Open PDF file download without store in drive

Question

My requirement is to force the system to open the PDF file without storing in server or client system. I am using java, jsf, iText. But I've not succeeded so far. Any help?

Answer 1

This question has already been answered a day ago here: How to convert pdfstamper to byte array

I didn't mark your question as duplicate, because your question and that question may seem different at first sight, but the answer to both questions is identical:

See for instance the FormServlet example where it says:

// We create an OutputStream for the new PDF
ByteArrayOutputStream baos = new ByteArrayOutputStream();
// Now we create the PDF
PdfStamper stamper = new PdfStamper(reader, baos);

Then later in the example, we do this:

// We write the PDF bytes to the OutputStream
OutputStream os = response.getOutputStream();
baos.writeTo(os);

As you can see: we do not store the PDF using a FileOutputStream (no file is stored on the server), but we store the file in memory using a ByteArrayOutputStream. We then write the bytes to the OutputStream of the response object.

This example is taken from a book that also contains a JSP example: http://itextpdf.com:8180/book/helloworld.jsp

However, the book lists a substantial number of reasons why it's a bad idea to use JSP to create PDF. As a JSP developer, you know that JSP should never be used to create files in a binary format. PDFs are binary files, hence: you should write a Servlet to create a PDF, not a JSP file.