Viewer is a FREE plugin that allows you to easily embed high-fidelity PDF viewing into your posts and pages with collaboration, security, and analytics.
Deliver the highest quality PDF rendering available and streamline user experiences with custom viewer modes and digital collaboration through annotation tools. Extend the viewer with PDF usage analytics to understand how users interact with your documents."
Adobe PDF on the Web
The strength of PDF (Portable Document Format) lies in its platform and OS agnosticism. Adobe PDF documents are accessible whether a user is on an Apple, Linux, Windows, Chrome, or Android device.
However, PDFs typically need to be downloaded and opened in a separate app, which can be cumbersome. Anyone who’s tried to view a restaurant menu online understands the hassle of waiting for a download and then opening an app to read it. Despite being ubiquitous, PDFs are often disliked due to their inherent user-unfriendliness.
Adobe Embedded PDF Viewer Plugin for WordPress
Adobe’s new WordPress plugin enables publishers to display PDF documents online in four distinct ways. It also includes options to enable or disable downloading or printing.
Four PDF Viewer Options
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Lightbox Modal: Displays the document within a modal overlay on the webpage, allowing users to view the document without leaving the current page.
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Sized Container: Renders the PDF in a landscape orientation, similar to a presentation, with a slide-view user interface. This is the plugin’s default display mode.
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In-Line Display: Embeds the PDF within the webpage content, fitting itself within the page and displaying all PDF pages at once.
- Full Window: Fits the parent element (the container it is in) and allows for annotation tools and navigation with thumbnails. This distinguishes it from the Sized Container mode.
How to Use the Plugin
The WordPress plugin enables publishers to easily achieve what previously required developers to write code to utilize the Adobe PDF API. Now, there’s no need to create special code; just install and start using the plugin within the Gutenberg blocks editor.
According to the official announcement:
"With the PDF Embed API, you can control the size and position of the PDF, the viewing experience, and get hooks into a powerful integration API for handling events as well as providing detailed analytics.
WordPress developers willing to write a bit of code have always been able to make use of our PDF Embed API, but today we’re happy to announce the release of a new plugin that will make working with the API even simpler.
The Adobe Embedded PDF Viewer plugin simplifies the installation, customization, and usage, allowing site administrators of any level to easily add a PDF to their site."
Before using the new WordPress plugin, it’s necessary to sign up for the free Adobe PDF Embed API Credentials.
Adobe Embedded PDF Viewer for WordPress
While other PDF embed plugins for WordPress require payment to unlock full-page mode and other features, Adobe offers these options for free.
Read Adobe’s announcement:
Adobe PDF Embed API Now Available as a WordPress Plugin
Download the official Adobe WordPress plugin:
Adobe Embedded PDF Viewer
Featured image by Shutterstock/Alexander Lysenko
