Getting to Know React-PDF, Creating and Displaying PDF Files in Browsers and Servers

React-PDF is a React-based library designed to read, display, and create PDF documents in browsers or servers. With a component-based approach, React-PDF simplifies the developer's work in managing PDF files, both for rendering needs and dynamic document creation.

This article will discuss how React-PDF works, its main components, best practices, and advanced implementations that can improve application efficiency.

Introduction to React-PDF

React-PDF provides two main modules:

1. @react-pdf/viewer: Used to read and display PDF files in React applications. This module is usually used to display existing documents.

2. @react-pdf/renderer: Used to create new PDF documents programmatically using javascript or typescript syntax. Usually used to create reports, invoices, or other dynamic documents.

   
   

These two modules allow developers to handle PDF files flexibly without the need to use additional libraries or third-party plugins.

React-PDF Main Components

1. React-PDF Viewer (@react-pdf/viewer)

The most commonly used components for reading PDF files are:

• Document: The main component for loading PDF files.

• Page: Component for rendering specific pages from PDF.

• Outline: Provides a table of contents of PDF (if available).

• Thumbnail: Used to create a mini preview of each PDF page.

  
  

Key Features:

• Supports pagination.

• Zoom in and zoom out capabilities.

• Render PDF pages efficiently with lazy loading for better performance.

  
  

Viewer Implementation Example:

2. React-PDF Renderer (@react-pdf/renderer)

This module allows you to create PDFs from scratch using JSX syntax. Its main components include:

• Document: Representation of a PDF document.

• Page: Page in a PDF.

• View: Multipurpose container for other elements.

• Text: Component for customizable text.

• Image: Used to insert images.

• Link: Add internal or external links in a document.

  
  

Dynamic PDF Generation Example:

Advanced Features

1. Pagination and Navigation Controls

React-PDF Viewer supports pagination, which can be customized to provide a better reading experience. You can integrate navigation controls such as "Next" and "Previous" buttons.

Navigation Example:

2. Customize Document Style

Using StyleSheet from @react-pdf/renderer, you can define a more structured and clean style.

3. Insert Images and Graphics

React-PDF supports inserting images, allowing you to create more visually appealing documents.

Example of Adding an Image:

Best Practices

1. Use Lazy Loading for Performance
   For large documents, use lazy loading to render pages only when needed.

2. Cache PDF Data
   Cache PDF documents to reduce repeated requests to the server.

3. Take Advantage of Server-side Rendering (SSR)
   When possible, generate PDF files on the server side to reduce the load on the client.

   
   

Conclusion

React-PDF is a great library for managing PDF files in React applications. With PDF reading and rendering capabilities integrated directly into the React ecosystem, this library provides great flexibility and efficiency for developers. Whether you are building dynamic reporting features, needing PDF previews, or creating downloadable documents, React-PDF can be an ideal solution.

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Source:

https://react-pdf.org/