View pdf file as picture file

brunoc68

Dear all,

I use files.gallery to serve pdf documents such as id card, certificate, etc...

So far, the pdf is downloaded and the user opens it in another reader.

Is there a way to visualize the pdf the same way one can see the pictures ?

Karl

brunoc68 So far, the pdf is downloaded and the user opens it in another reader.

What do you mean "another reader"? In most browsers, that support PDF, they will load and display in a new browser window when clicked.

brunoc68 Is there a way to visualize the pdf the same way one can see the pictures ?

When you say "pictures", does it mean the first page of your PDF files are actually picture? Normally, PDF thumbnails will just a screenshot of some unreadable blurry text, and that's why I'm not personally a fan of this. PHP itself can't do this, but it's possible with an external command-line tool like Imagemagick, in the same way we create video thumbnails from FFmpeg. I might add it in a future release.

brunoc68

Dear Karl,

Look at how file.gallery presents pictures : I would like the same but with pdf files.
Is it possible ?

Karl

brunoc68 Look at how file.gallery presents pictures : I would like the same but with pdf files.

You mean in a full stage "popup" with navigation buttons? It's possible using iframe but this is not as functional as opening the PDF in full browser window. Why not just set config option click_window to allow PDF's to open when preview is clicked?

'click_window' => 'pdf', // Opens PDF and html in new browser window, allowing them to be previewed

brunoc68

Karl
The issue is that this way of doing gives a result which depends on your browser configuration. In my case, a pdf is not previewed but downloaded.
It is always a nightmare when the admin has to go on every device to set the browser's settings.
I guess the iframe version would come to the same constraint, wouldn't it ?

Karl

brunoc68 The issue is that this way of doing gives a result which depends on your browser configuration. In my case, a pdf is not previewed but downloaded.

May I ask what browser/OS this is? I think it's only Android browsers and Explorer 11 that does not open PDF files in browser by default.
https://caniuse.com/pdf-viewer

brunoc68 It is always a nightmare when the admin has to go on every device to set the browser's settings.

Indeed.

brunoc68 I guess the iframe version would come to the same constraint, wouldn't it ?

Yes, because the browser must be able to render the PDF in browser in any case.

There are other solutions. For example pdf.js can render PDF's in browser without having PDF support directly in browser. However, the interface is clumsy, and I am hesitant to integrate a very large JS plugin into Files Gallery just to support the few browsers that don't already support PDF. Another option is to use Google docs viewer (see example, does it work for you?). Although it's a solution, it requires using Google url's to view PDF documents, which also is only beneficial for browsers that can't already read PDF files.